Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Fresh baked goods are one of the greatest things ever, in my humble opinion. So, whenever I have a moment to whip up a fresh batch of anything, I go for it.

These Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits are totally amazing. The recipe is a Barefoot Contessa from her cookbook called "Back to Basics."

Now, buttermilk is not an ingredient I have on the ready like ever. But, you can make up your own buttermilk substitute on the fly with regular old milk and a lemon. Simply measure out a scant 1 cup of milk and add 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Stir and let it hang out for 5 minutes. Voila. Buttermilk. For this recipe, you just need a half cup of buttermilk.

I made these biscuits the last time I made a buffalo chicken salad. Here's a pic:

 Link to that awesome recipe is here: Buffalo Chicken Salad

These biscuits would obviously rock with a brunch situation. I also feel like they would be amazing with a chowder or a stew or if you're whipping up a baked ham din.

You can totally use pre-shredded cheese. That's what I did (sorry, Ina.). Totally top each biscuit with a pinch of flaky sea salt. It's the ultimate finishing touch. They are so super amaze. You will definitely eat a whole bunch. I love this recipe because each biscuit looks unique. I love the whole misshapen quadrangle situation that is going on. Yay!

Here's a pro tip with the butter. Cut it into cubes and just leave it on the butter wrapper to easily dump it into the mixing bowl. I like to chop the butter first and put it back in the refrigerator to keep it super cold for biscuits and pie crusts. Then I measure out all my other ingredients. When it's time to make the dough, just pop out your cubed butter from the fridge. Gotta be prepared! And you totally do not want soft butter for flaky perfect biscuits.

Here's the recipe for the biscuits:

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
Makes 8 biscuits
From "Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics"
By Ina Garten

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a handful
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cold extra large egg
1 cup grated extra sharp Cheddar
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water or milk
A sprinkle of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place 2 cups flour, the baking powder and kosher salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.

Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small glass measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork. With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened. In a small bowl, mix the cheddar cheese with a small handful of flour and, with the mixer on low, add the cheese to the dough. Mix only until roughly combined.

Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about six times. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 5 by 10 inches.

With a sharp, floured knife cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash, sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot or warm.

Time to Make the Doughnuts

Amid my Christmas prep frenzy, I found the time, focus and where-with-all to rock out some festive baked buttermilk mini doughnuts topped with chocolate glaze and holiday sprinkles. I did this for 4-year-olds.

Yeah. There's an element of crazy in my actions, but hopefully the kiddos dug the treat while hopped up on juice, candy canes and a visit from the Big Man from the North Pole himself during my son's pre-school holiday festivities.

I purchased the Wilton mini doughnut pans within the past year. A complete frivolous purchase, yes. But they are getting more use than my fondue pot, blowtorch or crepe pan. (Note to self: Must collect less kitchen gadgetry.)

This was my second go-around at making baked doughnuts, and I thought this time was a better turnout than when I did it in the spring. I used the doughnut recipe from a really fab Web site called www.justataste.com. But the glaze on that site used Nutella, which would kill me and violate all sorts of nut-free-zone policies at my son's school, so I went with the basic chocolate glaze on  www.wilton.com.

My first attempt at the doughnuts last spring involved nutmeg. Now, I got nothing against nutmeg, but I think that was the ingredient that didn't do it for me. This doughnut recipe is sans nutmeg. The buttermilk adds a really nice tang to the doughnuts. But, the ginormous bottle is taking up prime real estate in my refrigerator mocking me every time I open the door because it knows that I do not have any immediate plans to use the 3 1/2 cups that remain in the bottle. The Jersey Girl was SO going to rock out buttermilk cheddar biscuits tonight to go with our din dins, but alas, I did not. My rationale is that the Feast of the Seven Fishes AND Christmas brunch are mere days away, and really do we need to feel like total fat-asses this soon in the game?

As is usually the case with doughnuts - particularly the fried ones - these baked doughnuts taste best on the day they are made. I served mine a good 24 hours after making them because girlfriend was not waking up at 5 a.m. to make doughnuts for a bunch of 4-year-olds. I'm not a complete lunatic. They still totally rocked, but on the first night they had that je ne sais quoi that certain food has when served at just the perfect time: Biscuits straight out the oven, bacon right out of the pan, a frittata at an easy breezy warm room temp, gazpacho chilled to perfection coming at you directly from the coolness of a refrigerator. You catch me?

That said you could make these a day ahead and still leave a room full of judgmental judgies with your reputation intact. But I would advise you baking fiends to perhaps bring these to a holiday brunch or party just an hour or so after cooling. They are fab!

Baked Mini Buttermilk Doughnuts
From www.justataste.com

Makes 24

For the doughnuts:
Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

To make the doughnuts:
Preheat the oven to 425°F and spray the mini-doughnut pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and melted butter just until combined.

Fill each pan cavity approximately 1/3 full (about 1/2 Tablespoon per cavity). Tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles and level out the batter.

Bake the doughnuts for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the tops of the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling wrack to cool completely while you make the chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze

• From www.wilton.com
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1-2 teaspoons hot water

In medium bowl, melt chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup on 50% power for 1 minute, stirring frequently until completely melted. Stir in 1 teaspoon of hot water, stirring until the glaze is thick and smooth. Add another teaspoon if glaze is too thick. Use immediately to glaze doughnuts.