Biscuits of Victory!

These biscuits are not just for holidays!

Biscuits of Victory

I’d never had much success with biscuits until I came across a recipe which suggested adding some cream of tartar to the dry ingredients.  Sure enough, that did the trick for me—victory at last!—although I’m sure there are plenty of biscuit purists out there who will scoff at the idea.  Try it and decide for yourself.

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of cold butter (1½ sticks) cut into pieces

1 egg

1 cup of milk

Instructions

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt; whisk until blended.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat egg and milk together and stir into flour mixture until just moistened.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 strokes—do not overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

Roll out to 1” thickness.  Cut with a floured 2-1/2” biscuit cutter; push scraps together and gently reroll to cut out more.  Place rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan and cool briefly on a wire rack before serving warm.  Makes about a dozen.

Notes

--It is absolutely essential that you have a sharp biscuit cutter, for the act of cutting out the biscuit will seal the edges and they won’t rise or be as flaky.  Cut straight down and don’t twist the cutter for the same reason.

--You can have a batch of biscuits made in 30 minutes. So why not wake up a little earlier this Sunday and treat the family to the aroma of fresh baked biscuits.  I doubt anyone will sleep in!