Cream Biscuits

Admittedly, I normally just use Jiffy mix for my biscuits when Thanksgiving rolls around. I thought that this year I would try a homemade recipe, see how they compare to Jiffy mix. Naturally, Jiffy mix is easier, but this was quite tasty. They were light and fluffy, and broke in half without a knife or fork. Definitely an awesome recipe! We like biscuits. A lot. Especially when they go with gravy. Yum!


Cream Biscuits
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, sugar, bnaking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds. The key is to work the dough as little as possible. The more you mix, the more you develop the protein in the flour, which leads to a tough biscuit.
2. Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet. The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Homemade Garlic Bread

My mom used to make garlic bread every time we had spaghetti at our house when I was growing up. When I became an adult, I discovered the ease of frozen garlic bread, which you can't beat, when you live by yourself. I got so used to frozen garlic bread that I kind of forgot about making homemade garlic bread. Until I happened to shop at Sweet Bay one day and spotted Italian bread - a bread that the Publix bakery seems to no longer carry. I picked it up and brought it home to make some yummy homemade garlic bread. This recipe comes straight from my mother, and is a sure-fire hit. This is one you'll make over and over and over again. And even though I make it over and over again, my family continually polishes it off before I can manage to take a picture of it.

Garlic Bread
16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
2 tsp garlic powder
1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Make the butter, garlic, parsley mixture as above.
3. Make 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not go all the way through, just to the bottom crust. Put a teaspoon or two of the butter mixture between each slice.
4. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and heat for 15 minutes in the oven.

NOTE: You can also toast the bread, if you'd rather - you can cut the bread in half, rather than in slices, lay on a cookie sheet on top of some aluminum foil, smear the garlic butter all over both sides, and then put in a 400 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the amount of browning you'd like.

Printable recipe

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

I love Red Lobster's Cheddar Garlic Biscuits. Those things are awesome. Surely, they are horrible for you, but every time we go to Red Lobster (which is kind of rare, since Husband isn't huge on seafood), we chow down on these biscuits. I've tried many copycat recipes over the years, and when I saw a copycat recipe in the Food Network Magazine recently, I knew I had to try it.

I wasn't as impressed by these biscuits as I wanted to be. I wanted to be blown away, and I wasn't. The texture was definitely spot-on, but it needed more garlic flavor to be authentic. I think next time, I would possibly add some garlic powder to the biscuit batter, and possibly a second garlic clove to the garlic butter for garlic butter.

And on a side note, this is my 300th post! Yippee!! And I almost have 100 followers! Time for the happy dance!

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

adapted from the Food Network Magazine, October 2009 issue

For the biscuits:

Cooking spray

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening at room temp

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

6 oz grated yellow cheddar cheese (about 1 1/4 cups)

3/4 cup whole milk

For the garlic butter:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425. Lightly mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Make the biscuits; Pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and pulse until combined. Add the butter; pulse 4 or 5 times, or until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add the cheese and pulse 2 or 3 times. Pour in the milk and pulse just until the mixture is moistened and forms a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and gently knead until the dough comes together. Do not overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

3. Drop the dough onto the baking sheet in scant 1/4 cup portions, 2 inches apart and bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the garlic butter. Melt the butter with the garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Brush the biscuits with the garlic butter and serve warm.

Click here for printable recipe

Soft and Easy Garlic Knots

Garlic bread and rolls are one of my most favorite things. Whenever I make pasta, there has to be garlic bread along with it, even if it is frozen. I've tried my hand at making garlic bread the way my mother used to growing up, but it's been a long time since I've tried, and my attempt was beyond pathetic.

Soft and Easy Garlic Knots
Printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients for the dough:
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 ¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup milk
1 cup + 2 tbsp. lukewarm water

Ingredients for the glaze:
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. melted butter
½ tsp. Italian seasoning

To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients. Add the olive oil, milk and water. Mix until ingredients have formed a dough. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Dust your hands with flour and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10 inch long rope and tie into a knot. Take the end lying underneath the knot and bring it over the top, tucking it into the center. Take the end lying over the knot and tuck it underneath and into the center. Transfer shaped rolls to a baking stone, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, until puffy.

To make the glaze, finely mince the garlic. Melt the butter, and mix melted butter, garlic, and Italian seasoning together.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush the glaze onto the shaped rolls. Bake until set and lightly browned, about 15-18 minutes.

Then consume until you're stuffed! These garlic knots are delicious, although I may experiment with the garlic flavor next time, and add some garlic powder to give the knots a little more garlic punch. Even my munchkin really enjoyed these rolls, and he's a bit of a garlic bread connoisseur - he will turn his nose up at a couple of brands of frozen garlic bread that aren't very good. The best part about the knots is that they're easy to make, and take very little time and effort.