Wonder if the box grater method works better when you live in a cool climate, not FL?

That recipe looks the same as the one I use, tho mine's from my James Beard Bread Book. I use butter too, and sometimes I use part extra virgin olive oil - esp. when it's to top a pot pie. I need to try that folding technique - it is certainly not in James Beard's directions!

Yes, the folding makes a big difference. I only did an envelope fold three times, but I could see even before baking, just from the way the dough handled after each one.

As for the butter, I considered that and froze it, but it still mostly stuck to the inside of the grater and had to be scraped out in more or less of a lump. And it's a bone-chilling 72 in here today. ETA And I chilled the grater.

Spring's coming! My kitchen is cold too.

Even with the cleanup, I think it's easier to use the food processor to grate the frozen butter. It doesn't clump up the way it does with a box grater or even a paddle grater.

Thanks for the report.

Thanks, Annt. It must just be cooler where you are or something, because for me, the bits that happened to fly free of the grater were fine, but most of it stuck to the inside as soon as it was grated. Not really any flakes, just a bumpy lump.

plllog, I'll try the mini processor next time, but I fear it may be the same thing, only more horizontal.

So I had to try making these, and I realize now that my recipe calls for only 3/4 cup milk, so this definitely makes a more moist dough. In fact the James Beard recipe calls for 1 cup milk to make drop biscuits.

I didn't use enough flour to coat the work surface, so the dough stuck a bit and I might've over worked it a little.

But man they were good! Very high and light. I just ate about half of them = J

Many thanks for sharing!

AnnT, please help me understand the recipe on your site. It says "1 cup of milk (cream)". Do you mean full-cream milk?

And a question: Can I use 1 cup heavy cream (38% fat) instead of milk?

Those biscuits are evil and they're calling my name!

I used light (coffee) cream and they were still very good.

I use frozen butter when grating, it works like a charm. I also spray the grater when I grate cheese, and it doesn't stick. I wonder if spraying the grater prior to grating softer butter would work?

Thanks, Jasdip. In my case both the butter and the grater were frozen overnight. But spraying might help, thanks.

Thank you AnnT. I always have heavy cream on hand, so that's what I'll use.

Jasdip, thanks for the lovely tip. Would never have occured to me to do that.

I've used cream, half and half and whole milk and they always come out fine. The cream seems to add more richness to the dough, but the others are perfectly acceptable.

Annie

I make a version of "cat head biscuits". I use a tablespoon, or a little more, of butter to each cup of flour. I find that so many biscuits are like eating pie crust in that there is so much fat in them.

I want a biscuit that is a little less rich.

Always use buttermilk and bake in a cast iron skillet and use just a small amount of sugar. They are not sweet, but the small bit of sugar just rounds out the flavor and helps the biscuit to brown nicely.

Scoop a bit of the raggedy dough into a handful and turn if once in the melted butter in the skillet. Make them big, like a cat's head. With two cups of flour I get four, or five biscuits. I put them in the skillet and they rise and bake touching each other. They come apart nicely.

I want my biscuit to be a nice bread for the meal. Too much fat and too many layers of flakey is more like a pastry than a good platform for meatloaf or to have with an egg dish.

I also rub in the butter by rubbing between my palms with the flour. I have tried the grated method and it works alright. But, then you have to wash the grater.

Those frozen biscuits in a can are horribly atrocious!!!!!! I don't understand how anyone can eat them and be happy about it.

Also, a good biscuit topping for a pot pie can be made with equal amounts of leavened and salted flour, buttermilk, and melted butter. However,I use less than an equal amount of butter in this for the same reason that I use less fat in my biscuits. Still, it makes a nice biscuit topping for anything that has a broth.

Thanks, wednesday morning.

ann_t, I sent a link to your recipe to one of the friends who went to the biscuit event with me, and he agrees--yours are the best!

Photo he just sent me:

I made these again today, they are so good. Nice and tender, my Southern husband loves them. We had them tonight with an egg casserole and some fried apples.

I grate the cold butter on a box grater, but I grate a couple of tablespoons, dump into the flour, rub it in with my fingers, then grate a couple more tablespoons, repeat. I just fold the dough a couple of times and then pat into a square and cut it into 9 square biscuits. And, in deference to his late Mother, I always use White Lily flour to make biscuits.

We'll have the rest of them tomorrow morning for breakfast, if they last that long. Any of my family that walks into the house will say "Oh, biscuits!" and head for the pantry for apple butter.

Annie

I don't know how I missed adding this to my recipe box, but I did. I just rectified that! I will have to try them because I love a good biscuit. Thanks for reminder, Annie.

You can use powdered cream if you do not keep heavy cream in stock, and this is what I use in biscuits, pancakes, and waffles. This really makes a difference in the waffles.

I use a pastry blender similar to Carol's (mine is not vintage), and I often add an egg to the biscuit dough, which is in the recipe I originally got from Ann_T twenty years ago.

I also use powdered buttermilk (or powdered milk) when baking.

Instead of folding the biscuit dough over, you and sort of cheat and press the dough into a rectangle, cut into thirds, and then stack the thirds on top of each other. I find this somewhat easier than the folding method.