Recipe Two-Ingredient Biscuits

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Someone posted a recipe similar to this on a creative cooking forum I manage at work, and I was blown away. She used heavy cream instead of half and half; you may have noticed that heavy cream and I aren't on speaking terms, but adjusting the recipe was simple enough.

If you can't find self-rising flour, you can make your own by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt for each cup of flour (i.e., add 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of all-purpose flour). Why didn't I just put that in the recipe in the first place? Because it wouldn't be a 2-ingredient biscuit recipe now would it?

So, here it is:

Ingredients

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup half-and-half

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Mix flour with half-and-half until combined. The mixture will be sticky, which is normal.
3. Turn out dough onto a heavily-floured surface. Fold dough over on itself, dusting with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Knead several times in this manner.
4. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick sheet. Use 3 inch ring mold to cut circles out of the dough. Place on baking sheet covered with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Serve while hot with butter or honey.

 

[Morning Glory]

I will put this recipe to the test. Your biscuits are like UK scones - but I've never seen a recipe like this before!

 

[Cinisajoy]

Oh, I see what she did. The half and half is both the liquid and the fat.
Good idea if you keep half and half around.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Oh, I see what she did. The half and half is both the liquid and the fat.
Good idea if you keep half and half around.

I always have half-and-half in the refrigerator. It's my go-to ingredient for everything from ice cream to soup to creme brulee. And biscuits.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I will put this recipe to the test. Your biscuits are like UK scones - but I've never seen a recipe like this before!

Curious about what you mean by UK Scones. I have a good mind to post a scone recipe of mine!

Or, is this a biscuit = cookie; crisp = chip; chip = french fry sort of misunderstanding.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Now my little oven doesn't go to 500 so I will do 450 and 10-12 minutes.

I don't keep half and half on a normal basis. But I don't make ice cream as a general rule.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Now my little oven doesn't go to 500 so I will do 450 and 10-12 minutes.

I don't keep half and half on a normal basis. But I don't make ice cream as a general rule.

That should work. And, you can try other dairy products, but you'l have to adjust the flour content accordingly.

 

[Cinisajoy]

That should work. And, you can try other dairy products, but you'l have to adjust the flour content accordingly.

No, you could not substitute in your recipe. The flour content is not the problem, the problem would be the fat.
You asked in a different thread but here you go.
American Biscuits.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/american-biscuits.9857/

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

No, you could not substitute in your recipe. The flour content is not the problem, the problem would be the fat.
You asked in a different thread but here you go.
American Biscuits.
https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/american-biscuits.9857/

Thank you! I always use butter in situations like this. Have you tried shortening or lard? And, if so, what do you think?

 

[Cinisajoy]

Thank you! I always use butter in situations like this. Have you tried shortening or lard? And, if so, what do you think?

I typically use shortening, butter will work. Margarine will not.

 

[Morning Glory]

Curious about what you mean by UK Scones. I have a good mind to post a scone recipe of mine!

Or, is this a biscuit = cookie; crisp = chip; chip = french fry sort of misunderstanding.

Yes. Biscuits in the US are similar to but not totally the same as UK scones. Biscuits in UK = Cookies.

Here are UK scones:

 

[Cinisajoy]

If you read the entire American biscuit thread, @morning glory posted two recipes for scones to compare the flour/fat ratios.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Yes. Biscuits in the US are similar to but not totally the same as UK scones. Biscuits in UK = Cookies.
Here are UK scones:

Ah-ha...I'd guess that the American version is generally triangular to avoid mixing them up with what we call biscuits. I can't imagine what the reaction would be if someone tried to eat a UK scone with sausage gravy on it (though I would love to have my camera recording the reaction).

Here's what my Light Chocolate Chip Scones looked like:

 

[Morning Glory]

For UK members - we do not have half and half cream here. It is a mixture of full fat milk and cream commonly sold in US supermarkets.
David Lebovitz* (a name I trust), suggests the following: make half-and-half by mixing both whole milk and whipping cream or heavy cream, in equal proportions. Source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/what-is-half-and-half/

Unfortunately we don't have heavy cream in the UK so he is not entirely right! We do have double cream, which is, I believe, similar.

* David Lebovitz is a pastry chef, author, and blogger. Trained as a pastry chef in France and Belgium, he worked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California for twelve years.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

For UK members - we do not have half and half cream here. It is a mixture of full fat milk and cream commonly sold in US supermarkets.
David Lebovitz* (a name I trust), suggests the following: make half-and-half by mixing both whole milk and whipping cream or heavy cream, in equal proportions. Source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/what-is-half-and-half/

* David Lebovitz is a pastry chef, author, and blogger. Trained as a pastry chef in France and Belgium, he worked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California for twelve years.

Thanks for that...as you indicate, half-and-half is literally what the name describes. So, in your case, it's at least a 3-ingredient biscuit (or more if you don't have self-rising flour).