Quick Homemade Biscuits

Tonight I made Quick Homemade Biscuits from the Cooks Illustrated Best 30-Minute Recipes book. (This is a cookbook that Kym gave me for Christmas 2008 from which I have made a few soups so far.) The recipes are supposed to be made in 30-minutes, which I am finding a bit challenging. It's probably me but I find you really have to hustle to get these recipes done in 30 minutes. For example the soups I have made from the book took me about 30 minutes just to prepare the ingredients and then another 30 minutes to put them all together.

This biscuit recipe, as it's name implies, is quick and easy. But probably the best part about it is that the biscuits are not the typical crumbly biscuits. These small breads hold together and yet they have some "bite" to them. I am also surprise at how they puffed up during baking in the oven.

They were great with the pasta e fagioli soup I made the night before, also from the same cookbook. Here's the recipe:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sal

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1. Heat Oven to 450 degrees, placing rack on upper-middle position.

2. Make Dough: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in cream with wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and gather into ball. Knead dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Cut Biscuits: Pat dough out 3/4-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or inverted glass to punch out rounds.

4. Bake: Place biscuits on parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or use Silpat). Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.