Buttermilk Rosemary Biscuits

I am that woman who dreams of cooking holiday feasts. That’s half the reason I want so many kids – for the holiday chaos and big meals and family bickering and overall craziness. I was an only child, so this is my bizarre wish.

Other bizarre wishes may or may not include having a mini horse, making my own goat cheese, and traveling with my entire family around New Zealand in an RV. I digress.

These biscuits were inspired by both the garden and by using an old faithful, Rosemary, in a new way. I love celebrating each herb and veggie in ways that are unexpected, yet obvious. “Of course rosemary would go into buttermilk biscuits!” that is the reaction I want my biscuit-eaters to have.

Also if you want to know the FULL truth and nothing but the truth, the first time I made these, I was interrupted by my son waking from his nap an hour early, and subsequently had to refrigerate the flour and butter mixture. When I returned to resume making my biscuit dough, I had to do so while aforementioned son was dismantling a bookshelf – I mean practicing independent play time – and I opened the fridge to retrieve my bowl, causing it to fall out and spill about 1/4 of the flour butter mixture.

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Y’all. You know I only say y’all when I’m serious. Y’all, I had spoon-measured and knife cut that flour AND extra chilled the butter. This was no simple feat. So, of course I rally and estimate how to adjust the recipe with less buttermilk. And then the biscuits come out amazing, BUT I burn myself on the cast iron pan somehow. Like, kind of a bad burn on my palm. Like, I said a bad word really loudly, which helped because it hurt so bad. I can still see the burn on my hand and feel it as I type this! Oy vey. If I ever have a cookbook about baking it will be called, Bailey Bakes: A Comedy Of Delicious Errors. It’s fine. We’re fine.

For the best ever most flaky fluff Buttermilk Rosemary Biscuits:

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted very cold butter cut into cubes or sliced

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons cold buttermilk divided

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 cup minced fresh rosemary

Optional (but not): butter and honey for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Place flour, baking powder, and salt into a large food processor and pulse together a few times.
3. Add cold cold butter in chunks and pulse again several times until combined.
4. Place mixture into a large bowl and make a well in the center of the flour butter combo.
5. Pour in 1 cup of buttermilk and rosemary.
6. Combine until JUST combined – do not over mix. Dough will be sort of crumbly but still stuck together.
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and mold gently into a med/large rectangle. DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH. Fold the left and right side on to each other – like a trifold letter. gently flatten and then repeat the folding three more times. This is how you get the flaky layers.
8. Use a rolling pin to flatten dough until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter (mine was about 3 inches) and DO NOT twist the cutter. Just shimmy it if need be, but the right dough consistency will pull right up.
9. Brush remaining buttermilk onto biscuit tops. I added a rosemary spring to some tops as well, before buttermilking my tops – so cute.
10. Place all rounds into a cast iron skillet touching each other. Biscuits rise best when snuggled close (don’t we all?). Bake for 15 mins or until tops are just barely golden brown.
11. Enjoy warm with butter and honey.