Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Blue Ribbon Biscuits....

Ready to make biscuits.

Butter cut into dry ingredients.

Dough on lightly floured surface, kneaded 5 or 6 times.

Roll to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with 2-inch cutter.
Bake until golden brown; I like using a Silpat mat.

Ready to eat!  Yum!!

For a few years I have prepared entries for our area Fair in September.  One of my quests was to earn a blue ribbon for my biscuits, a prize that was elusive until this past September.  Following is the recipe I used for the first time last fall.  It comes from the Country Living Country Mornings Cookbook, 1989 edition.

GOOD PLAIN BISCUITS

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter or vegetable shortening (I used butter)
2/3 cup milk

- Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the milk to the flour mixture; mix lightly with a fork until the mixture clings together and forms a ball of soft dough.  Turn the dough onto lightly floured surface and knead gently, turning 5 or 6 times.
- With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  With a floured 2-inch cutter, cut the dough into rounds.  Place the biscuits, 1 inch apart, on an ungreased baking sheet.  Pat the dough scraps together, reroll, and cut out more biscuits.
- Bake the biscuits 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are light brown.  Yield 12-14 biscuits.

These may become Buttermilk Biscuits by using 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in place of 1 Tablespoon of baking powder.  Add 3/4 cup buttermilk in place of 2/3 cup milk.

The previous years, I had always placed second while using a recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits that I had printed off the Weight Watchers daily newsletter.  That recipe follows.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 spray cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Combine flour and next three ingredients in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add buttermilk; stir just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 4 or 5 times.  Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter.  Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.  Yield - 7 biscuits; serving size - 1 biscuit.

Thank you for reading, and I am really enjoying your comments.

Tomorrow - It's in the Cards.






6 comments:

  1. The kids love it when I make bisquits. I sometimes make them on a special morning and serve them with Chocolate Gravy. Your recipe looks like a good one! xo Diana

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  2. Hey Nellie- Do you know how to take off word verification? I had to type in a scrambled word 3 times to get my comment to post. If you want to take it off I had the instructions on my blog a couple of days ago. Just thought I would let you know- xo Diana

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  3. I love biscuits. I could eat them all of the time. I am so glad you posted a W.W. recipe. I think it is so neat that you won ribbons.
    How are you doing today?

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  4. Both of these recipes sound great, but I think that the clincher was the additional butter in the first one. Now, I'm no Paula Deen, but butter really does make it better, and that little additional amount was probably the key to your blue ribbon. Thank you for sharing these great ideas with us!

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  5. Oh my gosh..these look so wonderful!! I still wish you lived next door ...smile!

    My birthday is Saturday! Family party Sunday!

    Blessings,
    Gert

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  6. It's a very cold day and biscuits sound absolutely fantastic. Your biscuits looks so yummy. My mother used to make biscuits and let us have butter and honey on them. We felt like we were having dessert for dinner.

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