Buttermilk Biscuits with Cinnamon Spiced Butter

 The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always the busiest of the year for me. If you take a look at food blogs on a regular basis, you will see that they are full of recipes for sky-high pies, indulgent holiday breakfasts, and, most importantly, Christmas cookies! Not to worry, there are plenty of those recipes to come on here, but today I want to take a break from all that and talk about biscuits.
  These biscuits are not tall and reminiscent of a certain doughboy's, but they are flaky and the perfect bite-sized side dish. Even better, their layers and little holes are ideal for filling up with a sweet and salty cinnamon butter. Most importantly, they are a wonderful accompaniment to a table of rich Thanksgiving foods, especially after having stood in the cold all morning with my little cousins at the parade!
  Enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuits with Cinnamon Spiced Butter 

(slightly adapted from Food Network)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) very cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk plus a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice, allowed to sit together for a few minutes)
Cinnamon Spiced Butter (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl.

Cut the butter into small pieces. Cut the butter into the dough with a pastry cutter or a fork until it looks like coarse sand. Add the buttermilk and continue to cut the dough together. 

Turn out onto a floured surface and gently bring together. Gently press the dough into a rectangle until it is between 1/2 and 3/4-inch thick.

Use a round cutter that has been floured to cut the biscuits. Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

Remove biscuits from freezer and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet so they are touching each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with spiced butter.

Cinnamon Spiced Butter

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, softened

Mix dry ingredients together. Blend together with the butter until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.