Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits With Honey Butter

There's an epidemic happening people.  And a war is being waged against us in households across the world.  I don't know when the war against butter started, but I aim to settle it.  I've entered the war zone and I'm beginning my fight in the name of butter-lovers everywhere.

I’m constantly getting grief from the guy I’m dating about the use of butter in my recipes.  Something tells me he might be in future entries, so I’ll call him Thing 1 for now.  I’m sure he would object.  “Do you have to use so much butter?”  “Gimme the English Muffin with the least amount of butter on it.”  “MY GOD, how much butter do you go through in a week?” 

So my first order of business as the self-elected Butter Commissioner is to make a batch of my mom’s delicious, buttermilk biscuits.  And here’s our ingredients.  They are: 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup whole buttermilk (I wouldn’t use 2% if I were you, but to each his own.), 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup of the aforementioned butter (very cold, cut into small chunks) and about a 1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.   Use a pastry cutter (or 2 forks as my mom did) to cut in the shortening until it looks like cornmeal.  It will start out like this:

 And end up looking like this:

Now, add the buttermilk, a little at a time, stirring constantly until well mixed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead lightly two or three times.  Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin to 1/2-inch thickness.  Cut with a 2-inch cutter.

Place your biscuits onto a greased cookie sheet. Here's the big secet.  Brush each biscuit top with buttermilk.  Instead of a flat, dull biscuit top you will have a glossy, slightly crisp top.  You could also brush with melted butter, but I prefer the color the buttermilk makes.  Perfectly golden.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12-16 minutes.  Most recipes I have seen out there call for about 12 minutes, but I’ve found I need 15-16 minutes.

And finally….the honey butter.  Mix ¼ cup of softened butter with 1 tablespoon of honey.  Mix with a spoon or spatula.  Smear it on shamelessly.

There is nothing healthy about a biscuit and I write that with a heavy heart because growing up my Alabama born and raised mother made these biscuits for me many Saturday mornings.  And they were so good.  She just had the touch.  I’m not one to dole out cooking tips.  I mean, what do I know?!  But if I’ve learned one thing in the kitchen and from my mom, it is this: Use real butter.  Everything you make will taste better! 

I’ve learned to substitute out on occasion certain ingredients in an effort not do die before I can receive my senior citizen discount.  Because I’ve been looking forward to that for years.  I’ve used turkey instead of pork, low sodium instead of full throttle, low sugar instead of high, but by god I will always use real BUTTER!