Buttermilk Biscuits

Time for me to actually start posting recipes! Now I would have thought that I would start with something like cupcakes(cupcakes!!) or cookies but this ended up being next on the things I need to bake list. I had some buttermilk left over from a chocolate cake I had made and I didn't want it to just go to waste. So I thought biscuits would be a nice way to go.

I searched around and found a nice recipe on Canadian Livings website and while I was intimated by the "cut in butter" part they turned out quite nice! The boyfriend really liked them as well so its going on the to bake a again list. I'll probably play around with it as well, see what kind of goodies I can include!

Buttermilk Biscuits   (makes 12 biscuits)
From Canadian Living

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs*. Whisk buttermilk with egg; stir into flour mixture with fork to make soft dough.

With lightly floured hands, press dough into ball. On lightly floured surface, knead gently 10 times. Pat into 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick round. Using floured 2-1/2-inch (6 cm) round cutter, cut into rounds. Place on parchment paper-lined or floured rimless baking sheet. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. (I found mine good at 12 minutes BUT start checking the bottoms of the biscuits at about 11 minutes. The bottoms can darken/burn and you not even realize it till its too late.**)

Topping: Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar. (I used about 1-1/2 tbsp of butter)

Notes/Tips
*) "Cut butter in" - I googled this and you can do it with a kitchen aid mixer(which I don't have) or use two knives. I started with two knives and just started cutting up the cubes into some bits mixing into the flour mixture. Then I got my handy dandy little whisk  and just kind smushed down on it. The thing you need to remember is that you need to leave pearls/beads of butter behind in the "crumbs".
**) I broke my batch up in two trays and cooked separately as my oven can be tricky when cooking on two different racks. The 2nd tray had a few bottoms, not burned, but dark enough to taste. Unless you like that kind of thing check your bottoms!