Buttermilk Biscuits

Look, I hate to brag, or anything ... but these are the bomb.


For about 10 large biscuits - perfect for bacon, sausage, eggs or any combination thereof - you'll need:

+ flour, 3 cups
+ baking soda, 1 tablespoon
+ salt, 1 pinch
+ sugar, 3 tablespoons
+ cold butter, 4 tablespoons, diced
+ cold shortening, 4 tablespoons, diced
+ cold buttermilk, 3/4 cup
+ honey, 2 tablespoons *
+ melted butter, 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the cold butter and shortening, and, using your hands, no matter what, mix until evenly combined. The mixture should be crumbly, and should clump up when squeezed. Add the buttermilk and honey, and knead gently until incorporated. As soon as you have a ball of dough, stop kneading.

Flour a hard surface, and roll the dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Use a round cookie cutter or a glass to shape the biscuits, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each biscuit with melted butter. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet periodically if your oven is less-than-stellar, like mine. Enjoy!

* I decided to include honey because, really, nothing's better than a dollop of honey on a southern-style biscuit. I wanted to impart a hint of that sweetness into the recipe without compromising the integrity of a classic buttermilk biscuit.