Growing up my mom was a fabulous cook – made everything from scratch, and it was all wonderful.  However, I don’t really remember having biscuits much.  It wasn’t until college when I had a roommate who was a master of biscuits that I came to love  them.   This roommate could stir up a batch of biscuits in a flash, use a glass out of the cupboard to cut them into circles, and finally pop them in the oven to bake.  At this point the rest of us would salivate around the oven just waiting for the timer to ding!

These tender, buttery jewels are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  We love them with sausage and eggs for breakfast, they go perfect with leftover holiday ham for lunch or dinner, and with Easter and Mother’s Day coming up they make a beautiful brunch served with Jam Butter.

I still use my roommate’s basic recipe with a few tweaks here and there; but I’ve often wondered who decided biscuits should be round??  To keep things fast and easy just cut your dough into squares.  Round or square you can’t beat a hot-out-of-the-oven homemade biscuit.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of soda (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
1/2 cup butter – very cold
3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Slice the butter into small pieces and add to the flour.  Cut the butter in with a fork or pastry knife until it resembles a course meal.  Add the buttermilk and mix until just combined.

Note:  you want to handle the dough as  little as possible!

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board.  Gently pat the dough out until it is 1/2 inch thick.  Fold the dough in half and pat out again.  Fold in half one more time and then gently form the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.

Cut into 12 squares or use the rim of a glass or round cookie cutter.

Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.  If you like soft edges place them next to each other.  For more crusty sides {my preference} space them out on the tray.

Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Do not over bake.

Serve them hot out of the oven!