Perfect Homemade Biscuits

You know how I usually go out and find a recipe and then modify it? Well, this morning I went looking for a new biscuit recipe for breakfast, and found a recipe that already had so many variations that I had trouble finding one of my own to try.
I did, but it was work.
I found This recipe at https://www.momontimeout.com/perfect-biscuits-every-time-recipe/ and it has distinct advantages over either my buttermilk biscuit recipe from the now-defunct Meemo's Kitchen, or even baking mix biscuits. It doesn't take anything I don't usually have in my pantry or refrigerator, it's as fast to make as baking mix biscuits (nearly) and it is easily modified. The stock recipe comes out very soft, and rather flaky. I'll include some suggested changes at the end of the instructions.
Here's the recipe for Perfect Homemade Biscuits!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
• 3/4 cup COLD butter
• 1 egg (optional)
• 1 cup whole milk (skim works too)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. Try cutting the butter into small pieces and stick back in the fridge pulling out only when ready to incorporate into the dough.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
• Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour mixture. Don't go too crazy here - you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough. 
• Add in the milk and egg and mix just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don't keep working it. You should be able to see the butter pieces in the dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on to the top of dough so it won't stick to your fingers and knead 10-15 times. If the dough is super sticky just sprinkle on some additional flour.
• Pat the dough out to 3/4 - 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass. I ended up with nine this time but depending on who is snacking on biscuit dough, I can get up to 12 biscuits. [I got 12 on my first batch, 14 on my second, and who snacks on raw biscuit dough?-Edly]
• Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
• For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter... [Your arteries will slam shut in delight!-Edly]

Modifications and notes:

Some of the ingredients are considered optional by the source.  They claim it is safe to leave out the cream of tartar, and that the egg is optional. They also say you can use buttermilk instead of whole milk, but you will have to use more because of how thick it is. UPDATE 12/20/2020: They're right about it taking more buttermilk. Today I made this recipe with the following modifications: 1 cup buttermilk instead of milk (I could have used a bit more.) 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda instead of 4 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, and buttermilk is slightly acidic, which activates the baking soda.) No cream of tartar (I couldn't find any.)

The first time I fixed them today (I made them for breakfast and dinner both) I made them exactly as outlined in the recipe above, only choosing not to brush the biscuits with additional butter after baking (there's so much butter in them already!) The second time I added about 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to the one cup of skim milk I almost always use in my cooking. They came out a bit moister that way.

Either way, these are best eaten hot and straight from the oven. They are not nearly as good if allowed to cool.
After testing: You can make these biscuits ahead of time and freeze them before baking them, just like Pillsbury frozen biscuits. Place the already formed biscuits into a baking sheet and place it into the freezer for an hour or two, then put the frozen biscuits into a freezer bag and store them for up to several weeks and make them as you want them!

Fried Chicken Strips

Folks-
Guess what? It's time for Fried Chicken Recipe III! This one is based on my last one, modified (you knew that was coming!) and tested on my family. This time they may not let me further modify it.
I served it this evening with mashed potatoes, gravy made from the oil from the chicken, fresh biscuits, and steamed asparagus spears. It was possibly the best meal I have ever made featuring chicken!
Here's my recipe:
Edly Fried Chicken Strips

1-Cup All-purpose Flour 
1/2-Cup Italian Bread Crumbs 
1/2-Cup Corn Flour or Masa
1-Tsp Salt
1-1/2-Tsp Italian Seasonings
1-Tsp Celery Salt
1-Tsp Black Pepper
1-Tsp Dried Mustard
4-Tsp Paprika
2-Tsp Garlic Salt
1-Tsp Ground Ginger
3-Tsp White Pepper
1-Tsp Turmeric
1/2-Tsp Chili Powder
1/2-Tsp Garlic Powder
1-Tsp Chicken Bouillon 
1/2-Tsp Baking Soda
2-Eggs
1/2-Cup Buttermilk
2-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (about 2.5 to 3.5 lbs)
Enough cooking oil to fill a large frying pan 1/2" deep

Put all dry ingredients into a gallon sized Ziploc or similar bag and shake it to mix them together. Wash chicken breasts and cut into strips about  2 CM wide (1/2 inch). Beat eggs and mix with the buttermilk. Throw chicken strips, a few at a time, into the Ziploc bag and toss them in the powder to coat them.  Dip the chicken strips into the egg and buttermilk mixture, and throw them back into the Ziploc bag a few at a time and shake it to coat them. Place them on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator to cool for 1 to 2 hours (No joke. Don't skip this step or the coating won't stick.)
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before frying. Heat about 1/2 inch (1-2cm) of cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat to 350-380 degrees (use a thermometer). Put several strips into the oil. Fry until medium brown, about 4-5 minutes on the first side, flip and cook another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (not on a plate with paper towels!) This keeps the chicken coating crispy. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Folks-
This is a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe with just a couple of subtle changes. Melting the butter, instead of using softened butter, is my dad's contribution. I also often use vanilla sugar thrown into the measuring cup before measuring out the white sugar. Tip: I use a 2-cup measuring cup most of the time. First I pack-in the brown sugar, then I finish by adding white sugar until it reaches the 1-1/2 Cup level. That gives you the most accurate measure of sugar for your cookies!

Ingredients
1 Cup (2 sticks) melted butter
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or 2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 large eggs
2-1/4 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Cups chocolate chips
Optional: 1 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and nuts and mix well. Mix in chocolate chips
From into 1-2 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Note: It's easy to use a mellon-baller to form these. They can be frozen for up to six months, and baked straight from the freezer.

Bread-Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I make two different kinds of cinnamon rolls on a regular basis, bread-dough and pie crust. Both are good, but rather different. I'll post instructions for the pie crust cinnamon rolls later. Now, one of my family's favorite breakfast treats!

Bread-Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1lb batch:

2/3 Cup Water

1/2 Egg

2 Cups Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

1-1/2 Tsp Dry Yeast

1-1/2lb Batch:

1 Cup Water

1 Egg

3 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1-1/2 Tsp Salt

5 Tbsp Butter

2 Tsp Dry Yeast

Filling:

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1 Cup Cinnamon Sugar

Put ingredients into a bread machine in the order the manual instructs (usually the order above) and set the machine to Dough Mode. When complete, roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix melted butter and cinnamon sugar together and spread on dough. Roll dough into a  cylinder and using a sharp knife, cut into 1 inch segments. Place segments into a greased pan giving them 1/2 to 3/4 inch space on all sides and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately frost or glaze. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and serve hot.

Tips: These can be frozen prior to cooking. I find a full batch is too much for my family to eat before they start to go stale. I divide a 1-1/2 lb batch into thirds, put the cinnamon rolls into a pie tin sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and freeze them. To bake them, put the pie-tin into a cold oven and immediately set the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes--until they just start to turn golden brown.

You can absolutely make 2 or 3 lb batches of these by doubling either of the recipes above, if your bread machine is big enough. Combined with the freezing tip outlined above, this has allowed me to bake 5-8 large trays of these in a single day before taking them to my co-workers as Christmas gifts.

Crumb Cake

Folks-

I wanted to power out another recipe or two while I still have my Zap 190 cookbook out. This one is my mom's crumb cake and crumb cake topping recipes. They are very good together, and I just may fix them tomorrow. We'll just have to see...

-Edly

Updated 1/12/2022:

I decided to make this tonight due to having a whole lot of milk on hand (it takes over a quart!) So, I decided to make some changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of margarine or shortening, and half of the 2 teaspoons of vanilla without changing the flavor of the pudding just by changing the order of adding ingredients. I've updated the recipe below.

Crumb Cake
E. Perl

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine, Shortening or coconut oil
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup to 1-1/2 Cups Milk (approximately)

Mix together flour and sugar and cut in margarine, shortening, or coconut oil (I recommend blending shortening with the coconut oil to keep it from being overwhelming) until crumbly. Save one cup of the crumbs for later. Add the baking powder and salt, then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until it is the consistency of drop biscuit batter. Spread the batter into a greased cake pan and top with the saved crumbs from earlier. Cook at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until done in the middle.

Crumb Cake Topping

E. Perl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix together all ingredients except vanilla extract in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring vigorously and continuously all the way to the bottom to prevent it from burning (warning! It wants to burn! Like really wants to burn!) until it starts to thicken to the consistency of pudding (at about 200 degrees F.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, and then serve warm on a slice of the crumb cake.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Folks-
It's been a while since I've updated the site with a new recipe, and that's because I use the site as my own personal recipe card file. If I haven't needed an old recipe, have been experimenting much in the kitchen, and haven't found a new recipe that I need to add to the old card file, then I don't update.
Well, one of Zhenie's old high-school friends (she went to school in The Philippines, so how did one of her old friends end up living only a mile away?) dropped off a whole bunch of pairs at our house. I was thinking pie, but didn't find my mom's old pie crust recipe online. Time to fix that.
Here's a recipe that my mom got from one of the cooks at the school she retired from:

Fool Proof Pie Crust

Ingredients:
4 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 ¾ Cups or 335g *Shortening
½ Cup Cold Water
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Large Egg

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender just until mixed in and crumbly. Do not overdo it or the liquids won't mix in! In a separate bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, and egg. Add liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until a kneadable dough forms. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. If making an uncooked pie, be sure to poke the bottom of the pie crust multiple times with a fork before cooking to prevent bubbles.

Notes:
1. Shortening is getting harder to find these days. I intend to experiment with a coconut oil soon as a replacement. If I do, I'll let you know the results. Update: It works, but gives it a strong coconut flavor. This might work for some pies. I recommend sticking with shortening or maybe ghee.

2. It is best to get the liquids ready first then leave them in the refrigerator until ready. In fact, it's best to make this recipe when it's cold, and store it in the fridge until ready to roll out.

3. I made this for hand-pies recently using lard instead of vegetable shortening and it came out stronger than using the regular shortening. It still refused to seal (especially around the blueberry filled ones.) I may try a completely different recipe for hand-pies. (7/5/25)

White Bread-Bread Machine Recipe

Folks-
This is a good, simple recipe for bread machine white bread I got at cdkitchen. It makes a 1.5 lb loaf.
I'm not including instructions, because most bread machines have their own instructions. The only modification I've done is change the order of the ingredients to match my own bread machine.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened (can be hard if you dice it)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp Bread Machine Yeast, or 1 tbsp active dry yeast)

Egg Noodles

Folks-
My chicken and Turkey noodle soups are well known in my circle. The real secret to them is the homemade noodles. Since I haven't figured out the measurements for the soup ingredients yet, I'll post the recipe for the noodles first. It's my moms recipe, with a variation at the end from my dad. I prefer the egg yolk version over the whole egg, but it takes so dang many eggs! Both versions are easier than most people would think. Give them both a try and see which you prefer!

Here it is, my mom's homemade noodle recipe!


Egg Noodles
E. Pearl

6 Egg Yolks
1 Whole Egg
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Flour

Mix together in the order above until very stiff. Roll out dough on a well floured board to 1/8" thickness. Cover with a towel and allow to dry for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Roll the dough into a cylinder and slice first once along the length of the cylinder, and then across the cylinder to make noodles of about 1/4" width. Boil for up to 45 minutes.
You can substitute 3 whole eggs for 6 egg yolks and 1 whole egg.