Biscuits and Molasses......remember?

    Although I like to think I am not that old, I am old enough to remember my father enjoying a side dish of molasses with his biscuits. Whether it was for breakfast, lunch or dinner, I don't recall there was ever a time when he didn't have a small bowl of that quintessential dish of molasses to spoon over each bite of buttered biscuit. He would split them in half, lather real butter on top and drizzle this sweet, dark, thick syrup at each mouthful. 

    And his biscuits were amazing! Fluffy on the inside and a mm layer or brown crispness on top. Why wouldn't he just dip the biscuit in the molasses instead of spooning? If you make a biscuit correctly, you will know that they are drier than yeast rolls or other types of baked breads, as they should be. They should let loose some crumbs ever time you bite them or slice them. Now many of you will cringe at the thought of eating both together. Many of you grew up with simple butter or maple syrup as additions to biscuits. There is something about mixing salty and sweet together that continues to be taunting us. 

    Now his biscuits weren't your run of the mill either. He always used buttemilk and half the time, he didn't have it on hand, so he would take the amount of whole milk called for in his recipe and add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and set it aside. After a couple of hours, it had separated into curds and whey. These lumps of soured milk and the whey at the bottom were each added to the mix and the result was an amazingly flavorful biscuit that I continue to make today. Not only does this clotted milk add flavor but it hepls immensely in the rising of the biscuit when working in conjunction with baking powder. So without talking on and on as a true Yankee, let me give you his recipe.

Real New England Biscuits

Makes 6(3-inch)biscuits

1 1/3 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons butter or margarine

    Stir milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside until it curdles, with visible lumps floating on top. This will take about an hour or two, depending on how warm your kitchen is. Obviously the warmer the environment, the quicker it will turn into curds and whey.

    When ready, preheat oven to 375-degrees F. blend flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Using a sturdy fork or your fingertips, crush the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles half the size of peas. Add soured milk and thoroughly mix until dough is mixed well. There will be lumps, which is perfectly normal. 

    Liberally flour your work surface and transfer dough to surface, Need only a couple times and press out until about 1 1/2-2-inches in thickness. I use a 3-inch cutter or mouth of a cup to cut out biscuits but you can cut them any size you want.

    Place cut biscuits on an ungreased pan and reshape dough in order to cut a couple more biscuits, kneading as little as possible in order to hold together. 

Once on pan, brush(or use your fingertips)milk, half and half or cream on top of each biscuit and bake 30-32 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. No need to check inside, they will be thoroughly cooked. 

    Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter or grab a stick of butter, pull some paper from the end and run it on top of each hot biscuit liberally. Set aside for a minute or two and enjoy. 

And don't forget the molasses!