Can you think of a more enticing smell than the one of freshly baked breads, rolls and biscuits? Can you think of a happier sight than a tray of biscuits emerging warm and golden from the oven? Neither can I and that’s why I woke up this morning with these biscuits in mind, using this recipe adapted from an old issue of “Bon Appétit” magazine.
These light and buttery biscuits have been part of many holiday dinners at my house. Fresh thyme and cracked pepper give these flaky biscuits a wonderful flavor. You can even make them earlier in the day and enjoy them later. The only secret is not to overwork the dough; this small detail makes all the difference between flakey and flat biscuits. Even if the original recipe calls for a food processor, I prefer to mix the dough by hand, using just a big bowl and a pastry cutter. This way, I have a better control over the mixing of dry and wet ingredients, giving them a lighter touch than you would get with a food processor.
Rolling out the dough and cutting the biscuits does not take too much time either. If you want a quicker recipe for biscuits, you can try my buttermilk drop biscuits with thyme which are available from the archives of my blog. Either way, biscuits are always a good item to have on any holiday menu!
- 2 TBSP. butter
- 2 TBSP. chopped fresh thyme
- ½ tsp. coarsely cracked black pepper
- ½ cup chilled whole milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 TBSP. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
- Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Melt 2 TBSP. butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the fresh thyme and cracked black pepper. Sautée gently until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer the thyme mixture to a small bowl. Cool slightly and then whisk in the milk and the egg. Cover and chill until mixture is cold.
- Blend flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add ¾ cup butter. Pulse the mixture in a food processor a couple of times until it resembles course meal. Add the wet ingredients. Pulse again a few more times, until moist clumps just begin to form. Be careful not to over-process. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Gather the dough and knead it very gently until it holds together, about 6 turns. Roll out dough to ½” thickness. Using 2” diameter biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Re-roll dough scraps and cut out additional biscuits, making 16 biscuits total. Transfer biscuits to large baking sheet. Bake biscuits until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
- If you wish, you can brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter, the minute they get out of the oven.
- Serve biscuits warm.
Thank you for reading this post!
If you are not already following this blog, please subscribe to Marilenas Kitchen to have all new posts delivered straight to your e-mail box!
Leave a Reply