Biscuits rule, period.  Sadly, I didn’t always know this. Yeah, it’s true.  Even though I was born in the South and was raised by parents who spent most of their youth in the South, biscuits weren’t part of my childhood. This is mainly due to the fact that my mother was not much of a baker and, in general, my parents are not huge fans of Southern food.  In fact, my first real introduction to biscuits was a random trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken—and from then on, I was hooked.  Yes, I’ll proudly say that KFC has some pretty glorious biscuits. Everyday after tennis practice, on my way home, I’d go through the drive-thru and order two biscuits with honey and butter.  It was heaven in a to-go bag.

These biscuits are also heaven, even though they’re nothing like KFC’s biscuits. I’ll even go so far to say that these are better–much better.  Don’t believe me? Well, here are a few reasons why my biscuits stomp the KFC competition.

#1 All of the ingredients in my biscuits are pronounceable.

#2 These biscuits aren’t meal-specific.  You can have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even for a random snack, if you like.  They’re like um…a unisex shirt, or a shirt that’s ‘size fits all.’  I love when stuff is like that.

#3 They have cheese in them.  The end.

Verdict: I win!

Buttermilk Cheddar Jalapeño Biscuits

Recipe adapted by Barefoot Contessa

Print this recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken

1 cold extra-large egg

1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar

1 jalapeño, deseeded with membrane removed, chopped

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk

Maldon sea salt, optional

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.

Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork. With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened. In a small bowl, mix the Cheddar with small handful of flour and, with the mixer still on low, add the cheese to the dough. Mix only until roughly combined.

Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 10 by 5 inches. With a sharp, floured knife, cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with salt, if using, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot or warm.

For the past few weeks, everything I’ve made has been “fall” food.  First there was this, and then these…and then this.  I’m guessing that autumn feels pretty appreciated by me…or totally exploited.  Either way, I’m not done with fall.  I have more up my sleeve. So fall, forgive me, because I’m going to use you as long as I can. Everyone, please meet my new food crush: Sweet Potato Scones.

Don’t scones make you feel classy?! I’ve always associated them with High Tea…and wearing fancy white gloves, and maybe, even being snooty enough to point my pinky straight in the air as I sip tea.  I know, I know, I think this might just be my Jane Austen obsession coming into play, but whatever.

I think it’s this very association that makes everyone  so intimidated by scones, that they’d rather opt for half-stale ones at the chain coffee shop (I’m not naming names but you know who I’m talking about) than make them.  But seriously, I have a secret: These were super simple.  So no reason to fret.

Sure, these might look like normal looking scones; the typical square shape, thickness and the light golden brown color might lead you to believe they’re just a standard scone you might find anywhere.  But what you might not see, at first glance, are the specs of orange…do you see them? Do you?  Well if you don’t, then just have faith that they’re there, because it’s those specs that make these scones magical.  They have every taste of fall that you’d ever want:  a hint of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon and the flavor of comfort that you’ll only find in a sweet potato.

The trick with scones is that the butter must be cold and stay chilled until they reach the oven. It’s the chilled butter that makes them puff up and look so cute, this means that you must work quickly.  There, that wasn’t so bad, right?  Again, the trick to cute little scones: cold butter.  If you master that down, you’re set.  So go get your fancy white gloves on and lets eat some freakin’ scones.

Sweet Potato Scones

Recipe by Rebecca Rather in the book The Pastry Queen Christmas

3 orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 3/4lb.)
4 cups of all-purpose flour
½ cup of sugar
1 ½ tablespoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized slices
½ cup of heavy whipping cream
½ cup of buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prick the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork and bake them on a prepared baking sheet until tendered for 30-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them cool to touch, about 10 minutes.  Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh and place in a medium mixing bowl, and lightly mash with a fork.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until cool, at least 20 minutes. (Warm potatoes will melt the cold butter, keeping the scones from attaining their optimum lightness and tenderness.)

Increase the oven temperature to 425F.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Use your hands or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the dough is crumbly and contains lumps the size of small peas. Add the cooled sweet potatoes and 1/4 cup of the cream and lightly stir into the flour mixture.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cream and the buttermilk and stir until just mixed. Do not overwork the dough.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.  Lightly coat your hands with flour and form the dough into a 3/4 inch-thick rectangle.  Cut the dough into 6 squares (I cut a lot more). Bake on an un-greased baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are a light golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack for cooling.

My love for biscuits started as a young lad.  My mother was adamant that every night–no matter what was going on–we sat, as a family, and had dinner.  Since it was the way things were, I usually looked forward to it, unless of course, I was watching something awesome on television like…My So-Called Life or Roswell, in which case I would grumble at the sound of my mother calling me in to the kitchen.  She didn’t really trust my brother and I to do too much; the only tasks she asked of us were to set the table, make a salad, which till this day I still hate, and/or make biscuits.

Now you’re thinking to yourself, Homemade biscuits? Kids?! Oh no, we were totally content with the Pillsbury pre-made biscuits that came in the canned roll…you know, the kind where you peel the paper back and crack open the cylinder by slamming it on the side of the counter, then you’d peel the biscuits apart and stick ‘em in the oven for 10 minutes.  Those were the kinds of biscuits we were into. Homemade biscuits didn’t exist.  My parents were too busy shuffling my brother and I to and from various practices, schools, club meetings and so on. But that was then. 

Now, they would scoff at such a thing; you see my parents begin their day by baking french bread at the break of dawn.  Yes, fresh french bread–it’s no joke.

A few weeks ago, I was over Caroline’s house and brought over some buttermilk I had in my fridge (I figured we could do something cool with it).  I was thumbing through one of her ten thousand cookbooks and came across a classic recipe for biscuits and remembered my fondness for them.  I had never actually made real, homemade, classic buttermilk biscuits.  And to my surprise, they were easy breezy.  You can actually make these, flash freeze the dough and bake ‘em up whenever you want fresh, warm biscuits for dinner.  It’s basically the homemade version to the Pillsbury ones I ate as a kid–just as easy, sans preservatives.  

Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

Recipe from Better Homes & Garden Cookbook

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup butter, diced and chilled
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Working quickly, throw butter into flour mix and work it in with your hands until little balls form.

Make a well in the center of the flour/butter mixture and add butter milk all at once. With a large spoon stir mixture quickly, just until it’s blended and begins to mass and form a sticky dough.  (If dough appears super dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional buttermilk.)

Immediately turn dough onto a generously floured surface.  Using floured hands, knead briskly 8 to 10 times until cohesive ball of dough forms. Gently flatten dough with hands to even thickness. Using a floured rolling pin, lightly roll dough to a 3/4-inch thickness.

Note: I’m pathetic and totally botched the measuring process.  I measured wrong and they came out a bit thin.  Make sure to grab a ruler and measure them out to 3/4 of an inch.  You want ‘em pretty and tall.

You can use a 2 1/2 or 3 inch biscuit cutter.  I just used a pint glass from The Onion. Whatever works for you.  Cut the biscuits out and arrange on heavy baking sheet.  Try to get as many as you can out of the first roll.  Gather the excess dough and roll out again and cut more biscuits.  I’d discard the excess dough after the second roll out because they’ll turn out tough and chewy.

Place on upper third of oven and bake for 8 to 12 minutes until crusty and golden brown.  Remove and enjoy with your favorite jam.