The Biscuit Method

Alton Brown's cookbook I'm Just Here For More Food is broken up in chapters by baking method, not by types of baked goods like cookies, cakes, pies, and breads. He has the muffin method of throwing everything in a bowl, the creaming method (a recipe I'll write about later this week), plus others including the biscuit method. The difference here is that you mix all the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter, also like a pie crust, then mix in the wet ingredients. Pat it out, cut it up and bake it.

Last week I made two different things using the biscuit method. The first was for Father's Day- cheddar chive biscuits. The recipe was a combination of about five of Martha Stewart's recipes for different types of biscuits, but I knew I wanted herbs and cheddar and there wasn't one that combined the two the way I wanted. So I mixed the flour, salt, baking powder like a normal recipe then added a little smoked paprika, chile powder, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped fresh chives. Then I cut in the butter and mixed in buttermilk. I patted it out and cut it up and baked it just until they started to brown. They were so good! Perfect to go with a savory brunch or any kind of dinner. They were slightly salty, cheesey, oniony, and spicy. And they were a delicious moist biscuit.

The second thing I made was this past weekend, I whipped up some lemon poppy seed scones for a couple bridal functions I was going to. Again, I couldn't find a recipe from Martha that was exactly what I wanted so I used the recipe from http://www.marthastewart.com/341387/lemon-cream-scones for lemon cream scones and added a couple tablespoons of poppy seeds to the dry goods. And I don't think I added as much zest as the recipe called for so I added half a lemon's worth of juice. I know the acidity of the lemon juice would cause a chemical reaction with the baking powder and it would make them rise more and be fluffier inside. They turned out pretty good. The recipe called for eggs, which is a little odd for the biscuit method, so they turned out a little cakey but they tasted good and looked great.

The biscuit method is super easy, always quick, and the only way you can really mess is up if you follow the directions is by mixing it too much. I even whipped up a pie crust yesterday and it only took 10 minutes max.