Thursday

Extra Tall and Tender Homemade Biscuits




Biscuits don't make an appearance on our table very often, so when I do serve them I want them to be the lightest and most tender I can find. So I make them myself.





If you've never made homemade, "from-scratch" biscuits you may be surprised at how EASY they are to prepare.









This time I modified my all-time favorite biscuit recipe to make it a bit more healthful by substituting half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for a little additional nutrition. Although I doubt biscuits can really be defined as "healthy", this seems to make me feel a little better about eating them!








Biscuit dough needs fat; shortening, butter, lard, etc. I used Crisco solid shortening (the green label), as it contains reduced amounts of trans fats. And unlike some whole wheat biscuits which are heavy and tough, these had a very nice tender texture.
What a pleasant surprise. :D





The key to light, tall biscuits is to start with a great recipe (like the one I am sharing today), handle the dough gently and as little as possible, pat or roll the dough out to about 1" thick and cut the biscuits out by pressing straight down through the dough (don't twist the cutter), then bake them in a hot (425*F) oven until lightly browned.

And two more little tricks-up-my-sleeve that help with my pastry-making:
The rigid design of this pastry blender makes biscuit and pie crust making so much easier. Forget the other wire-models, the 2-knife method, forks, food processor (such a pain to clean)... this little tool is very effective with minimal effort.


This is the pastry scraper I cannot part with ~ it facilitates lifting and moving the dough on the board without having the dough to stick to your hands. It also cleans the pastry board thoroughly, and makes a great "taxi" to transport chopped food from cutting board to cooking pots and pans, too.





I like to serve the biscuits hot from the oven with butter (or any favorite creamy spread) and jam or honey. Try them in your favorite breakfast sandwich recipe, or biscuits and gravy!





I never throw any leftover biscuits away because I like them just as well the next day ~ split, then lightly toasted using the oven broiler (they are a little too tender and crumbly to place in the traditional style pop-up electric toaster.) When toasted they acquire a lovely tender, crispy crunch and are delightful spread with butter and jam with a cup of coffee or tea.







If you would like a copy of my favorite biscuit recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Happy Foodie Friday, friends!





Please click the logo to visit "Designs by Gollum" to see all of this weeks participants.





Thank you for stopping by today!










20 comments:

  1. Oh, I noticed the whole wheat flour right away, they look so good! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. That pool of butter in the biscuits 'sigh' comfort food at it's finest!

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  3. Hello Mari,

    I completely agree with you that the only way to get the lightest and most tender biscuits is to make them yourself. Although I prefer a healthier fare, my boys love old fashioned buttermilk biscuits so I indulge them a couple times a month.

    Thank you for sharing the recipe, I will try it this weekend when I make the boys their country breakfast. Maybe they won't notice that I "healthified" their biscuits!

    ~ Tracy

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  4. Thank you, Mari. I can't wait to try these!

    xoxo
    Jane

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  5. My husband LIVES for biscuits and rolls- i must spoil him a little :)
    xoxo Pattie

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  6. Oh Goodness, Thank you for your post, these looks so yummy. I will have to try and make them. I have never use whole wheat flour in biscuits before. I sure will try these.

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  7. everything you post looks gorgeous. Your food styling and photography skills are amazing.

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  8. YUMMY! I could just reach out and take a bite!

    Enjoy!
    Cathy

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  9. Mari, these biscuits look so beautiful as does the wonderful basket and pretty linens.
    I need this post. I have such trouble making biscuits. But these look heavenly and light and melt in your mouth.
    Yvonne

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  10. Mari, your biscuits are absolutely gorgeous!

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  11. Hi Mari, are these the same as scones? They look really tall and proud. :)

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  12. Your photos are always so incredible. Like I could reach out and grab that biscuit! Delicious!

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  13. I haven't made biscuits in ages. Yours are so beautiful. I didn't know they could be so pretty.
    Sam

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  14. Beautiful biscuits. Right out of the oven, next day toasted, or even cold. They're wonderful!

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  15. I LOVE biscuits and you're right, the best are homemade. Living by myself, mixing up a batch can be dangerous to my hips, so I when company isn't comin' I bake the Southern Style frozen ones from Pillsbury. I was pleasantly surprised by how good they are.

    Did you know that leftover biscuits make a great bread pudding? May be time for me to make some homemade and I'm going to take your advice and mix in wheat flour. Thanks!

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  16. Oh my goooooosh...I love biscuits! Especially with butter and honey.

    I am so glad it's almost lunch time because you have made my stomach SING with growling! haha

    Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures of your biscuits and techniques @ Foodie Friday!

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  17. Those are the tallest biscuits I've ever seen! I might have to make some of these ;)

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  18. Mary, nothing makes me happier than biscuits. Your whole wheat biscuits looks so light and tender. Perfection.

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  19. I couldn't believe that these were whole wheat they look so tender and light

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  20. Mary, I noticed in the first photo it looked like you used whole wheat flour. Your recipe is similar to my grandmother's and I am going to try hers with subbing some whole wheat flour this weekend. Every little bit we can do to be healthier helps, n'est pas? Don't know why I haven't added whole wheat flour to the biscuits before. It seems I've done it with everything else! LOL.

    Another good use for leftover biscuits is in Southern Cornbread Dressing. My family recipe actually calls for biscuits, rather than bread.

    I wish I had one to toast for breakfast this morning. The other day I made Strawberry Mango Jam and I know it will be delish on biscuits.

    It's so good to be able to be back reading your blog!

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Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

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