Biscuits with Blueberry Honey Compound Butter

Biscuits.  Not something I grew up eating (unless you count the biscuits at KFC we would get on a rare occasion, which I did not usually eat).  I'm really more of a scone or a croissant girl.  But I am trying to make peace with biscuits.

Before I left Charleston, one of the items on my "Charleston Bucket List" was to eat at Hominy Grill.  My bucket list didn't fair very well (most was still not completed when I moved) but thankfully, I did make it to Hominy for brunch with a couple friends one Sunday. Hominy is very well-known for their biscuits, particularly "Big Nasty," one of their famous biscuits topped with fried chicken, sausage gravy, and cheddar cheese.  Since I was still  trying to acquaint myself with just the biscuit portion, I decided the "Big Nasty" was not for me.  Instead, I tried a plain biscuit topped with some butter and jam.

The Hominy version really changed my perception on the matter of biscuits.  Here was one that was genuinely light and fluffy and tasty!  Not one that was dense, greasy & not tasty.  I determined that if I was going to eat biscuits ever again, I wanted them to taste similar to the Hominy biscuits.

This week I am spending some time with family back in North Dakota.  Before I left my husband for the week (sniff, sniff), I filled the freezer and refrigerator with some things for him to eat, like these biscuits.  While these biscuits are not quite as good as Hominy's biscuits, they're definitely a step in the right direction!   My husband grew up in the South, so he enjoys a good biscuit. The flavor of these biscuits is excellent, but I'd like to tweak the recipe in the future to make them a bit "fluffier."

I also made some honey blueberry compound butter to go along with the biscuits.  We had some not so sweet, slightly disappointing blueberries left in the fridge.  I could have made jam, but there weren't quite enough blueberries for a batch of jam, and I've already made numerous other batches of jams & preserves for an exciting project I hope to be announcing later in August.  If you don't have blueberries, other berries could work nicely too.

While I'm gone, he can defrost the biscuits and eat them with the honey blueberry butter.  Or he can fill them with eggs/cheese/meat for breakfast, or just eat them on their own as a supplement to the main course at dinner.  Very versatile, these biscuits are.

Basic Biscuits

adapted from Baking Artisan Bread & Pastries by Ciril Hitz

Yields approx 12 biscuits 

Butter, cold 140 g 10 Tbl (1 stick, plus 2 Tbl) 

BF           400 g 3 1/4 c

Salt         8 g         1 tsp

G sug 23 g         2 Tbl

BP         24 g         2 Tbl

Milk, cold 230 g 1 c

Egg Wash as needed

1.  Grate the butter on a box grater onto a plastic-wrap lined plate.  Place in the freezer until the butter “grates” are frozen.  
2. Measure out remaining ingredients. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, & baking powder.  Toss in  the frozen butter pieces and evenly distribute throughout the dry ingredients.  
4. Make a well in the center of the ingredients & pour the milk in. 
5. Work the milk into the ingredients by using a bowl scraper or spatula.  Work the outside dry ingredients into the center using a folding pattern.  Mix until nearly combined.   
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface & gently fold by hand until the ingredients  completely come together.  Work quickly so that the heat of your hands does not melt the butter!  
7. Pat or roll the dough out to  approximately 1.5” thick.  Use a 3” round cutter to cut out the biscuits.  Cut straight down without a twisting motion
8. Stack the scraps on top of each other (do not knead or squish together), gently pat to a 1.5” thickness and cut out additional biscuits. 
9. Place the biscuits on the parchment lined baking sheet.  Let the biscuits rest for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 F while the biscuits are resting.  
10.  After the resting time, brush just the tops of the biscuits with egg wash. 
11. Bake until the biscuit tops are light golden brown (approximately 15 to 18 minutes).  Cool & serve!  

Blueberry Honey Compound Butter

Unsalted Butter, softened 1 stick

Honey (I used almond blossom) 1 Tbl

Blueberries         1/3 cup 

1.  Cream the softened butter until light and fluffy.  
2. Add honey & stir to combine.  
3. Add blueberries & mix briefly--just to incorporate berries & break them up slightly
4. Serve immediately, if you prefer a soft consistency.  Or, spoon mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap, roll into a log shape, twist ends, wrap in aluminum foil & freeze until ready to serve.