The best biscuit is the Bestcuit.
And again I ask you: who doesn't love biscuits? (The answer is no one. No one doesn't love biscuits.)
Thus I’ve been on the lookout for the best biscuit recipe -- the Bestcuit, if you will. Assisting in the taste-testing is my boyfriend John, who doesn’t just love biscuits. He lurvs them.
John grew up along America’s Biscuit Belt: Texas and North Carolina, but mostly Kentucky, which, tbh, I always assumed was 1000% rural because I’m ignorant.
So when I talk about homemade head cheese and baling hay and the hog pen out back of my high school and he looks at me like I’m wearing an ugly wig, I have to check myself before I wreck myself, so to speak. John is from Lexington, Kentucky, which is a big city. It has sidewalks on the streets (which is more than I can say for my hometown); it has Thai restaurants (again, more than I can say for my hometown); and Google Maps goes there (DS al fine).
All this is to say that John has probably eaten as many biscuits as I have, and therefore passes the biscuit-testing bar. So when we tried Baking Illustrated's Cream Biscuits recipe, we were pleased. But then when I modified it by using brown sugar instead of white, and substituting half the all-purpose flour with cake flour, we went over the moon and came back again for more delicious biscuits.
We had found the Bestcuit.
This recipe makes a fluffy, buttery biscuit that’s ever-so darkly sweet (brown sugar, baby). Not as tangy or chewy as its popular cousin, the buttermilk biscuit, this li’l biscuie keeps well and is soooo versatile. Fresh from the oven with butter and jam, it’s melt-in-your-mouth perfection. Second day, it is a bit denser, but still soft, crumbly, and flavor-rich — it reminds me of a cakier shortbread cookie.
Just-baked and left to cool just slightly is my favorite. Give it some country cachet with white or redeye gravy, or slice and stuff to create a yummy biscuit sandwich. Blueberry compote, fresh nectarine, and smoky bacon? Yes ma’am. Or what about pepper jelly on one side, apricot preserves on the other, with scrambled eggs and blueberry pork sausage in between? Holy cow. It’s a little sweet, a little heat, some salty savoriness and big butter flavor.
Welcome to Valhalla.
yours,
aa
Bestcuits, alias Cream Biscuits, adapted from Baking Illustrated
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Makes approx. 9 Bestcuits
Recommended pairing: Coffeeeeeeeee
What you’ll need
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. cake flour
2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ c. heavy cream
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and adjust rack to upper middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour most of the cream (about 1 ¼ c.) into the bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough ball forms. Scoop onto a floured cutting board, leaving behind dry bits. One tablespoon at a time, add the cream to the dry bits left in the bowl. Mix until they are the consistency of your dough ball. Turn out onto cutting board. (If your dough still isn’t coming together, add cream to the ball a little at a time. Your board will get kinda sticky, but go with it -- just add a touch more flour to cover the tacky bits.)
Once your dough is sticking together, roll it into a circle, about ½” tall. Using a biscuit cutter or a 3” diameter glass with a floured rim,* cut out biscuits and put them on the parchment-lined sheet, about 1” apart. Bake until biscuits have risen and tops are golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm. Can be stored in a sealed container up to 3 days.
ps. You can add cool things like ¾ c. shredded cheddar or chopped bacon to your flour mixture before you incorporate the cream. This will make your Bestcuits pretty much invincible. Turn up the volume on this Bestcuit party with some fresh or dried herbs (a heaping tbsp. should do ya).
*I learned this trick from my mom! To flour your glass rim, wet the edge, then roll in the flour.
