November 24th: Make ahead snack: Biscuits

Verdict:
Try Again: freezer biscuits

Again, in preparation for perhaps not wanting to cook this week, I made and froze three types of biscuit dough over the last couple weekends from Cook's Illustrated: Freezer Biscuits.

This recipe spurned me to purchase something I've been missing from my kitchen supplies: a biscuit cutter. I have been making biscuits for at least ten years, always using a drinking glass to cut the dough. I'm a worrier. One of my worries when making biscuits is the closed top of the glass: does it somehow affect the biscuit and make it less than perfect, taste- or texture-wise? Problem solved, as I now own not one, but two biscuit cutters! They are the same size, so redundant, but they came in a pack of two, and they are nice, heavy, stainless steel ones that can go in the dishwasher, which is a BIG selling point in this household. Shannon can attest to this. I think we annoyed her when she lived with us, with our "everything that can go in the dishwasher will go in the dishwasher" mantra.


The dough is so tasty, Olivia and I ate a lot of the scraps from the biscuit-pressing process. The whipping cream lends itself to richness of character, and it's so simple! Here's O, whisking the dry ingredients in the chive version:

Look at that index finger. What technique!

Here is the finished product:

L-R: chive, Cheddar, plain

Here is the recipe:

Freezer Biscuits

6 cups flour, plus more for work surface
2 tbsps each sugar and baking powder
1 1/2 tsps salt
4 1/2 cups whipping cream

Line large baking sheet with parchment; set aside. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in cream with a wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and gather into ball. Knead dough briefly until smooth, about 60 seconds, adding extra flour as needed if dough is too sticky.

Pat dough into 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut out biscuits using biscuit cutter, trying to cut as many biscuits as possible without reworking dough. Lay biscuits on prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Gather up scraps of dough and knead briefly to combine, then repeat process. Discard (or eat!) remaining dough.

Place baking sheet in freezer and freeze biscuits until solid, about 6 hours. Transfer biscuits to bag or container and freeze for up to 1 month. Do not thaw before baking.

Bake from frozen at 450°F for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot.

Makes 24 biscuits.

Variations:

Cheddar cheese freezer biscuits

Toss 6 ounces Cheddar cheese, cut into rough 1/4-inch pieces, into flour mixture before adding whipping cream.

Herb freezer biscuits

Whisk 6 tbsps minced fresh mild herbs (chives, dill) or 3 tbsps minced fresh hearty herbs (thyme, rosemary) into flour mixture before adding whipping cream.

I made 1/3 the recipe (about 8 biscuits), 3 times and tried each variation, for a total of 24 biscuits. I really liked the plain and the Cheddar, but didn't dig the chive so much. Maybe another herb would be more suitable.