Dinner Peace: Biscuits

My sister and I are best friends. People who have known us for a long time, and even those who haven’t, can see how alike we are. We both love to sleep late, and generally need to be shaken out of our comas on Saturday morning. We both love to read, often trading books, and sharing excitement over the discovery of a new favorite author. We are both homebodies, preferring to curl up on the couch, and binge watch the next season of Friday Night Lights than to go to a bar or a party. Yes, we have our differences. She tends to run hot, and I cold. We have different senses of style best expressed as Urban Outfitters vs. Anthropologie. She is great at making silly faces, and I am more reserved. But our only divergence that really matters is biscuits. She doesn’t care for them, and I cannot understand why.

I love biscuits. From KFC to McDonald’s to homemade, it doesn’t matter. Biscuits are one of the greatest things there is to eat. Growing up, we didn’t eat them very often, but when they were on the table, nothing else stood a chance. I literally can’t remember what we served them with because all I ate were biscuits. Fortunately, biscuits are easy to make vegan, so this is not something I have had to go without. My favorite recipe comes from an old cookbook of my parents’, and I see no reason to mess with it. Served with butter and jam, or with dinner, biscuits are guaranteed to overshadow everything else on your table - in a good way.

Biscuits
adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith

1/2 cup non dairy milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons Crisco, cold and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon Crisco for the pan

Heat the oven to 500°F. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the Crisco and process until the mixture is coarse and grainy. Add the buttermilk, and process until just combined. Put the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead a few times. Pat the dough out until it is just 1/2” thick.