The BETTER Biscuit!!

The BETTER Biscuit and

Southern Living deserves all the credit

for helping me create them!

When I saw this method, I was a little skeptical about it.   But....I am one to try different recipes and methods.   This is it...PERFECT!     The grated frozen butter is the best new idea in distributing butter in the flour.  

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Best Ever Biscuits

1/2 cup butter; frozen

2 c White Lily SR Flour

1 c buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 475F.

Grate butter on large holes of grater.  or....Cut butter with a sharp knife or pastry blender into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle butter slices over flour in a large bowl. Toss butter with flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Cover and chill 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle top of dough with additional flour. Fold dough over onto itself in 3 sections, starting with 1 short end. (Fold dough rectangle as if folding a letter-size piece of paper.) Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches).

Press or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a parchment paper-lined or lightly greased jelly-roll pan. (Dough rounds should touch.) Also, place is a 12" iron skillet coated with a small amount of butter.   This will make crispy bottom biscuits.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 Tbs. melted butter.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used White Lily Self-Rising Soft Wheat Flour.

Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits: Omit 2 Tbs. melted butter. Combine 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/3 cup chopped pecans with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Stir together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 Tbs. buttermilk until smooth. Drizzle over warm biscuits.       Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Black Pepper-Bacon Biscuits: Combine 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon slices (about 5 slices) and 1 tsp. black pepper with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Feta-Oregano Biscuits: Combine 1 (4-oz.) package crumbled feta cheese and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano with flour in a large bowl. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Pimiento Cheese Biscuits: Combine 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese with flour in a large bowl. Reduce buttermilk to 1 cup. Stir together buttermilk and 1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimiento, undrained. Proceed with recipe as directed. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Notes:  Southern Living

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Jimmy Dean patties, biscuits and scrambled eggs

These are so good....

You will never buy store bought again!!

I had such good luck making tart shells last week, I though I should put my tortilla press to the real test of making tortillas.   Boy...I am glad that I did since they turned out so good and I will never buy store bought again.  

Here is the recipe.....so simple with four ingredients.  Who would have thought it would be so easy.   I highly recommend investing in a tortilla press.   You can find used ones on eBay at some great prices....it's just the Victoria Press is cast iron and weights quite a bit for shipping.  Maybe Prime Members from Amazon can get free shipping! 

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Soft Flour Tortillas

2 c flour; 260g

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup water; very warm

5 tb lard; melted 64g

Add the salt to the warm water and stir together until the salt has dissolved.

In a large bowl, use a fork to combine the flour with the oil (or other fat) until it looks crumbly. Pour in almost all of the salty water and stir until a shaggy dough forms. If the mixture seems dry, add a bit more of the water.

When the dough comes together, transfer to a floured work surface and knead until smooth, two to three minutes. Cover with a clean dish cloth and leave for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour or two. Resting the dough makes rolling it out easier.

Divide the dough into ten equally sized blobs and then shape into small disks. Use a rolling pin to roll each small disc into 8-inch rounds or use a tortilla press. The thinner the better, here.  Each portion is 44g each for continuity of size.  

Stack the rolled tortillas with a piece of parchment paper between them. Alternatively, you can roll and cook the tortillas at the same time. Roll one tortilla out, then while it cooks, roll the next tortilla out.

Make ahead: Divide the dough into smaller balls (this recipe makes ten 8-inch tortillas), wrap them very well, and then place into the refrigerator up to three days. About thirty to forty minutes before you are ready to cook the tortillas, take the balls out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature before rolling them out.

COOK TORTILLAS Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the first tortilla. Within 20 to 30 seconds, you should start to see it puffing up with bubbles forming.

Transfer the cooked tortilla to a dish towel and cover it then continue with the remaining tortillas, adjusting the heat as needed.

Yield: 10 tortillas

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They will puff up while cooking....just flatten them with your spatula and they will deflate when cooling.   As you can see, they also will change color as the cook on your griddle.  They will turn from a transparent wet look to a solid color and begin to change to golden brown.  

 

My Pineapple Pecan Upside Down Cake

Just another "old fashioned" dessert that I just love.    

I have adapted this recipe from a number of other recipes and  really love the result.   

This is a single  layer cake.  Hope you enjoy also!  

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Pineapple Pecan Upside Down Cake

1 1/2 c flour

2 ts baking powder

1/4 ts baking soda

1 ts salt

1/2 ts cinnamon

3/4 c butter; divided, room temp

3/4 c brown sugar

20 oz pineapple chunks; drained

1/2 c pecans; rough chop

1 1/4 c sugar

2 lg eggs; room temp

1 ts vanilla

1/2 c buttermilk; room temperature

  optional:

  whipped cream

  vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9" round cake pan and line with parchment. Set

aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda,

salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup butter to small sauce pan and melt. Do not let it burn. Add

brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Let boil for a minute. Pour

immediately into cake pan, swirl to distribute over bottom of pan.  Set

side to cool.

When cool, add drained pineapple (reserve pineapple juice for another

purpose, if desired) and chopped pecans scattered over the butter/brown

sugar topping.

Beat the remaining 1/2 cup butter on medium high speed until light and

creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat until well incorporated. Add

eggs, one at a time; add vanilla and beat for about 1 minute on medium

speed. Add the dry ingredients in thirds with buttermilk alternating in

three additions, starting and ending with the dry. Beat just until the dry

ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.

Spread the batter evenly over the pineapple chunks. The batter will be

thick and I find an ice cream scoop helps distribute batter. Smooth batter

to edge of pan. Gently tap the pan on a counter to remove air bubbles. Bake

the cake for 50 to 60 minutes until it is a dark golden brown on top, it

springs back when touched in the center. Test as usual.

Allow the cake to sit for 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges to

loosen the cake from the sides and transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool

for an additional 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges one more time.

Gently shake the pan up and down a few times, and invert the cake onto a

cake plate.

Yield: 6 servings

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This usually is prepared with pineapple  rings and maraschino cherries, but I opted to use pineapple chunks for ease of cutting and serving.  

Time for some Good Ole Fashioned Dessert??

Thought it was about TIME!   

Hot summer day and I was searching for something cool for a light dessert.  After looking at my pantry supplies I came across my Tapioca box that hadn't been used in some time.   OK....why not?  

  Quick and easy...

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Kraft Minute Tapioca Pudding

1 lg egg

2 3/4 c milk

1/3 c sugar; or Splenda

3 tb minute tapioca

1 ts vanilla**

Whisk egg and milk in medium saucepan until well blended. Stir in sugar and tapioca. Let stand 5 minutes. 

Bring to full boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on medium heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. 

Cool 20 minutes; cool. Keep refrigerated until serving but can be served warm to room temperature. 

For creamier pudding, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of putting until it cools. For best results, use whole milk or 2% milk. 

**I decided to drop the vanilla extract and 

added Almond Extract by McCormick

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Topped with whipped topping and sliced almonds

Mom always had this in her cupboard and made up pudding often.   I remember the texture of the tapioca pearls in my mouth and it brought back memories and flavors I had forgotten.

 

 Banana Bread CoffeeCake

Here is an easy, quick variation on Banana Bread

but I added streusel and it became a great CoffeeCake!  

Enjoy

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Banana Bread CoffeeCake

2 lg bananas; mashed

1/3 c sugar

2 tb buttermilk

1 1/2 tb canola oil

2 lg eggs

1 1/3 c flour

1/2 ts salt

1 1/2 ts baking powder

1/2 ts cinnamon

1/2 c pecans; rough chop

  for the streusel:

1/2 c flour

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c pecans; rough chop

3 tb butter; room temp

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 8x8 baking pan with baking spray or butter and flour for batter. 

Mash bananas into rough purée, Add sugar, buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Stir to completely combine. 

In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Slowly add to banana mixture and stir just until combined and no flour streaks remain. Fold in pecans. 

Pour into baking dish and spread to corners. 

Prepare streusel topping by combining flour, brown sugar and pecans. Mix in butter and combine until large clumps form. Do not press down but keep light and fluffy. Lightly sprinkle streusel over batter. It will cover the entire cake in a nice layer. 

Bake for 28-32 minutes. Test as usual for doneness. 

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature

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I do hope you enjoy this as much as I did.....and the coffee is just brewed for a mid morning snack!  

 Why didn't I think of this before.....?

Whenever I get the notion to make tart shells, I always dread rolling out the little rounds and cutting them the right size to fit into my removable bottom tart shells.   It really can get tedious.  

Something this morning struck me and I don't know why I had never thought of this before....why don't you try your tortilla press???    Well I did, and discovered that a regular 9" dough recipe can be divided into 8 equal portions and they are the perfect size for the tart pans.   All it took was to line my tortilla press with parchment paper dusted and in goes the ball of dough and presto!   A perfect round and ready piece to insert in the tart pan.  

Here is my recipe and of course, I only use all natural lard for my pastry.   Grandma was right and it is pure and natural.  

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Grandma's Pie Crust

1 1/3 c flour; plus more, as needed

1/4 ts baking powder

2 ts sugar

1/2 ts salt

4 oz pure lard; cold

1 ts vinegar

4 tb ice water; more, or less

Add flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in workbowl of food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine. 

Add cold lard to bowl and pulse eight or ten times until resembles pea size pieces. This can also be done with a pastry blender, or two knives if your don't have a food processor. 

Add vinegar (produces a tender crust) and ice water. Pulse a few times until dough comes together. Mix with spatula if working in a large bowl. Dough should be able to hold together when you pinch between your fingers. If not, add a teaspoon at a time and gently mix. Do not overwork the pastry. 

Remove and place on plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours minimum for dough to relax. 

Proceed as usual with filling of choice, or blind bake at 425F for a nice pastry shell.

Courtesy Grandma Lola and Grandma Grace

Yield: 1 9" crust

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Roll Ball onto parchment paper and cover

with another sheet of paper before pressing.  

  Ease into tart shell and trim

I purchased my tortilla press years ago 

from Amazon.  I don't use it much

but it sure is necessary when you need it.  

I do hope this helps you and inspires everyone to get out in the kitchen and make some tart shells.  They freeze easy and are ready to use for a quick dessert.