Buttermilk Biscuits Makes 10 biscuits. Working time 20 min. Total time 40 min.
2 cups self-rising flour, plus at least 1 cup more for dusting work surface stick butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces; plus 1 tablespoon, melted cup cream cheese, at room temperature cup buttermilk 1. Preheat oven to 500F, with a rack set in the middle. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, butter pieces, and cream cheese, using your fingers to cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles cottage cheese. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add the buttermilk, and mix with your hands or a small rubber spatula. 2. Sprinkle flour over the dough. Run a rubber spatula between the bowl and the dough, then sprinkle the exposed dough with more flour. 3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Generously sprinkle dough and rolling pin with flour. Roll out to a .-inch-thick oval. (Do not knead.) 4. Pour about . cup flour into a small bowl. Dip a 2-inch square metal biscuit cutter* into the flour; then cut out biscuits, dipping the cutter back into the flour as needed (as long as the dough remains wet on the inside, you can use as much flour on the outside as needed to handle it). Gather excess dough, roll it out to a .-inch-thick oval, and continue cutting biscuits as above. Place biscuits, sides touching, in a cast-iron skillet or baking pan fitted with parchment. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. 5. Place pan in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 450F. Bake biscuits until tops are golden, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through.