TWD: Tender Shortcakes

These shortcakes were everything I could have asked for in a shortcake: a little crunch on the surface, soft and pillowy on the inside, and a delicate sweet biscuit flavor. The recipe makes a ton of shortcakes- I got about 14 large ones (baked half, froze half unbaked for later) and they can be filled with anything. I was hoping to do traditional strawberry shortcakes but our strawberry selection was pretty unappealing so I settled on fresh raspberries and blackberries. The taste was great, but I think I prefer the juiciness that strawberries provide the traditional strawberry shortcake. I think I might serve the ones that I froze with homemade vanilla or cinnamon ice cream and strawberries and blueberries. Thank you Cathy of The Tortefeasor for choosing this week's delightfully summery Tuesdays with Dorie selection!

TWD: Sweet Cream Biscuits

I love biscuits. But...I've said it before and I'll say it again: I only love homemade biscuits. I used to actually think those biscuits in a tube were pretty tasty, but now I literally cannot stand them. That sounds so snobby but they taste like straight up chemicals. The funny thing is that biscuits are so easy to make from scratch- no exotic ingredients, no waiting for dough to rise, no refrigeration, no fancy techniques. And if you thought buttermilk biscuits were easy, this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe for Sweet Cream Biscuits will blow you away. You see these biscuits rely on heavy cream for all of the fat which means no butter, which means no cutting in the butter= even less time to throw together!
I've made these biscuits a few times and I really love them- they are light and fluffy and the flavor is sweeter than a traditional biscuit. This time I baked half of the biscuits and and froze the other half. The frozen biscuits baked up just as perfectly as the ones zqAAaaI baked immediately after mixing. Thanks Melissa of Love at First Bite for choosing this delightful recipe!

TWD: Sweet Potato Biscuits

You know, it's funny that I've never written about biscuits on this blog. You see, during my first year of marriage I spent every Saturday morning searching desprately for the perfect biscuit recipe. Since Derrick was born and raised in the Tennessee mountains I felt like it was my duty as a good Southern wife to be able to produce delicious, fluffy biscuits that didn't come out of a Bisquick box. I made a whole lot of flat, tasteless discs before discovering the joy of buttermilk and what it can do for even the simplest biscuit recipe. Now I was an English and French major so don't quote me on this chemistry, but the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to make light, flaky layers. Since then I've also learned how important it is to hold yourself back from cutting the cold butter too finely and to mix/handle the dough as little as possible. Another great trick is to press the biscuit cutter into the dough without twisting it for optimal rising. But this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is not buttermilk biscuits it's sweet potato biscuits! Erin of Prudence Pennywise (one of my all time favorite blogs!) chose this week's recipe and you can find it on her blog.
These biscuits do not rise as high and my buttermilk ones do- but dear Lord are they delicious! Dorie says that you can use canned sweet potatoes or cooked sweet potatoes. Since Dorie uses the canned ones, I figured it was safe to do the same- and boy did that make this recipe easy to make!

I used 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg which really helped heighten the sweet potato flavor. Even though the biscuits are not high, they do have wonderful dense layers. These are a great accompaniment to breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In fact I threw these together quickly this morning while my two little sous chefs watched patiently.