We're big fans of breakfast in this house. Every weekend morning you'll find us tucking into pancakes, waffles, or biscuits, or maybe bacon and omelets, and of course big pots of tea and coffee to wash it down. A few years ago I finally learned to make my mom's biscuit recipe, and now I make these almost every week. My mom, on the other hand, really only pulled out the biscuits on special occasions, so I never realized just how easy they are. The part of this recipe that takes the longest is waiting for the oven to get hot enough!

It's also a great use of all the buttermilk we always have lying around. My mom's original recipe called for Crisco and milk, but I have updated it with fresh butter and buttermilk, which makes a rich but fluffy biscuit perfect for slathering with butter or jam (or topping with gravy, as I am inclined to do on occasion.)



This recipe makes about 16 biscuits, so I usually do a half recipe. I have tried freezing the biscuit dough after it's been cut into rounds, but this seems to result in flat, dense biscuits, so I don't recommend it.

Buttermilk Biscuits

1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 to 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With a fork or pastry blender (or your fingers) cut the butter into the flour. Work until you obtain pea-size bits. Stir in the buttermilk by degrees. Stop adding when dough just comes together.

Combine with your fingers just until the dry bits are incorporated, then press the dough into a 1/2 inch thick sheet. Cut into circles with a cookie cutter or small glass. Arrange side by side on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes at 475ºF, then lower the heat and bake another 7-8 minutes at 450ºF. Serve hot with lots of butter and jam.