I’m not gonna lie, these biscuits turned out pretty well. Flaky, buttery, thick enough to serve with a slab of canadian bacon or egg…. Bon Appetit‘s Pies and Thighs biscuits didn’t disappoint me as I continued the search for the world’s perfect biscuit. (Ok, obviously this is NOT an objective category, but I have a flavor/texture/look combination that I’m going for here, and I won’t stop until I find it.See other attempts with Flying Biscuits here and Sister Shubert ones here.) The people in my family aren’t really buttermilk biscuit people, but it’s definitely a southern food group all on it’s own, PLUS the photo in BA just looked SO GOOD and pretty close to my vision of perfection so I needed to try it.
What I learned: In terms of what I’m personally shooting for, these biscuits were a little too buttery, but the texture was divine. When I try this recipe again, I could probably use shortening and solve the buttery issue pretty quickly… FYI, Bon Appetit DID NOT LIE when they said they’d found the secret to tender, fluffy biscuits… and the secret is this: don’t over-mix. Want more that just a secret? Keep reading.
Bon Appetit Pies-N-Thighs Biscuits
Makes 8-10 2 1/2″ Biscuits ( I made a 1/2 recipe from what BA suggests and made them smaller in diameter)
What you Need:
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar ( I used truvia because of the whole gestational diabetes thing and sacrificed NOTHING)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to keep it from sticking as you roll/press the dough out
3/4 cups (1.5 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cups chilled buttermilk
1 egg, beaten (for the top of the biscuits)
Obviously, as in nearly all baking, preheat your oven to start with to 375. Then, of course, start with your dry ingredients.BA says to put them all into a food processor and blend them, but of course I had some trouble with my food processor as I was trying to make it all happen (Ok, it was user error…. I may have forgotten to put the blade in. sheesh.) so I almost used the sifter, but either way, you want to get all your dry ingredients mixed thoroughly together.
If you haven’t already cut up the butter… then do that, obvi. In your food processor (or you COULD do it the old fashioned way…with your hands) add in the butter and pulse it lightly (or smush) until you’ve got some lumpy, pea-sized pieces of butter and flour all mixed together. Don’t over do it or you’ll end up with too warm butter, says BA. Put the mixture into a bowl and slowly add in the buttermilk, mixing it in with a fork.
Like this. See, the dough will get just wet enough without being TOO wet. BA says that the dough should look “shaggy”… I guess I see it. 
From there, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a ball with your hands lightly until it’s all together. (Don’t do this too much..the more you mess with dough, the tougher it gets) Then, press it out onto the surface (or use a rolling pin. whatevs) until it’s about 1 1/4″ thick or maybe even a little thicker. Use your biscuit cutter… one that’s about 2″-2 1/2″ (I FINALLY have my grandmother’s biscuit cutters! It made me think of her just to look down and see them in my hands!) and cut out your biscuits. It’s ok if you have to reshape and press out the dough a few times until it’s all used up (again, just don’t overdo the kneading and pressing)
once you’ve greased your baking sheet, put the biscuits on it and then slather them with a little bit of the beaten egg. This really isn’t a necessary step, but man, it makes them look so purty when they brown on top.
SEE? Let them cook for 30ish minutes, and voila’! You’ll have a pretty excellent version of a buttermilk biscuit to serve with just about anything. We went with canadian bacon and eggs, and then had one more to grow on with homemade plum jelly. it was a great start to a Saturday.
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