Biscuits

I have tried different biscuit recipes looking for the perfect one. My parents had a biscuit recipe, then they started using bisquick. For some reason I started thinking this was the norm. After a while, I stopped seeing the point in using bisquick when biscuits from scratch are so good and not that much harder to make. Even so, I have been searching for the "perfect" recipe.
I finally found it! This recipe is so much better than all the others I have tried. The first time I made these, we were in love! I then used this as a base recipe and made cinnamon rolls and then garlic and cheese biscuits. My mom always used to make us cinnamon roll biscuits growing up. The garlic and cheese recipe is divine and a perfect complement to dinner.

Here’s the ingredients and directions for the base recipe. Scroll down for more detailed directions with pictures and scroll further for the alternate recipes.

Don't forget to either pin this recipe to Pinterest for future reference or clip it to your Evernote digital cookbook!

Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup chilled butter, diced
• 1 cup half and half

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl.
3. Cut in the cold butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add milk in a little at a time, stirring lightly between additions. Dough should sticky.
5. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden.

More Detailed Directions

Ingredients for Biscuits: white flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar, chilled butter and half and half. See my Nexus7? I use Evernote to store my recipes! I use a Ziploc bag in the kitchen to protect it from getting messy. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.	Mix in flour.
Cut in chilled butter. Having it chilled is key. I take a knife and cut it into cubes before putting into my flour mixture. I then cut it into smaller cubes.	I use a potato masher to crush the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Add half and half a little at a time until dough is sticky and there is no more visible dry ingredients to soak up milk. Do not put more half and half in than necessary.	Drop batter by spoon fulls onto the baking sheet.
Bake 12-15 minutes, until tops are golden. I have found 14 minutes is usually perfect.	Enjoy your biscuits!

Source and Alternates

The original recipe comes from Easy Baking Powder Drop Biscuits on allrecipes.com. I changed the 1-1/4 cup milk to 1 cup of half and half. I typically don't have milk in the house unless the kiddo is staying with us, but I always have half and half. I tend to substitute half and half in most of my recipes. I don't know if the half and half made this better or not but it turned out great!

Comments in the original recipe said that the dough was too runny, but I know from experience when you want to stop putting milk in. You want to stop right when the dough gets all sticky and there is no more visible dry ingredients to soak up the milk. I have found this to be around 1 cup of half and half for this recipe.

You can choose to roll the biscuit dough out on a lightly floured surface and use fluted, round cookie cutter to make round, flat-topped biscuits. I generally prefer drop biscuits because they are easier to prep and the uneven top gets all crispy.

This recipe is a great base for other recipes. Here are two alternates for you to try that are also super yummy!

Cinnamon Biscuits

Cinnamon Biscuits - See my Google+ album for additional
 pictures.

Directions:

1. Start with the ingredients and directions for the dough above. Set dough aside.
2. Mix 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a small bowel.
3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8 to 10 times.
4. Roll into an 11-in. x 8-in. rectangle about 1/2 in. thick.
5. Spread room temperature butter over dough.
6. Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mix over butter.
7. Roll up jelly roll style, starting with long edge.
8. Cut into 12 equal slices. Place with cut side down on a baking sheet.
9. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes.

Cheese and Garlic Biscuits

Cheese and garlic biscuits

Additional Ingredients:

• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of parsley flakes
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Start with the ingredients and directions for the dough above.
2. Add garlic powder, parsley flakes and cheese.
3. Bake for 12-15 minutes (I generally do 14 minutes).

The cheese makes them come out a bit crispy, but I like them that way. My fiancé tried these and exclaimed, "OMG! These are the best biscuits you have ever made!"

One last look at these bad boys:

Do you have a favorite base recipe that you use to make fun recipes? Share with us in the comments!

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