Lemon + Rosemary Biscuits with Lemon-Honey Butter
I'll be the first one to admit that a stocked pantry with grab-and-go foods is essential. Whether you have to head out the door early for work, or you've got toddlers pulling on your legs asking for a "nack! nack!" (translation: snack), chowing down on a granola bar or muffin is sometimes the best you can do at the moment.
But I find when the noise settles and there are a few moments of calm, I need to stop and eat - and I mean actually stop. It's not always just for physical nourishment; sometimes, it's for my mind and soul. I need to sit down without staring at a screen and without a pen, scribbling down my grocery list. I need to enjoy the food in front of me and embrace the opportunity to slow down. Some days, this means warming up leftovers for lunch and attempting to eat without interruption. Other days, it's simply drinking a fresh cup of coffee while it's still hot, or indulging a really good chocolate bar at the end of the day. Most recently, it's meant an afternoon cup of tea with some sort of baked good - a scone, muffin, or in this case, biscuits.
While the cold weather lingers (currently accompanied by clouds and rain), I've been craving comfort food, i.e. anything buttery and straight out of the oven. But I also find myself looking forward to the bright, fresh flavors of spring. This recipe - warm, lightly sweetened biscuits dotted with flecks of lemon zest and rosemary - is the best of both worlds. My favorite way to enjoy them is with copious amounts of lemon-honey butter (or sometimes an big spoonful of raspberry jam) and a steaming cup of herbal tea.
Make a batch and sneak away for a few minutes to truly savor. Savor the flavors of rosemary and lemon, the textures of creamy, sweet honey butter and crumbly, flaky biscuits. Most of all, let yourself savor a moment of stillness...because we all know it won't last forever.
Lemon + Rosemary Biscuits with Lemon-Honey Butter
Yields 10-12 biscuits
Biscuits
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling out the dough
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
½ cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, diced
1 cup buttermilk, plus a little extra for the top of the biscuits
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a silicone baking mat), and set aside.
Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, soda, rosemary, and lemon zest to a food processor. Pulse until combined.
Add the diced butter to the food processor, and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like coarse meal. There should still be pea-sized bits of butter throughout the flour mixture.
Add the buttermilk and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. You don’t want to overmix, otherwise, the biscuits will be dense. It’s OK to still see small bits of butter in the dough.
Spread a bit of flour on your work surface. Turn the dough out on the floured surface, and pat it into a rectangle, about ¾ inch thick. Fold the dough over and pat it down gently again. Fold it over one more time, and pat it down until it’s ¾ inch thick again. (Be careful not to overwork the dough beyond this.)
Use a 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits. Reroll the dough scraps as needed and continue to cut out more biscuits until all the dough is used.
Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space in between each one. Brush the tops with buttermilk or milk (this helps them brown).
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops and edges are slightly browned. Remove from the oven, and let them cool slightly. Serve warm with lemon-honey butter. (They also taste great with raspberry jam!)
Lemon-Honey Butter
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup honey
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Mix together all the ingredients until smooth. (I prefer to do this with a stand mixer or handheld mixer.) Transfer to a small bowl or dish, or spoon the butter onto plastic wrap, roll into a log shape, and wrap it up tightly. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.
This recipe was originally featured at Lark + Linen.
