I’ve enjoyed preparing recipes for our daily happy hours at the Inn. Sometimes we will prepare a platter filled with savories. We like to put together individual plates for couples to share when it’s a smaller group. I made my biscuit recipe and used a shot glass to cut the dough into silver-dollar-sized servings. Cut in half, we spread the tops with homemade pimento cheese, plated a biscuit on either end, and placed a small bunch of red grapes in the middle. It was the perfect summertime appetizer.
Southern Living magazine has one of the best recipes for pimento cheese. You can find the recipe here.
Now, here’s my biscuit recipe…
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
2 TBL baking powder
2 TBL sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening (I keep my Crisco in the freezer) then cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups cold buttermilk (if you don’t have any make your own here).
2 TBL unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 450. Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to blend. Add the shortening. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut through the shortening and flour until the mixture resembles a course meal. Add the buttermilk and mix just until combined. The dough will be very moist and sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board or work surface and gently pat or roll it into a round about 1/2 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, as if folding a letter, and re-roll it into a round 2 inches thick. That’s it. No more messing with it, or you’ll have hard rocks instead of biscuits.
Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Gather up the scraps, gently roll out the dough, and cut out additional biscuits. Transfer the biscuits to a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are puffed and golden brown. Brush the tops with melted butter.
They freeze well so that you can save some for another morning. Just reheat in a toaster oven (for heaven’s sake, never reheat a biscuit in the microwave). Don’t save these just for butter and honey…they make a really good base for sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwiches, or for another savory option, toss in a hand-full or two of sharp cheddar cheese in the dough and serve with hot bowls of soup.
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
