Biscuits...my second love.

Its truly amazing I don't weigh close to three hundred pounds. There are foods I just crave and since this my blog I like to "store" recipes I might not necessarily get a chance to make but I am comforted by knowing they are there for me in a moment of weakness. Now, I am not sure how you eat them there biscuits but for me it's not complete without butter and sour cream. Overkill? Perhaps.

My fondest memory is of my paternal grandmother making some sort of heavy flour biscuit on Saturday or Sunday. Apparently I am the only one who escaped with the recipe and technique since her demise. These biscuits are light and airy and not the heavy sinkers she made that I still think of and get a bit of mouth water. Some of the family gathered and slathered with butter and syrup but for me it was always sour cream.

So here is the recipe I am "archiving" for future use...in case the mood strikes me. I stole this shamelessly from Smitten Kitchen. I take no credit but for the drool.

2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons (10 to 20 grams) sugar (to taste, see note above)
1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
9 tablespoons (125 grams) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400 °F and cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large, wide bowl. Using fingertips or a pastry blender, work butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, Add buttermilk and stir until large, craggy clumps form. Reach hands into bowl and knead mixture briefly until it just holds together.
To form biscuit rounds: Transfer dough to floured counter and pat out until 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick (err on the thin side if uncertain, as the tall ones will literally rise and then tip over, like mine did the day I photographed these). Using a round cutter (2 inches for regular sized biscuits, 3 inches for the monstrous ones shown above), press straight down — twisting produces less layered sides — and transfer rounds to prepared sheet, spacing two inches apart.
To drop biscuits: Drop 1/4-cup spoonfuls onto baking sheet, spacing two inches apart.
Both methods:Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then serve warm, with butter/jam/eggs/bacon/sausage and gravy or any combination thereof.