These are your perfect tea biscuits with the most amazing flavor- buttery, tender-crisp and mildly sweet. Turn them into breakfast sandwich or a dessert filled with fruit and cream. Or munch on them any time of the day with a cup of coffee.
The thing when road traveling is that we always end up ordering in drive-thrus for the girls which also ends in us, the parents, ordering for ourselves too.
And it is most often, the breakfast. Because of that, I have grown a huge fondness over biscuits breakfast sandwiches. Sausage patties sandwiched between two buttery, crisp bread? Where have these goodies been all my life? Just when I thought that pancakes were my best breakfast take out.
But mostly, what brings me joy are the biscuits. Whether they are bacon or sausage filled, I think I can eat those delightful, golden treats all day.
And road trip or not, I find myself craving them for breakfast and mid-day snack. Or anytime snack.
That is when I know it is time to make them at home. It will be a simple happiness for this girl to have breakfast, fast food style.
Butter Tea Biscuits: The Process
These biscuits have the most amazing texture and flavor. The egg yolks in the dough render a level of richness to the pastry. The butter gives these a versatile flavor perfect for a savory sandwich assembly (filled with sausage patties, bacon and cheese) or a dessert.
Place a deep-rimmed baking pan half-filled with hot water in the lower rack of the oven. Preheat to 375 F.
Cover the eggs with water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil, turn off heat and cover it with the lid. Let the eggs stand in the hot water for 20 minutes. Once the egg is completely cool, peel.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour and sugar. Add the bits of butter and cut them into the flour using your hands or a pastry cutter.
The mixture should look like a coarse meal.
Take the yolks from the eggs. Press them through a fine mesh strainer and into the bowl. whisk to combine it with the rest of the flour mixture.
Add the cream to the bowl and mix it into the ingredients until the flour is moistened and has gathered in the center of the bowl. This will be a soft, shaggy dough.
Turn dough over in a floured board and knead briefly just to make it a bit elastic and smooth. Use a little amount of flour to help prevent the dough from sticking too much.
Pat the dough until it is 3/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter with 2 and 1/2 inches diameter to cut circles from the dough. Place them one inch apart in a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper.
Tips and Pointers
- Dip the cookie cutter in flour before cutting through the dough. Cut through the dough without twisting to ensure the edges are not sealed. This will help the biscuits to rise at their maximum height.
- No cookie cutter? Use the rim of cup or glass of the same diameter.
- Re-shape the scraps and cut more circles as you can.
Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place the baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven. Raise the temperature to 400 F and bake for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the biscuits are golden.
Have these delicious tea biscuits any way you want: Split in half with fill egg, or sausage with hash browns on the sides. Or topped with whipping cream and strawberries for some easy strawberry shortcakes.
Either way, you can’t stop at one.
Want to bake more goodies? Try these:
- Salted Caramel Scones
- Cornbread Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Butterscotch Bars with Pecans and Chocolate Chips
- Best Ever Brownies
Butter Tea Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter cut into small pieces, chilled
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
For the topping
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- about 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
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Place a deep-rimmed baking pan half-filled with hot water (a 9x 13 baking pan or something similar will do) in the lower rack of the oven. Preheat to 375 F.
-
In a medium saucepan, cover the eggs with water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, turn off heat and let the eggs stand in the pan with the water for 20 minutes. Cool the eggs completely and peel.
-
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the bits of butter and use your fingertips or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like a coarse meal.
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Press the two egg yolks through a fine strainer and into the coarse meal mixture. Whisk to incorporate. Pour the cream and mix until the flour mixture is moistened and the dough starts to gather in the center of the bowl
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In a floured board, turn over the dough and knead briefly just to make it a bit smoother and elastic. Pat it until it is 3/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter that is 2 and 1/2 inch and diameter to cut circles from the dough. For best results, dip the cutter in flour and cut through the dough without twisting. This will ensure that the sides are not sealed and the biscuits will rise higher. Re-shape the scraps and cut more circles as you can.
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Place the biscuits on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper, about an inch apart from each other. Brush melted butter on the surface and sprinkle with sugar. Place the baking sheet in the center rack of the oven, increase temperature to 400 F and bake for 5 minutes. Lower temperature to 375 and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until the biscuits are lightly golden.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from Butter Biscuits, The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum.
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