Fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits

Winter seems to be the "season" for breads!  It must be the blanket of snow out our windows that makes us crave a kitchen that is warm with the oven on and the smell of fresh breads coming out of the oven.

Here in central Alberta, Canada, we had a crazy cold snap in December.  We're talking minus 40s (both celsius and farenheit) for over a week!  Our time outside was spent giving the animals "fresh sheets" (as we call it - putting in fresh straw bedding),  thawing frozen water troughs & hoses, thawing propane nozzles for the farm store, and making sure the animals had lots of feed to warm their bellies.  Our time inside was spent baking biscuits every couple of days, cozying up on the couches, reading books, and going to bed early as the house cooled off.  I'm beyond thankful that the weather has decided to warm up and we're taking in as much time outside while the temperatures reach for above freezing the next few days.  I'm sure a cold snap will be back again this winter ... which means more biscuits!

This biscuit recipe is simple to mix up and cooks up quickly.  From start to finish, these can be on the table in 30 minutes.  It's a great way to prep a "bread" in the morning or while your soup is simmering.

A couple of tips to biscuits:

• make sure the butter is cold - even pop it in the freezer if you have time
• use a cheese grater or a metal potato masher to cut the butter into small pieces for quick mixing
• mix ONLY until just incorporated - too much manipulation will melt the butter and make your biscuits less fluffy
• you can use a wide mouth mason jar to cut the biscuits out

We love our biscuits plain so that we can doctor them up however we like - peanut butter & jam for some, just butter for others.  But you can definitely add other morsels to the batter such as cheese, bacon, green onion, garlic, or herbs.  Just add them to the flour mixture before you add your milk - this will help you from overmixing the batter.

Fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits with Buttermilk Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Optional:  chopped bacon or ham, grated cheddar, diced green onion, garlic, herbs
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 1 1/2 buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tablespoon removed and 1 tablespoon white vinegar added)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Add butter to the bowl and "cut" in with a pastry blender or potato masher.  You can also use a food processor and "pulse" to break up the butter.  You will cut the butter in until the butter is in pebble sized pieces.

If adding bacon, cheese, or other fillings, add them to the flour mixture now.

Add the buttermilk and mix with a spoon until the flour is just mixed in.

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1 inch thick.  You can use a rolling pin or use your hands to press the dough out evenly.

Use a round cookie cutter or a glass that's about 2 to 3 inches wide to cut the dough into rounds.  Transfer the rounds to a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 450F for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden brown.  If you have couple of pans of biscuits, swap them from top to bottom rack partway through the time.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool.

Best served warm!

Cut your biscuits in half and top with Lazuli Farms bacon slices, fried egg, and cheese for a classic biscuit breakfast sandwich!