I grew up in a Poppin’ Fresh family. My mother was not a baker, and had no desire to be one. On those occasions when biscuits came into play, she bought a roll of Pillsbury dough and asked one of us kids to give it that dough-bursting whack on the countertop. She did make plenty of other comfort foods, but hot biscuits with drizzled honey and Chicken ‘n Dumplings were not among them.
Flash forward a couple decades to a summer trip visiting Fran. Bees are buzzing and the screen door bangs open and shut as our kids race between the kitchen and the back yard. Fran has been up much earlier than anyone else, making waffles and probably granola and homemade ice cream and marinades and quinoa salads and about a dozen other things, all before I’ve poured a single cup of coffee. This gal can multi-task.
As I stand in the kitchen, slowly waking up, Fran says “My brother’s stopping by with his new baby in an hour. I’m jumping in the shower—can you make a quick batch of biscuits for him and his wife to take home?” A well-worn recipe sits on the counter, and in a wink Fran is gone. I don’t remember what kind of biscuits I cobbled together that morning, but I do remember they were herby and light, made the kitchen smell delicious, and were surprisingly easy to make. No special skills required, only Fran’s foolproof recipe (and some good buttermilk).
Like me, Jackie Garvin didn’t always know how to make real biscuits, but after starting her blog, Syrup and Biscuits, she “had the good sense to know that if I publish a blog with biscuit in the name, I’d better figure out how to include a biscuit recipe.” And not just your basic buttermilk fluffies, but every biscuity concoction you can think of, like maple cinnamon rolls and hand pies, hushpuppies and tea cakes, pots pies and pizza crusts.
When I see that Poppin’ Fresh package in the grocery store, I still get a little pang of nostalgia, but now I’ve seen the light (and smelled the coffee, and cooked the biscuits). No special skills required, just a good recipe on hand.
— Shelly
Biscuits
Sweet and Savory Southern Recipes for the All-American Kitchen
by Jackie Garvin
Photographs by Jackie Garvin
Skyhorse Publishing
- 2 cups self-rising soft winter wheat flour
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 1 cup half-and-half
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Mix flour, garlic powder and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Stir in cheese and parsley. Cut in butter until flour resembles coarse meal.
- Make a well in the flour and pour in half-and-half. Stir until flour is wet and sticky. Turn out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle dough with enough flour to keep it from being sticky. Sprinkle flour on top and gently knead until dough is no longer sticky, adding flour as needed.
- Roll out to 1-inch thick. Dip 2½-inch biscuit cutter into flour. Cut biscuits. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray or covered with a baking mat. Brush tops with cooking oil.
- Bake at 450° in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Excerpted with permission from Biscuits: Sweet and Savory Southern Recipes for the All-American Kitchen by Jackie Garvin. Copyright 2015, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
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