Buttermilk Biscuits warm from the oven served with honey and Vermont Creamery Butter seemed the perfect way to celebrate the first day of fall. Sunday mornings are lazy affairs these days. Even if we get up with the sun to walk or swim before breakfast there seems to be time to languish over something homemade, the paper, and a second cup of coffee.

These tender, rich biscuits are also perfect at the dinner table as a complement to roasted chicken or a savory vegetable stew.  The brown rice in the flour mix and addition of chestnut flour give them a slightly rustic appearance. Brush them with a little whisked egg white before baking if you want the tops to shine. Think you’re gonna be happy either way!

Buttermilk Biscuits – Makes six 2 1/2 inch biscuits

Click Here For Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup (4.5 oz.) GF flour mix (yours, ours, or Trader Joe’s) plus 1/2 cup GF flour for kneading and cutting the biscuits

1/4 cup (1.5 oz.) Chestnut Flour

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon xantham gum

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 tablespoons cold for frozen unsalted butter

1 small egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon white vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Measure the dry ingredients, excluding 1/2 cup GF mix, into a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk to blend.

3. Grate the butter onto the dry ingredients and incorporate with fingers until the mixture resembles oats.

4. Crack the egg into a 1 cup glass measure. Add the teaspoon of vinegar and enough buttermilk to make 1/2 cup of liquid. Whisk to blend.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until it just comes together. Turn the dough onto a surface floured with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Gently dust the slightly sticky dough with flour so it’s easy to handle and knead 4-5 times, creating layers. Pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick round and cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. (Note: I couldn’t find mine, so used a glass.) Gather together the scraps and repeat, taking care to gently knead 2-3 times to create a flat surface.

6. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 14 – 15 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly firm to the touch. Serve immediately with butter and honey and/or jam. If there are any left they can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days or frozen for several weeks. Reheat in a 300 F oven or toaster oven.

Measuring the dry ingredients

Egg from a pasture raised chicken

Grating cold butter into the dry ingredients

Further incorporating the butter

Wet into dry ingredients

Blending with a fork

Turning the dough onto a floured surface

Sprinkling flour on top to prepare to knead

Cutting circles with a glass

Enough dough for six

Into the oven

Just out of the oven – note the layers

Which honey?

Melting artisan butter and honey