Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Hot Tea and Baking Powder Biscuits


Hot tea and baking-powder-biscuits spread with red-raspberry jam
are the perfect antidote to a gray rainy day.


This Windsor teacup was a gift from my best friend's Mum, in Canada.
She had it in her own teacup collection for years but decided to share it with me.
It coordinates so perfectly with the other forget-me-not teacups that I have.
Isn't it pretty?  I love it!
Thank you, Mrs. C!


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 I guess I should just add the recipe here to show you how easy these are.
It's right out of Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 1978 edition.

Baking Powder Biscuits
1/3 cup shortening
1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Cut shortening into flour, baking powder and salt with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in just enough milk so dough leaves sides of bowl and rounds into a ball.  Turn dough onto floured surface.  Knead lightly 10 times.  Roll 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with biscuit cutter.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 nich apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides.  Bake  in 450 oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet.
Makes about 1 dozen.

Notes from me:  I start checking to see if they are done at about 8 minutes, depending on the size of cutter I use.  I like to serve mine straight out of the oven with butter and jam.  




43 comments:

  1. Beautiful china Gayle, and those biscuits look yummy! They look vvery similar to our English scones!? I wonder if they are, and it's a case of your "trash" is our "rubbish" etc ....biscuit and scone......?
    We have ours with jam too and a big blob of cream, clotted cream if we can get it!
    Gill xx

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    1. Yes, our biscuits are similar to your scones. (made with flour, baking powder, salt, shortening and milk.) We also have scones which usually include some sugar and/or fruit in the recipe. What we call cookies, you call biscuits. Trash/rubbish, yard/garden, trunk/boot.... there are lots of differences between British English and American English and I find it all quite entertaining. :-) One I haven't quite figured out yet is... slice. I think it might be what we call a bar cookie, but I'm not sure.

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  2. What a pretty tea cup...perfect for a gray day. I make baking powder biscuits, too....with a little soda and buttermilk, too. I would rather eat biscuits than dessert! We just bought bagels at the bakery and I'm having a pumpkin bagel for a treat this afternoon! Sweet hugs!

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    1. That sounds like a yummy treat! Sometimes I make the buttermilk variation... whenever I have it in the house, usually when I'm doing a lot of holiday baking.

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  3. Hi Gayle! It looks pretty and delicious! I like the knitted tea cozy, too! It's cold, gray and raining here today, too. Thanks for the warmth:) Twyla

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    1. Thank you, Twyla! A blogger friend made the tea cozy for me and I love it! The weather system usually hits us at about the same time, doesn't it? I am just a little to the north of you.

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  4. Yum, I may have to make some biscuits one of these days! :)

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    1. Laurie, they are soooo easy to make. You should give them a try. I've added the recipe.

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  5. Such a sweet gift. Your photos are always so beautiful.

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    1. It was a very meaningful gift. I've known Mrs.C since I was 2 years old.

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  6. From scratch baking powder biscuits...what a treat!

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  7. Oh those biscuits look yummy! So tell me, Gayle, do you use a rolling pin and actually roll the dough out or do you pat your dough out? I used a rolling pin for years and decided one day to try patting the dough out. I could not believe the difference in the biscuits! My husband loves it when I make biscuits now! :)

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    1. I just pat the dough for biscuits. (I do use a rolling pin for pies, because it needs to be rolled much thinner.)

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  8. What a gorgeous tea cup. Josie loves biscuits with butter and honey. I think I might need to try this recipe in the near future!

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    1. Honey would be delicious, too! This recipe would be easy enough for Josie to learn to make herself. (with help from you when it comes to the oven, of course.)

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  9. I would love to come to your house for afternoon tea, it looks so elegant and delicious.

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  10. What a sweet teacup. The biscuits look lovely. Now I'm drooling.

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    1. Even sweeter because the person who gave it to me is so dear to my heart.

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  11. Oh scones/biscuits are definitely the antidote for a grey, rainy day.........particularly with tea in beautiful china......
    My recipe for scones has an egg in it and I use cream instead of shortening, much easier to mix together. Whichever way you make them they are delish.

    Claire x

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    1. This cookbook has an entire page devoted to variations on these basic biscuits. Everything from using buttermilk, herbs, cheese, etc... But my favorite is just the basic , topped with butter and jam. You'll have to post your scone recipe so I can try it. (PS- I've missed you on the blog. I hope you're coming back.)

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  12. It makes me feel like tea and biscuits!!!!

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    1. Lynne, they are so easy to make. And with the cooler temperatures, having the oven heat up the kitchen is a plus.

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  13. Oh, so yummy and the perfect treat to have an a cool autumn day! Thanks for sharing!! xo Heather

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    1. It's hard to beat still-warm-from-the-oven biscuits for an afternoon snack. My kids always wanted to cut them out with animal shaped cookie cutters, which made them even more perfect.

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  14. These sound lovely Gayle and I might just have to make some. Love your tea cup too.
    Patricia x

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    1. I hope you do. They are perfect with a cup of tea!

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  15. what a lovely way to spend this day. It is raining and cold here we have our woodstove going for the first time of the season and I am thinking grilled cheese and soup for dinner. As much as I don't want to be cold I do love to tuck in and be cozy.
    Cathy

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    1. These last few days would have been perfect for lighting the fireplace. We've just been too busy to sit at home.

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  16. Those biscuits look yummy!

    Which shortening do use prefer?

    M : )

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    1. They were very yummy. I just use Crisco, in the sticks, because that makes measuring easy.

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  17. What a pretty teacup - I got my first forget-me-not teacup last month. And I'm from Alaska, that is the state state flower. I love biscuits and that is the same recipe that I use - except I use butter. Biscuits are the best fresh out of the oven.

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    1. I bet they would be super yummy made with butter. (I'm definitely a butter girl.) I hope you post a pic of your forget me not teacup! And I guess I had better start looking to see if anyone has a sunflower teacup. :-)

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  18. Hello Gayle, visiting you this morning was a real trip down my memory lane for me. My sister had that exact same tea set when she first got married. I must ask her if she has any pieces left. I’ve not heard of baking-powder-biscuits before, but they look delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Thank you also for visiting me and grappling with the dreaded word verification! I am going away next week but will have another go at removing it when I get back. Barbara

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    1. How lovely that this was your sisters wedding china! Mine is similar to this cup, with pretty little blue forget me nots also. (Royal Albert Memory Lane) Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

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  19. Such a pretty presentation. Lovely teacup. Thanks for the recipe. Can't wait to try them.

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  20. Thank you for sharing Gayle. I am going to try this recipe!

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    1. YAY! Sooooo much better than those things they sell at the grocery store in a tube.

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  21. I love teapots and you're right. There's nothing better on a cold day than a cup of tea and a biscuit.

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THANK YOU for your thoughtful comments. Replies to your questions will be posted here, so be sure to check back soon. Have a wonderful day! - Gayle, Garden Of Daisies