Winter can get a little dreary when it comes to the food department…no easy access to Farmers Markets, not much produce in season locally, and my winter garden this year frankly did nothing.  One thing I do love about this time of year though, is the chance to use up all my homemade preserved goodies in the pantry.  The one thing I make the most of every year is jam. Raspberry. Blackberry. Strawberry. Plum. Yum. If only you could eat it right out of the jar by the spoonful without your kids looking at you like you are crazy…

So I make these buttermilk biscuits the kids love, especially Avery.  I think they remind her of fair scones. They are so so simple to make using your food processor and basic pantry items.  What is that, you don’t have buttermilk?  Right, who just has buttermilk on hand.  No problem!  I have a couple easy substitutions that will give the same tangy flavor to these fluffy biscuits.  In fact, the reason I first found this recipe is back when I was regularly making my homemade yogurt in the crockpot and had a lot of leftover whey to use.  Whey is an excellent substitute in this recipe if you happen to be a yogurt maker.  However, I haven’t made yogurt in ages since we stopped getting our Smith Brothers Milk delivery.  So I found an awesome substitute we always have on hand: regular ol’ milk with a dash of white vinegar! You can make a cup of faux buttermilk yourself by just taking a scant cup (leave about a tablespoon room) of milk and add one tablespoon of regular white distilled vinegar. Let is stand about 5 minutes, and ta-da!  Buttermilk for you to make your very own light as air,  delicious, smothered with homemade jam biscuits.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute as described above)
• Topping: your favorite jam or preserve, I recommend raspberry

How To:

In bowl of a food processor add all the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to combine. Next at the butter pieces and pulse a few more times until broken into small pieces. Add the buttermilk and pulse until just combined. Divide dough into the halves on a lightly floured counter.  Gently pat each each half into a rectangle about 5×8 inches and 1 inch thick. Avoid handling the dough too much which can melt the butter and activate the gluten, making your biscuit not as fluffy and light. Cut rectangle across both ways for 4 biscuits, and repeat with second half of dough. Transfer to a silpat lined baking sheet, keeping the biscuits just touching. Bake at 450°F 10-12 minutes. Makes 8 biscuits.

Tips:

If you can’t eat all these up in a day or two try freezing them and thawing as needed. Except in our house they never last longer than one day 🙂

Do you have any favorite ways to use homemade jam up besides toast or PB&J?  I would love to hear in the comments.  You might also like to check out some of our other family favorite recipes here.