Tips & Other Stuff — Cooking During Stolen Moments

How To Make Fluffy, Flaky Biscuits

October 25, 2010 By Kate 19 Comments

I’ve been very happy with my go-to biscuit recipe over the past few years. The only drawback is that they don’t rise very high or get very fluffy. But what they’ve lacked in texture and appearance they’ve more than made up for in taste. So I’ve always figured they were good enough.

But then a few weeks ago I was watching Food Network and I gleaned a few tips for making those mile-high, flaky, fluffy and light biscuits. I couldn’t wait to try out what I’d learned by tweaking my usual recipe. Since the show involved a diner that was making a HUGE batch of biscuits and there was no actual recipe given, I had to go through a little trial and error before hitting on just the right combination. But I think I finally got it just right.

Here’s my usual recipe with the new and improved tweaks incorporated. All of the new additions are bolded.

Fluffy & Flaky Biscuits

2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, frozen
1/2 – 1 c. milk

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

2. Quickly grate the frozen butter on a cheese grater.

3. Cut the frozen butter into the flour mixture. You can use two knives to cut in the flour, but I always find my hands are the best tools for this job. It gets done quickly and effectively with little effort.

4. Pour in the milk, starting with just a half cup and adding more as needed until the dough comes together. You want the dough to be soft, but not too soft to handle.

5. Pour the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for just a minute.

6. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Fold it on top of itself to make 3 or 4 layers. Roll out again and fold into thirds or fourths. Repeat at least one or two more times.

7. For the final rolling of the dough, leave it about an inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter or glass.

8. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. Fold remaining dough back together and roll out again. Repeat process until done.

You should get about 8 – 10 biscuits out of this recipe, depending on how big you make them. They rise nice and high and be full of fluffy, flaky layers. It just doesn’t get any better!

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Reader Questions Answered: Freezing Cookie Dough

September 27, 2010 By Kate 5 Comments

When I wrote about one of my baking days several weeks ago, I had quite a few people ask about freezing cookies and cookie dough. I meant to answer that question much sooner, but it slipped my mind for some reason. (I’ll blame it on pregnancy brain for now, at least while I still can!)

I successfully freeze both cookie dough and baked cookies. However, my preference would definitely be for freezing the cookie dough. This has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with personality. Frozen cookies can be thawed in about 10 seconds. In fact, they can even be eaten frozen. So needless to say, they don’t last very long in our house.

Here are the two methods I use for freezing cookie dough.

The log (aka slice-and-bake) method. I form the cookie dough into a log, wrap in waxed paper (if available) and then place in a plastic freezer bag. To bake the cookies, I slice the desired size off the frozen log, if the dough is workable when frozen. If it is too hard to cut through the frozen dough, I let it thaw for about an hour in refrigerator first. Then I slice and bake.
The ball method. I roll the cookies into a ball by hand or with a cookie scoop. Then I place on a foil-lined baking sheet or large plate and flash freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. I then transfer the frozen balls of dough to a plastic freezer bag. To bake the cookies, I remove as many as needed, place on a cookie sheet and bake from frozen. I find that frozen cookie dough usually only needs an extra minute or two of bake time.

To freeze baked cookies, I start with completely cooled cookies. Then I follow the same flash freeze method as above and freeze in a plastic freezer bag or container. I thaw the cookies on the counter in about 15-30 minutes (certain cookies will thaw faster than others) or in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Cookies that are supposed to be very soft and chewy, like sugar or molasses cookies, will have the best texture if they are wrapped in cheese cloth or paper towel before thawing.

One last tip – hide that frozen dough or those frozen cookies, especially if you are saving them for a certain occasion!

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Bulk Processing Potatoes for the Freezer

August 10, 2010 By Kate 2 Comments

Potatoes are one of those things that have always been hit or miss for me when it comes to freezing them. I’ve had success with freezing mashed potatoes, twice baked potatoes (and twice baked potato casserole), cheesy potato bites and taco potato skins. Beyond that though, I’m usually not too successful with freezing potatoes. Yet potatoes are a favorite side dish around here, so I’m always looking for ways to incorporate potato sides into my bulk cooking plans.

When Nikki emailed the following tip to me, I was beyond excited. Honestly, it’s pure genius. I can’t wait to implement this idea in my kitchen! Just like I could not wait to share the brilliance with all of you. Thanks for the permission to copy and paste your idea Nikki.

I hit the produce market or outlet once a month for longer shelf life items like potatoes and carrots. When I do, I bake off 10 lbs (or however many I can cram in my oven. I have 3 shelves) of potatoes in one shot.

Don’t look at me like that. I am not crazy, just hear me out.

I let the taters cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the middles.

I prep the middles for mashed potatoes (riced) , baked potato soup (some riced some in chunks) and smashed potato salad (same as the soup). If I plan on making home fries, I let refrigerate them overnight and dice them with the jackets on.

I then spray/drizzle oil on my jackets and season them and broil/roast them until they start to brown.

I place each of these on trays in my freezer over the course of the day until they are just frozen enough that they won’t freeze into a solid mess. I do this with the now empty jackets too.

Then, when we want potato skins: I take out my jackets and crisp them a bit in a hot oven/broiler. Then I dump (yes dump, we have cheese issues) some shredded cheddar and bacon bits (which I also cook up ahead and freeze in bulk) and pop them in to bake.

In a matter of about 2 hrs, I can easily have enough potatoes prepped for two weeks worth of menus AND have tater skins on hand for a snack or an “I don’t feel like cooking, let’s have crap for dinner” night.

Genius, right? I love it!

Make sure you check out Nikki’s blog, Frugal Green Living for more tips and information.

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