Okay, here they are – BACK by popular demand … my fantastic baking powder biscuits.  

I’ve tried out a new technique …. folding the dough.  Pat into a rectangular shape and then fold into 3 (like folding a letter into an envelope), pat out into another rectangular shape and repeat.  You can literally see the folded dough, and just look at those flaky layers!  Finish with a little melted butter and sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked pepper before baking.

Once you get this down pat you will rely on these biscuits for anything from a summer morning with fresh peach jam or a winter evening served with a family favourite – chili, soup, stew … every household has their own comfort dinner!

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 1 egg
• almost 1 cup milk or buttermilk

Stir dry ingredients to blend and then with pastry blender, or 2 forks, blend in 1/2 cup cold butter (my tip: freeze the butter for 15 min ahead of time, and use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter – instant flakes of butter)

Lightly beat 1 egg in a 1 cup measure, then stir in enough milk to reach the 1 cup mark.

With a fork, stir the egg/milk mixture into the dry ingredients – only enough to have it start to hold together.  Turn onto floured surface and … oh so gently … without overmixing … pat it together, and then into a solid shape, about 1 inch or so in height.  Using floured biscuit cutter (or your favorite glass) cut out shapes and place on floured baking sheet.

These are so flexible – if you want to add any herbs, or cheese – do so at the dry ingredient stage.  Go ahead and experiment – makes these your own family favorite!

To guarantee extra tall, fluffy biscuits, pop them into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.  The combination of hot oven and cold butter creates magic!

Bake at 400 for 15 – 20 minutes (depending on your oven – check it at 15) until lightly golden and very fluffy!