Flaky Layered Biscuits

Several years ago my daughter asked me to make layered biscuits.  We both enjoyed eating the biscuits that come in a peel and pop open can at the grocery store.  I decided that I didn't want to buy those and went about finding a recipe.  I found a recipe, and well it was a lot of ingredients, labor intensive and really a recipe I reserved for special occasions.  Today my daughter asked again for flaky biscuits and I looked again for a recipe and was rewarded by a wonderfully simple recipe found here.  I would like to think I improved the recipe with my homemade buttermilk.  I also have a great story to go with these biscuits.   Yesterday our refrigerator/freezer died and we had to put all our perishable food into two ice filled coolers.  We then placed those coolers on our balcony in the very cold night air.  This morning it began to snow and has continued snowing all day.  I had to pull my buttermilk and butter out of snow covered coolers, I feel like a pioneer (sort of).

Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit.

These are so much better tasting than the canned variety from a certain dough boy.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 1 lb. self-rising flour (4 cups), 1/2 cup frozen butter (1 stick, 4 ounces),  and 1 1/3 cup buttermilk (I used homemade, recipe can be found here).

 Cut butter in half, with one half slice into pats, the other half cut into cubes.  This will insure a variety of butter consistency in the biscuits to both create flaky and tender results.

 Put butter in flour and using your fingertips gently squish the butter and flour together to create
a pea sized floured butter pieces.  Add all but 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk.  Gently knead the
dough until it just comes together.  I like wearing gloves to help both keep my hands from drying
out from multiple washings and it prevents my warm fingers from melting the frozen butter.

 Roll dough out on lightly floured surface, gently.  When it is 1/4-1/2 inch thick, fold in half and
turn clockwise 90 degrees.  Roll to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness again, fold and repeat.  As long as
you are folding in the opposite direction of the last fold you will begin to notice your dough is becoming layered.  Keep folding till you have folded four times. 

To ensure you do not seal the layers together use a very sharp round cutter pushed straight
down without twisting at all, or a knife pushed straight down into the dough.  I don't have
cookie cutters, so I made square biscuits using a knife.  

See the layers?

 Place on greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Use the remaining two tablespoons
of buttermilk to brush on the biscuits.

 Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.

I love the layers, don't you?

Enjoy!