On our recent trip to the Pike Place Market in Seattle we enjoyed macaroni & cheese at Beecher's and then, to my delight, I spotted Sur La Table just around the corner. I snuck in for just a moment and it was absolute heaven for a girl who loves to bake! While I could have spent hours (and potentially a huge amount of money), the babies were waiting outside with the rest of the crew so I quickly made my way back to the baking section and the biscuit cutters. I have been using a flimsy pastry blender and the rim of a Tupperware cup to cut my biscuits for way too long. While they get the job done, they are sometimes a bit frustrating to use. I had looked at these on their website previously, so I quickly settled on:
a nice sturdy pastry cutter by OXO ($9.95)...
and a set of 4 Endurance stainless steel biscuit cutters ($8.95).
So this week I put them to the test and they passed with flying colors. It always surprises me how quality tools make tasks easier and yield better results. The pastry blender cut through the butter beautifully and the blades did not bend like my old blender did. The biscuit cutters are awesome! Not only was it much easier to shape the biscuits, the edges of the cutters are a bit sharp and this seems to help in giving the biscuits flaky layers. The dull rim of a glass seems to mush the edges of the biscuit together and you just don't get the same result.
So, get out those biscuit cutters and make a batch of biscuits for yourself. There are many variations of baking powder biscuits out there. Most call for flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, fat (butter or shortening) and milk. The following is a recipe for Biscuits Supreme, originally from an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.My mother-in-law Jean shared it with our family and I make it frequently. I like the addition of cream of tartar in this recipe, it gives the biscuits a bit of fluffiness!
Biscuits Supreme
2 Cups Flour, 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder, 4 tsp. Sugar, 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar, 1/4 tsp. Salt, 1/2 cup Butter or Shortening ( I use butter), 2/3 Cup Milk.
Heat oven to 450. In large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Make a well in center and add milk, stir until moistened. Form a round ball with hands and place on a lightly floured surface. Gently knead dough about 10-12 strokes. Roll out to about 1 inch thickness. Cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place on parchment lined pan and bake for 12 minutes until golden brown. Yields 8-10 biscuits.
I'll serve biscuits with any number of meals, but the way I like them best is warm from the oven with a good amount of honey over the top. Oh Biscuits!
Oh, my - YUM, those look good! My favorite way to enjoy fresh warm biscuits is with butter and grape jelly. One of my first jobs was in an old-fashioned soda parlor where we served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, too. I became addicted to the great biscuits in the morning that were kept warm inside one of those big covered electric steamer-warmer thing. Thanks for bringing back those memories!
Posted by: HeidiAnn | August 04, 2008 at 12:52 PM
When is the next batch going to be ready? I could be there in....... about 15 hours, give or take! The pictures are wonderful! Those look so good! I made your chocolate cupcakes today with peanut butter frosting. They were good too. We had to drive them around the neighborhood so we wouldn't eat them all! xoxo auntie
Posted by: Auntie Lynn | August 20, 2008 at 08:59 PM