Biscuits

I made up a batch of biscuits for breakfast- or were they scones? I can't figure it out, even with the help of Wikipedia.

I was inspired by The Scent of Green Banana's beautiful pictures and recipe that promised to take no longer than 20 minutes. And it's true, it actually took less than that to mix and bake the biscuits (OK, 30 minutes, since I had to bake the biscuits in two batches in my tiny oven). I'm a terrible baker and am fully capable of screwing up even a simple recipe like biscuits, but these turned out amazingly well. One of those magical fool-proof recipes. I also made a compote like hers, substituting lemon slices for a vanilla bean since vanilla beans are far too exotic an ingredient to be found out here in the suburbs.

And guess what- it was one of the best breakfasts we've had in ages. The biscuits were fantastic, even without the compote. And with a few syrupy strawberries spooned on top, they were just heavenly. The meal was enhanced by being eaten out on our balcony- first outdoor breakfast of the year, and with the warm sunny weather and new green leaves on the trees we felt like we were taking a mini vacation.

I highly recommending clicking the link above and trying the biscuit recipe, even if you think you can't bake. Seriously, it's so good I'd be making it every day if it wasn't for the cost of cream in this country.

Comments

[santos.]

hoorah! my flickr friend groc assures me they will pass for scones in the uk, so i suppose the name just depends on where you are and what you feel like calling them :) you can omit the sugar and add savoury herbs or even a cup of grated cheese if you like, it's an almost foolproof recipe.

i love the strawberries we are getting from japan--the next time i make the compote, i'll do what you did and try it with lemon.

[carlyn]

Amy;
Looks wonderful...and how nice to enjoy such a great breakfast outdoors on your balcony with your honey....ahhhhhhh

[carlyn]

P.S.
the recipe looks like one we use to make "shortcakes" for strawberry shortcake... biscuits, scones, shortcake...what's in a name? ha ha.

[sherimaeda]

Thanks for the link to the biscuit recipe! I love biscuits but when I first read the recipe and heavy whipping cream, I thought no way! until I realized that I didn't have to use butter to make them!
What kind of cream did you buy to use in them?

[Sera]

MMM....those looks great! I can't wait until the fresh strawberries are ready here. I hope it'll be soon!

[Amy]

Thank you for the recipe Santos! Here in Japan scones seem to be the same as in America- dense, crumbly, and full of chocolate chips and other fillings. So "biscuit" seems to work best.
And I'm going to cook the strawberries with vanilla next, since I snagged a couple beans at an import shop yesterday. Yay!

Carlyn, I love our balcony! It's tiny but one of the best things about our new place.
I've seen these called shortcakes before, but in my neck of the woods a shortcake is like a mini spongecake, only denser and moister.

I had the same reaction the cream, until I realized that it is doing the work of both the fat and the liquid. Still, even without butter this recipe might make a slightly higher fat biscuit than a traditional recipe. But the speed and simplicity of this method really make up for it.
I used the regular 47% cream, which I'm pretty sure is the only kind I've ever seen. I never know what to do when a recipe calls for light or half-and-half cream...

Sera, that's right- I almost forgot that strawberries are a summer fruit in the rest of the world! But this recipe would work well with frozen strawberries, or any other kind of fruit. Or forget the compote and drizzle the biscuits with maple syrup...