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First of all, I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Wild.
My family kind of sticks to the same routine / menu each year. I try to change up one of the sides, but for the most part, our menu is set.
A new addition to our menu last year was biscuits, and, dare I say, I think I’m gonna keep them on the menu.
Yes, Thanksgiving is super carb-heavy. But, if your family is anything like mine, you also have to have some kind of bread / roll situation on the table— in addition to the stuffing and macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, of course.
And sure, you could simply buy some rolls and call it a day…but, biscuits.
BISCUITS.
Biscuits are made *with love.*
Biscuits are flaky and fluffy and buttery. They’ve got layers to them. And when served with a cute little compound butter, well, they’re even more buttery and cute.
PLUS (and you’ll thank me for this later) you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer and bake them FROM FROZEN while the turkey is out of the oven / resting.
AND!! If you hide / save some / bake some off Friday, your Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich CAN BE ENOYED ON A BISCUIT.
Yes, she looks small, but you can cut the biscuit WHATEVER SIZE YOU WANT (when you’re making them / before you freeze them). Also, if it’s small (like above, in exhibit A), you can totally justify having MULTIPLE sandwiches.
The thing to remember about a biscuit is that you want the butter COLD. I used to freeze it and grate it, but honestly, grating frozen butter is a bit of a workout. Nowadays, I cut the butter into small, small pieces and then freeze it until I’m ready to use it.
Why freeze / use cold butter?
I’m glad you asked.
I keep my biscuits frozen until I’m ready to bake them. Popping the COLD biscuits into a HOT oven means the butter releases steam, which (you guessed it), makes them have a higher rise, resulting in flaky, fluffy, light biscuits.
More biscuit tips:
Don’t overwork the dough. Like almost every dough recipe, overworking develops more gluten, which can result in tough hockey pucks instead of lighter-than-air biscuits.
Fold the dough into thirds, like you would a letter. This helps create layers.
Use a biscuit cutter or a dough scraper to cut the dough and cut down in a clean motion, without moving it too much. Up and down. Wiggling the biscuit cutter around will ruin your layers that you worked so hard to achieve.
What’s on your Thanksgiving menu?
Cheesy Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
Makes: 12-15
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes, plus freezing
INGREDIENTS
5 cups|695 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen and grated (keep frozen until ready to use), plus
more, melted
2 cups|500 ml buttermilk
8 ounces grated asiago or sharp cheddar
flaky sea salt, to taste
butter, to serve
honey, to serve
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add in the butter and, using your fingers, mix until pea-sized crumbles form. Toss in the cheese until coated, then add the buttermilk. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Pat the dough into a ¾-inch thick rectangle and fold the dough over onto itself a total of 5 or 6 times. Pat the dough out again into a rectangle and, using a biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits, making sure to cut straight down and up, instead of twisting the cutter as you are pulling it out of the dough (this will seal the edges of the dough, not allowing the layers of the biscuit to form or rise). The dough should make about 12 to 15 biscuits. Place the biscuits onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until ready to use.
Heat the oven to 425°F. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Serve with butter and honey.
Great addition to our menu! So nice to have a chef in the kitchen! Giving thanks!