I love biscuits. Warm and pillowy soft straight out of the oven, yes, please! And I do not discriminate between savory and sweet. I welcome them both.
There are plenty of biscuit mixes on the market. But I like to control the amount of salt and sugar that goes into them. So, every so often, I make them at home from scratch.
Here is my take on a Milk Street biscuit recipe. It is my go-to baseline biscuit dough. You can add flavors to the dough or on top of the biscuits for a more savory or sweet flair. But most of the time, I make these basic cream biscuits and then eat them with a favorite preserve, compound butter, or drizzle some maple syrup on top. I said I like to control the amount of sugar and salt. I didn’t say I was opposed to them or the fat. Any way you make them, these will be a hit.
Notes on Ingredients
The one modification I have made to the recipe is the amount of heavy cream used. Of course, this meant I had to increase the other ingredients proportionately. I’m not a fan of recipes that expect you to use three-quarters of a standard package. You know how most pasta recipes indicate 12 oz of pasta when the standard package is one pound. All this to say, buy a small 8 oz container of heavy cream and use the whole thing making these biscuits. In the end, you will have an even dozen biscuits, which is better than the original recipe’s yield of eight.
Notes on Method
I love the simplicity of these biscuits. They come together with ease. Really. No special equipment is required. Sure, an electric whisk would be great for efficiency. But honestly, a regular whisk will get the job done.
(basic) Cream Biscuits
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp granulated sugar
- 3¾ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup yogurt
- 8 tbsp butter - 6 tbsp chilled for dough, 2 tbsp melted for topping
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 475°F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the heavy cream and yogurt to soft peaks. Set aside
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Cut 6 tbsp butter into ¼ inch cubes and toss into the flour mixture.
- Using your hands, rub butter into the flour mixture. The texture will be like damp sand.
- Fold the whipped cream and yogurt mixture into the butter-flour mixture. Continue until no dry flour remains.
- Knead the dough to a shaggy consistency.
- Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into thirds.
- Form each third into squares that are about ¾ inch thick.
- Cut each square into 4 pieces and place onto the parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Melt remaining 2 tbsp butter and brush onto tops of biscuits.
- Place baking sheets in oven and reduce temperature to 425° F.
- Rotate pans halfway through baking time.
- Bake until the biscuits are golden brown on top and bottom, about 15-18 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
