A Lesson From My Mother - Biscuits 101

I make crappy biscuits. My mother, on the other hand, makes wonderful ones. Hers are always soft and flakey. They pull apart in wonderful layers, just waiting for butter to melt on top of them. Mine are like hockey pucks. I've decided that the only way to improve my biscuit making is a lesson from the master.

Before we started, she gave me some pointers. Always put the butter in the freezer before using and make sure your milk is as cold as possible. She also pointed out that I should make great pastry because my hands are always cold as ice. I guess some people have a hard time making good pastry because their hands are too warm and it melts the butter. Who knew my lack of circulation would be good for something!

I've been craving dill and cheddar since we had a test meal at the Shaw Conference Centre a couple of weeks ago. They served the most wonderful dill and cheddar scones and I thought I might give dill and cheddar biscuits a shot

The measurements are close guestimations of what she used, since she just eyeballed her measurements

Dill and Cheddar Biscuits

Makes 6 biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup grated frozen butter

3/4 cup cold milk

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Then add the dill and cheddar cheese and mix thoroughly. Add the frozen butter to the dry ingredients and mix gently until the butter is covered in the flour mixture.

Add the milk stirring with a fork until it forms a ragged dough. Turn the mixture out on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it just comes together. The dough will still be quite floury. Pat the dough into a rectangular shap and to a thickness of about a 3/4 inch. Cut the dough into 6 square or use a biscuit cutter to make rounds. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 425 F for 10 - 12 minutes.

Pull out the butter and enjoy immediately!