Buttermilk Biscuits

It should come as no surprise that I am not from the south. I am very proudly from the west coast best coast. I am being completely honest when I say I grew up believing biscuits could only be purchased from KFC or in a can (you know the ones you spend 5 minutes trying to jam the back of a spoon into before it explodes on you?). Well, I sorely missed out. There wasn't a defining biscuit moment when I slapped my head and said 'DOH', it was more of a gradual transition away from the artificial flavoring and store bought, straight into the arms of scratch and homemade. I've previously posted about making buttermilk blue cheese drop biscuits before and buttermilk pumpkin biscuits but have to take a stab at regular flaky buttermilk biscuits. This recipe blew me away and I couldn't be happier smearing butter and honey all over these biscuits.

{Buttermilk Biscuits}
Adapted from Alton Brown

Makes 10-12 biscuits

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing tops of biscuits
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that there is a small space inbetween. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue to cut them with the biscuit cutter. (Biscuits from the second time around will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.) Brush with melted butter and place in the 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes (or until tall and golden on top).