Cream Biscuits

I made these to go with Grandma B's Chicken A La King.  Chris' mom typically bakes up a can of Pillsbury Grands biscuits when she serves this but leave it to me to want to try something a little more homemade.  This though, was very fast and easy to throw together!  I only baked half a batch.

Overall I was pleased with the way that these tasted alone/with butter.  They taste like a good biscuit that you'd use for like...biscuits and gravy or a breakfast sandwich.  As a base for the Chicken A La King versus what we're used to though, it fell a little flat....literally!  It didn't bake up nearly as fluffy or flaky as a Grands biscuit.  Probably because there wasn't any butter in the batter!  I was also lazy and just dropped tablespoons full of batter onto the cookie sheet instead of rolling and then cutting into perfect little rounds.  I read later that the little bit of kneading can really add some oomph (as in height) to the biscuit so I'm going to leave the original roll/cut instructions in but just know you CAN be lazy like me (and it'll turn out but maybe not quite AS good as intended).

I would make these again but like I said I'd use them for a different type of application.

Cream Biscuits
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Yields: 10-12 dozen biscuits

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream*

*Note: You can probably get away with using milk but it won't be as rich of a biscuit.   If you do substitute, start with half the amount and then add more if needed.  Milk is much thinner than cream so in this application I don't think you can do a 1:1 substitution.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside.
3. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.
4. Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds.
5. Dip or brush the top of each round in/with melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. (Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.)

Source: From James Beard’s American Cookery as adapated by and seen on Smitten Kitchen