Lemon Buttermilk Shortcakes with Berries

Thank you for all of your well wishes. We had a very happy Anniversary. Florida was our big celebration, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the day at home. Josh did surprise me with whole wheat French toast and berries for breakfast. He also bought me flowers and a card. He's really a great hubs:)

I did make Josh a special dessert to celebrate, Lemon Buttermilk Shortcakes with Berries. I found this recipe a few weeks ago on Former Chef and knew I had to save it for a special occasion.

The shortcakes were light and fluffy with a hint of lemon. I cut up strawberries and blueberries and drizzled them with agave nectar. I also added in some lemon juice and zest to bring out the lemon flavor. I let the berries sit for about an hour in the fridge so they were nice and juicy.

I cut the shortcakes in half and piled them with berries. We skipped the traditional whipped cream since we aren't huge fans. I think the fresh berries were sweet enough on their own, but Josh added a little vanilla ice cream. This is a perfect dessert for summer!

Lemon Buttermilk Shortcakes with Berries
Adapted from Former Chef

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. Cold Butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup Buttermilk
Zest of one lemon
2 tsp Lemon juice
Milk, cream, or Half and Half-for brushing on shortcakes
Turbinado sugar

Strawberries
Blueberries
Agave Nectar
Extra lemon juice/zest

Prepare the berries. Cut strawberries and stir in blueberries. Drizzle berries with agave nectar, a splash of lemon juice, and a bit of lemon zest. Stir and let sit in the fridge for about an hour so the berries get juicy.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix in the lemon zest with a whisk.

Cut in the cold butter until it resembles dry oatmeal. Use a fork, pastry cutter, or your hands. Pour in the buttermilk and lemon juice and mix with a spoon just until the dough starts to come together. Don't over mix the dough. If it is really dry, add more buttermilk, but just a little bit. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead into a ball. Do this quickly and don't over knead.

Roll out the dough to about 3/4 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter, glass or cookie cutter. You can form the scraps into a ball and roll out again. The recipe made 7 biscuits for me.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with milk, cream, or half and half and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Serve with berries. You can add whipped cream or ice cream if you wish!

Monkey Bread Muffins

Josh loves and appreciates good food. He is a great cook, baker, and dish washer:) I am lucky I married someone that shares my same passion. Sometimes he surprises me though.

For example, yesterday he bought a fried bean and cheese burrito from the supermarket deli. One of those really gross looking ones. He was so excited. He devoured it in seconds. I was appalled:) I guess I am the "food snob" in the relationship, because he can eat pretty much anything and everything.

He loves monkey bread, store bought biscuits rolled into balls and covered in butter, sugar, and cinnamon. I personally am not a fan of store bought biscuits, homemade is the only way to go if you ask me. But since I love my hubby I sometimes make him his favorite treats, even if I don't like them.

This time I decided to try monkey bread muffins. I rolled the store bought biscuits into balls and covered them in cinnamon and sugar. I placed them in a muffin pan. I then poured the ooey gooey sauce (butter and brown sugar) all of the balls. They baked up in no time and Josh was in heaven. He loved them. I never tried them, but my brother in law and niece did, they loved them as well.

If you are looking for a quick, sugary breakfast treat, try these. I guess everyone loves them! I will stick to my Fiber One for now:)

Monkey Bread Muffins

(Printable Recipe)

4 cans of refrigerated biscuits, I used Pillsbury

Cinnamon

Sugar

1 stick of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Cut the biscuits in half and roll the dough into little balls.

3. Combine the cinnamon and sugar. I use extra cinnamon:) Roll the balls in the mixture.

4. Place four balls in one muffin cup. Fill the pan.

5. Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small pot on the stove. Stir until melted and bubbly.

6. Pour the gooey sauce over the muffins.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

8. Cool for a minute in pan. Remove muffins from pan and enjoy.

**If you don't want to make muffins, you can do a big monkey bread loaf in a bundt pan. Just layer the balls and pour the gooey sauce over them. It will take longer to bake, 35-40 minutes.**

Buttermilk Biscuit Bread

Once again I needed to use up some buttermilk. I don't know why I always buy so much and wait until the last minute, but it always happens. Oh well, I am glad because then it forces me to bake and try new recipes.

This time I tried a Buttermilk Biscuit Bread. It was a simple recipe and all of the ingredients are probably in your kitchen already. If you don't have a buttermilk obsession like me and don't have any on hand, you can add lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and use that.

The bread was moist, with a nice crumb. It also tasted like a biscuit, but in a loaf form. We sampled it fresh out of the oven and it was good, but I think it was even better the next day. Odd, but true! Josh enjoyed toasting it for breakfast with homemade strawberry jam.

Buttermilk Biscuit Bread

(Printable Recipe)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Recipe for Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

I love testing out different recipes. I think Joshua gets sick of it though. He is always begging to make some of his favorite recipes that we have made in the past, but I usually shoot him down because I want to try something new. So we rarely eat the same thing twice. If we do it is at least a month later.

I love homemade biscuits and have been testing out different recipes. So far we have posted two of our favorite recipes, one from Pinch My Salt and one from Hell's Backbone Grill. They are both really good, just different.

Well, we tried another new recipe and we loved this one as well. This one came from Cooks Illustrated. It is a drop buttermilk biscuit, so it was super easy to make. The texture was a little more "hearty" than soft and flaky. The biscuits were also a little "thicker" than the others. They were VERY good! I loved the added texture that came with this biscuits and the rustic feel. I enjoyed mine with a drizzle of warm honey.

If you are a biscuit lover, give all of these a try. We love them all. I might have to do a blind taste test to find out my favorite. They are all so tasty!

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475°F. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps.

2. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.

3. Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits

I am not a Southern gal, I grew up in Illinois and now live in Utah, but I do enjoy a good biscuit...and by good I mean tender, flaky, buttery, hot, melt in your mouth good! I love my biscuits with honey or homemade jam. My mouth is watering right now:)

I recently tried a recipe from Pinch My Salt. She really did her research on how to make the perfect buttermilk biscuit. I suggest you read this post! It was extremely helpful in my biscuit making adventure.

I followed all of the tips and tricks...used really cold butter, used some cake flour, didn't twist when cutting, etc. I am glad I did because my biscuits were everything I wanted them to be..and then some!! If you are a biscuit lover, do your research and then get in the kitchen! You are going to love these!

You can find the recipe and tips here! ENJOY!

Recipe for Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

The other day we were flipping channels and stopped on the Food Network. Giada was making her grandmother's lemon ricotta biscuits. We recently made Giada's lemon ricotta cookies and fell in love, so we knew we had to try these!!

The biscuit dough was easy to make and unlike other biscuits, you bake these in muffin tins! They have the nice shape of a muffin, but the texture is similar to a biscuit. The biscuits are dense, but not crumbly. The ricotta cheese keeps these babies moist and the lemon juice and zest adds a fresh lemon flavor.

I also loved the addition of almond extract. A little goes a long way so be careful when using this stuff. You are supposed to top the biscuits with almonds, but I only added them to a few since Josh is allergic. I loved the added crunch! I didn't want the other biscuits to feel left out so I whipped up a lemon glaze to drizzle on top. I am glad I added this! It was the perfect finish!

Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds (I only put these on a few muffins, since Josh is allergic)

Glaze:
Powdered Sugar
Lemon Zest
Lemon Juice

Whisk together in a bowl. Just eye ball the ingredients. If it is too thick add more juice!

Directions

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.

Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins.

Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hell's Biscuits

Last fall I made a trip down to Boulder, Utah. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but a very scenic drive. It was a work trip, but of course I found time to go to the famous Hell's Backbone Grill.



Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen, did a special post about my trip last year. We were neighbors at the time and I didn't have a blog yet, so she let me be a guest blogger. It was fun!

Anyways, the reason I am talking about Hell's Backbone Grill today is because of their fantastic biscuits. As soon as you sit down they bring you the most amazing biscuits you will ever lay your tongue on. They simply melt in your mouth!

We had leftover buttermilk in the fridge so I knew I had to introduce Josh to these biscuits! I found the recipe in Blake and Jenn's (the owners') cookbook: With a Measure of Grace: The Stories and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant.

The biscuits are buttery, tender, and flaky. The hint of black pepper gives them a nice kick. Enjoy them with homemade jam, honey, or more butter if you wish!



Blue-Ribbon Black-Powder Buttermilk Biscuits
Adapted from Hell's Backbone Grill, With a Measure of Grace

3 T cornmeal
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 tsp. white sugar
1 stick of butter, chilled and cut into chunks
2 cups of buttermilk

1. Adjust oven rack in the center of the oven. Heat to 450 degrees. Grease a 9 by 11 cookie sheet or line with parchment or a Silpat. Sprinkle 2 T of cornmeal over surface.
2. Place flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pepper, and sugar in a large bowl or in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Whisk or pulse 5-7 times.
3. If making by hand, cut butter in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles uneven, coarse crumbs. If using a food processor, distribute butter chunks over the dry ingredients. Pulse 10-12 times, then transfer to large bowl.
4. Pour buttermilk over the top of the dough, folding ingredients at edges of bowl into middle using a rubber spatula. Rotate bowl one-quarter turn with each fold until dough is moistened and sticky, leaving few dry patches.
5. Turn dough ball onto lightly floured counter. Lightly dust your hands with flour and gently ease dough into a square shape. With bench scraper or sharp kitchen knife, cut dough in half and stack one-half on top of the other. Repeat three times, flattening, cutting, and stacking. Adding flour if necessary. I had to add a bit of flour:)
6. Transfer stack to baking sheet. Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 T of cornmeal. Using floured rolling pin, roll to one inch thick. Cut biscuits with a knife or bench scraper into 2 by 2 squares. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

I hope you try these biscuits at home! And if you have time please visit Hell's Backbone Grill. Their ingredients are super fresh, they only come from their own gardens, their six acre farm, or from local farmers. For that reason, they are only open Spring-Fall. Call for a reservation. It may be a little town in Southern Utah, but everyone goes to dine at Hell's! The service is incredible, Blake, Jenn, and staff are down to earth and super friendly. This is a one of a kind restaurant.

Hell's Backbone Grill
No. 20 North Highway 12
Boulder, Utah 84716
435-335-7464
Reservations are strongly recommended for dinner