Its a lot colder today than it was yesterday. Talk about feast or famine! Yesterday I didn't have to keep the heat on all day. Today I have.
My next door neighbor brought me a dandelion in bloom yesterday to show me. I dare say that dandelion has lost its bloom today!
I decided to heat myself up a bowl of soup for my dinner today. Usually I like to have crackers with my soup, but I didn't have any in the cupboard.
I wasn't wanting to go out into the cold to the shops to get any either and so I did the next best thing. I decided to bake myself some biscuits to go along with the soup.
I wasn't, however, willing to bake a whole batch of biscuits because, well, there is really only me to eat them.
I decided to see if I couldn't make a much smaller batch of biscuits. I came across this recipe for Simple Drop Biscuits in a cookbook I have entitled, The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen.
You cannot go wrong with an ATK cookbook. Those recipes have been worked and hashed out to perfection. I trust them implicitly!
I wish to put to rest the differences between Scones and Biscuits once and for all. I have the same comments made each and every time. Most people think that they are the same thing, but they truly are not. I promise you.
In the UK, they call cookies biscuits. These are not them. These are not cookies. Nor are they scones.
They are North American Biscuits. Biscuits have more butter and acidity (often from the use of buttermilk), making them extra fluffy and flaky. Scones rely on richer, denser, ingredients like heavy cream and eggs to get a sturdy, yet crumbly, pastry.
They are two completely different things. People thinking that there is no difference between the two things is a Pet Peeve of mine. It really is.
They also differ a great deal in how they are put together. With biscuits, the fat most usually is cut in using either a pastry blender or two round bladed knives.
With scones the fat is rubbed into the flour using your finger tips. This method along with the use of eggs and or cream form the major difference in texture.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE DROP BISCUITS FOR TWO
Nothing too out of the ordinary here.
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (80ml) cold buttermilk
- 2 TBS butter, melted and hot
- Additional melted butter to brush on top of the finished biscuits
Don't worry if you do not have any buttermilk. I know sometimes, especially in the UK, it can be hard to find. You can very easily make your own.
Here is what always works for me. You can whisk together equal parts of full fat plain yogurt and whole milk, or even sour cream and milk.
You can also put 1 TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup and add whole milk to the measure you need. Leave it to sit for five minutes to clabber.
This works perfectly as a replacement.
HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE DROP BISCUITS
Nothing could be easier to make. There is no faffing about with having to pat them out or cut them into rounds or squares. You just mix together, drop and bake. Easy peazy.
You will want to bake these in a hot oven, so preheat your oven to 450*F/ 230*C. I use a very small baking sheet. It is only about 5 by 8 inches in size. You could use a pie dish, or any size baking dish. All you need is a dish large enough to hold them with space around for spreading/rising.
Sift your flour, soda and baking powder into a bowl. The reason I sift them is so that the leavening is mixed equally into the flour. Nobody wants a mouthful of baking powder when they bite into something.
It also helps to aerate the flour giving your baked result a bit more lift. Stir in the sugar and salt.
As with most quick breads, the wet ingredients are stirred together and then added to the dry. In this case you want cold buttermilk and hot melted butter.
When the butter hits the cold buttermilk, it clumps. This is exactly what you want. Little beads or clumps of butter. The clumps of butter melt and turn to steam when the biscuits are baking making for a lovely light and fluffy interior.
Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a round bladed knife or a rubber spatula, taking care not to over mix. (Overmixing will give you a tougher biscuit.) You want a soft claggy dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Drop by heaped spoonsful onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between for spreading, about 1 1/2 inches.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the bake time. When they are done they will be nicely puffed, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Brush the tops of the hot biscuits with additional melted butter and serve immediately.
There is no shortage of biscuit recipes on here (as they are one of my favorite things.) Some of my absolute favorite biscuit recipes are:
Mile High Greek Yogurt Biscuits
Easy 7-up Biscuits
One, Two, Three Buttermilk Biscuits
Cheddar Bacon & Chive Biscuits
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. You can find an extensive list here.
There is absolutely nothing to dislike about these biscuits. They are quick and easy to make. They have a beautiful light and tender crumb.
Their surface is covered with nice crisp craggy buttery bits. Light, fluffy and incredibly delicious. Its probably a good thing there is only four or I might be tempted to overdo it!!
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