A-Mazing Biscuits!

No seriously. The flavor of these is remarkable considering that they are (can be) lower in calories. I also learned and confirmed two great baking tricks that I will share in this recipe. We enjoyed these along with beer boiled Old Bay Shrimp.

Low-Fat Diner Style Biscuits

(About 12 biscuits)

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• Dash of salt
• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into slices
• ½ cup light cream (I used 2% milk for both this and the following milk and did not lose any flavor)
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 ½ tablespoons sugar (Or splenda) 

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, add the butter and cut into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Here is baking trick #1. I placed these ingredients into my mini food processor and used the pulse setting to get my "coarse meal." I got the idea from a Bon Appetit recipe and figured it would completely overwork the pastry. But this is the third time I have tried it with incredible results! I feel like such a cheater, but the proof is in the pudding. And I have never had such flaky, amazing dough. It’s okay if you have small chunks of butter, that’s what you want! Cover and chill for at least 10 minutes.

2. Once chilled, add in light cream and sugar and mix until just combined. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead about 4 times. To roll them out, use a rolling pin and roll out to about the size of a 9 x 5 rectangle. Then fold the dough, vertically, in thirds. You should have a thinner, taller rectangle of dough. Roll dough back out to a 9 x 5 rectangle and then fold again crosswise in thirds. Then, roll the dough out to about 3/4 – 1 inch thickness. Wow! How did I never realize this is how you get those seemingly layered biscuits that just pull in half. Feel free to repeat the folding trick 3 or 4 times. Using a small circular cookie cutter (or 1/3 measuring cup dusted with flour) cut out biscuits.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place biscuits about an inch apart on the baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until they’ve puffed up and are golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!