Fluffy Whole Wheat Biscuits

      Last week, I woke up late to a grey, drizzly morning. When I wake up late I'm often too lazy to cook anything before lunchtime, but this morning was different. Maybe it was the dark sky that made me crave comfort food. Maybe it was the fact that after a week of unbearable humidity, the rain finally cooled the city enough to allow me to turn on the oven without sweating. I don't know, but of one thing I am sure: sometimes all you need to start the day off well is a biscuit.

These are my take on the classic Southern buttermilk biscuit. They are made partially with whole wheat flour; not only does this up the health factor a bit (because let's face it, if we're going to eat that much butter, we might as well enjoy it with some whole grains), it also lends a nice nutty flavor to your breakfast.

I quickly learned not to roll this dough out too thin; my first tray was far from picture-perfect. Just make sure to keep a nice thick, floured round in front of you when rolling it out, and you'll be fine. Because other than that, this recipe is pretty much foolproof. Perfect for when you're still waking up.

  I like to enjoy my biscuits with a smear of butter and either some honey or jam; usually, I just use whatever flavor I have lying around. Feel free to top them with whatever you want, including but not limited to: eggs, whipped cream and berries, ice cream... but please don't do the eggs and ice cream at the same time. Because that won't work and then you'll be mad at me and nobody wins. So just bake up a quick batch of biscuits and be creative with your toppings - but not too creative.
   Enjoy!

Fluffy Whole Wheat Biscuits
(from Allrecipes)

  

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder 
1 tablespoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter 
1 cup buttermilk
  
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). 
Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in buttermilk until just moistened. 
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll to about 3/4-inch thickness; cut with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. 
Bake in preheated oven until biscuits are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
 -makes 12 fairly large, thick biscuits

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.

TWD: Tender Shortcakes

Only one day late this week. Getting better, right? Right.
This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Cathy of The Tortefeasor. She chose Tender Shortcakes. I liked this pick, because we had a lot of options for fillings (fill with berries and whipped cream, eat like biscuits, etc....).
The shortcakes were really quick to make. I heard people say that theirs came out huge, so I made 4 cakes out of 1/3 of the recipe. I could have made five, because mine were still really big. The dough was very crumbly, so I sort of patted it together on the baking sheet, but once they came out of the oven they held together well.
It was easier than I thought to cut them in half. For the filling, I defrosted some frozen mixed berries (we didn't have any fresh and I didn't want to go out and get them :D ). I sprinkled on some sugar and let them sit for a while. I then put the berries on the bottom half of the shortcakes (with plenty of their juice) and topped them with sweetened whipped cream and the top of the shortcakes.
These were quick and easy to make, and I will make them again. They were so delicious! These would be great for a BBQ/ other summer party. If you want the recipe, you can find it here or in THE BOOK. Enjoy!

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

Ok, so it's Wednesday. But I'm getting better, right? Right. This week's Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Melissa of Love at First Bite. She chose the Sweet Cream Biscuits. These were so quick to make! We got up late on Saturday and they were ready within a half hour. The dough doesn't actually have any butter in it - all the fat comes from the cream. But they are still incredibly flaky!
So to make these, you mix together some dry ingredients and cream, pat the mixture into a disk, and cut out 2-inch rounds. I used my 2-inch cutter, but thought they came out smaller than I would have liked. But that didn't matter, because they tasted great. I had never made biscuits before (except for TWD's sweet potato ones, but those were sort of a failure...), and I like these much better than the ones from the can you whack on the counter to open! If you want to try them for yourself, you can buy the book or find the recipe here. eNjOy!

TWD... uh... Wednesday: Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ok, so, um... I really only remembered that I had to post these today as I was brushing my teeth yesterday night, so I just woke up and I'm doing it now. :D

This week's recipe was chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise. She chose Sweet Potato Biscuits. They were quick and easy to make, but they didn't rise very much. I've always imagined biscuits as being huge, like the pillsbury ones. But maybe they're supposed to be like this? Or maybe I did something wrong.... Even though they didn't look great, they are delicious. We couldn't stop eating them! We ate them the next day with vegetable soup, too, and for breakfast... but they are definitely best the first day, when they are nice and flaky. I might make these again sometime, but I am excited to try out the other biscuit recipes in the book. 

As always, if you want the recipe, you can buy the book or find it here. Yum! 

And don't forget to check out the other TWD bakers!