One of the very first
recipes I ever remember making were my Gramma’s baking powder biscuits. Back in the 90’s my Grandfather gathered up
all of Gramma’s recipes, typed them all out, created an index, and placed them
into giant binders to ship out to all of their children and grandchildren.
Throughout the last 20 years each binder has grown and become unique to it’s
owner. When I visit my Aunt’s house, she
has little notes she’s made in the margins and added pages of recipes that have
been passed onto her from friends, cut out of her favourite magazines, and
newer recipes that have been personally passed on from Gramma. My little cousin’s earmarked all of the jam
recipes in her book and started up her very own jam business on Vancouver
Island. Though I adore all of the recipes I’ve tried
from the family recipe binder, this recipe is hands down the most adored page
in my book.
I’ve made these
biscuits/scones probably hundreds of times throughout my life, in every
variation under the sun. In addition to
this cheddar version, this summer alone I’ve made them into fire roasted
jalapeno cheddar scones, raspberry scones, plain biscuits, and even
dumplings. This recipe could very well
be the most versatile recipe in my entire collection!
Recipe makes 8 large
biscuits/scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 5 tbsp butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup whipping cream (or milk, though cream really is
better for this recipe)
Directions
Preheat oven to
425ºF.
Add dry ingredients to
a large bowl, and cut in the butter with either a butter knife, pastry cutter,
or your hands (I prefer the hands on method).
Add grated cheddar.
Beat eggs until
frothy, then mix them with the whipping cream. Add this liquid mixture to the
dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible.
For a traditional scone shape:
Pat the dough
into a pie shaped piece (again handling the dough as little as
possible). Using a sharp knife, cut the
dough into 8 separate pieces (just like you would a pie) and pat each piece
into shape. Place on a greased baking
sheet being careful to space out so they don’t stick together as they bake.
For rolled bicuits:
Gently roll the dough
onto a floured surface, using a well floured rolling pin. Cut the biscuits using a pastry cutter or
glass with a sharp rim, then place on baking sheet.
For rustic looking biscuits:
Separate the dough
into 8 equal pieces and drop onto baking sheet.
Bake for preheated
oven for approx. 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow to cool for 2-3
minutes, then remove from baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool
further.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Wow! What a treasure that binder of recipes is. You are so lucky to have that! These cheddar scones look just perfect. I will have to try them. Thank you for sharing your Gramma's recipes!
ReplyDeleteMy grandma holds a special place in my heart too. Your grandma's biscuits are lovely and must be so good! It's beautiful that they live in the recipes we make that were theirs.
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