“OMG! These things are dynamite. Made them. Loved them. Me and kids ate them all.” ~ Three D Photos
Thanks to all of you who voted for me to win the PEI Recipe Challenge, I won second place and a copy of the cookbooks Flavours of Prince Edward Island: A Culinary Journey and The Best of Chef at Home!
Last week during a brutal snowstorm I got out both books in search of ultimate comfort foods. I made Michael Smith’s Beef Stew and really wanted some biscuits to go with them. I found this recipe for buttermilk biscuits in Flavours of PEI and got working before we potentially lost power!
Please note, I only made half the recipe, I do not need 18 large biscuits at my house!
You begin with sieving 3 cups of flour with 1 1/2 tbsp of baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp of salt. I added some freshly ground black pepper and added 3/4 cup of cubed cold unsalted butter. I crumbled the butter into the dry ingredients with my hands until the butter was in little pieces, the size of peas.
I did not have buttermilk so I made my own. I added lemon juice to skim milk until I had 3/4 of a cup. I let it sit for a while to sour the milk. I created a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and added the faux buttermilk. Then I gently stirred to combine everything together.
I chopped up some flat leaf Italian parsley for colour and additional flavour. It is so dry here right now that I needed to add additional milk to bring the dough together into a ball.
On a floured surface, I flatten the dough with my hands until it was 1/2″ thick. The recipe says to cut the dough into 2″ rounds which seemed kind of big to me. I opted to use a juice glass which is only 1 1/2″ wide instead.
I put the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and popped them into a preheated 425F oven. Because mine were smaller, I baked them for only 12 minutes (the recipes says 15 minutes) until they were just a touch golden:
I love biscuits! They are so easy to make, no special equipment required and these were super tasty. They went perfectly with the stew, very flakey and fabulous. I give them four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
The second we sat down to eat dinner, we lost power. Thankfully the lights came on a few minutes later but what a comfort it was to sit down to eat a hot meal, even if it might be in the dark. I may abhor winter but rustic food fills me with joy.
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Those look really good!
I have a stupid question regarding biscuit size. When I think of biscuits, I think of big biscuits–maybe 3″ – 3.5″ across and 10″ if you measure around the outside edge.
What measurement do you mean when you say you used a glass that was 1.5″ wide? Because 1.5″ diameter is really tiny–about shot glass size. Do you mean 1.5″ radius (and thus 3″ diameter)? When recipes refer to the size of the cutter, do they generally refer to the radius?
Hey Brenda! The kind of biscuits you make are a lot bigger than the ones I made. I like little ones so I don’t end up eating too many carbs, LOL. That way I get a little bite that’s a treat with my healthy stew.
Yes, the glass is less than 2″ across, it’s a small juice glass. I can’t imagine most measurements want you to double the width by giving the radius. My measurement is all the way across. I hope that helps!
Suzie these look so inviting, just perfect. I’ve also been relying on the old buttermilk substitute as well, using lemon juice. I never seem to use up the cartons when I buy them, and besides going by the expirty date, I can never tell if the buttermilk is still ok as it always smells funky lol. At least with this method you know your buttermilk is fresh.
Thanks so much Ava! It’s so true, I never end up using an entire carton of buttermilk either. I wish they would sell them in smaller containers and you’re right, how can you tell if it’s gone bad? LOL. The only time I buy it is when I am making Wayne’s Ranch Dressing, so good and absolutely has to be buttermilk then but for this recipe, you just need the acid to activate the baking soda.
I’d love to have one of those biscuits right this second!