Heads up from the get go, because this recipe is so simple there’s going to be a fair amount of “Chewing the Fat” as part of this post. You’ve been warned.
But first the ingredients and recipe,
2 cups of self rising flour, 2 TBSP of sugar, 1/4 cup of shortening (about 47g), 3/4 cup of heavy cream, and 2-3 TBSP of buttermilk or extra cream.
Here is the recipe as it is written in the book,
“Stir together flour and sugar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cream to flour mixture, stir quickly to make soft dough - it may take 2-3 tablespoons additional cream or buttermilk are required to make a soft dough. Press quickly into a ball, past out on lightly floured board. Cut with biscuit cutter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet in a 425 degree oven 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.”
I followed this recipe pretty closely. I did need 3 additional TBSP of liquid. I chose buttermilk since I wanted to use the last bit I had in the fridge. I forwent the greased pan and used my go to parchment paper. My biscuits took closer to 12-13 minutes at 425. Like I do with all my biscuits, I rotate the pan half way through. I even threw a bit of melted butter on top for good measure.
The heavy cream really makes these babies fall apart and melt in the mouth.
As you can see above, I went with two different sizes when I started cutting. I chose a 2” and close to 3” cutter. I like a big biscuit, and I think my neighbors who I shared these with probably do too, so that’s one reason. The other smaller size is helpful in two ways; it keeps my consumption smaller and I like to use the smaller more-worked dough as “testers.” Smaller ones are my samplings for myself and family, the larger ones go out the door. And to offer you a recommendation, one I learned firsthand myself, if you’re trying a new recipe…cut it in half. That way if you mess up or don’t like it you don’t waste ingredients and only feel half as bad.
CHEWING THE FAT…
Alright, you been properly warned,
So this recipe came from a place that hit me right in the feels. During Christmas this past year I asked my parents for some very country/home grown items for Christmas. I requested a care package of grits, cornmeal, and hush puppy mix from Guildford Mills (a place that does stone ground everything and is located about 15 minutes form where I grew up). I also wanted a pair of Pointer Overalls, the same kind my grandfather used to wear. The grits and cornmeal came no problem, but the overalls proved harder to come by. The country store my grandfather got his from is no longer in business, but my parents frequent another similar establishment but even they said that the Pointer Brand is hard to find. From swapping stories with my mother, the Pointer brand is re-branding and is taking on an even older name in the process. All that to say, they bought me a brand called Round House that’s been in business for over 113 years with its founding in Oklahoma. So a pair of these arrive in the mail after Christmas (Postal Service issues), they’re too big and need to be exchanged, so when the second pair arrives I was surprised to find two cookbooks included inside the box. The cookbooks belonged to my maternal grandmother and had been passed down to my mother. Inside on the back page is my grandmother’s handwriting which has the date and who gave it to her. Needless to say I was “moved” by this surprise.
This particular recipe book came from Körner’s Folly, the life’s work and home of Jule Körner and the town’s namesake. This is from the official website,
“In 1878, Jule Körner began constructing what would become Körner’s Folly. As an interior and furniture designer, decorator, and painter, Jule planned to use this building to showcase his design work to his clients. He filled Körner’s Folly with his interior and furniture designs, as a “catalogue” for his clients to view his work. As Körner’s Folly began to take shape, its unique design defied simple description and the house was constantly under renovation to make way for new designs.”
The house is a bit odd, and I used to think it was like a miniature "Winchester House” in some ways. The fact that it had a “witches corner” didn’t help. Witches corner you ask? This is location at the entrance of the home where guests entering toss a coin into a pot as to draw the attention of an evil spirits that might be accompanying them to stay outside.
A artist rendition inside the recipe book of the witches corner at the Folly.
The website goes on to describe the family and the workings of the house and Jule’s career. It mention his design work in Durham, North Carolina but conveniently leaves out some rather “unseemly” details about his designs (Nothing a quick Google search won’t uncover).
Of course this being from my hometown along with my grandmother’s penmanship tucked in the back flap means this book holds a special place to me. I’m beginning to understand how much that place and “my people/my kinfolk” have shaped me. To cook something out of this book is to give a little of myself to those I cook/bake for and these cream biscuits were no exception.
The recipients of these biscuits were some neighbors. They’d been on my mind that morning after I came home and found a insulated bag hanging from our fence gate the day before the contents consisting of two beers. Now I’ve had beers dropped off before, I’ve even had a bottle or two of whiskey delivered, and on the eve of the election I received a bottle of wine gifted with the hopes from the giver that it would “get me through the night!” Needless to say I wasn’t sure who this benevolent beer bringer was since I had a list of folk in my head who fit the bill. However later on I checked a message on one of my social media platforms and it was from a particular neighbor. He and his family had received some special skull-shaped cinnamon muffins from Lauren and I and through messaging we talked of a time where we might “cheers” one another in the future. His bag of beer was a way to usher that practice in during these pandemic times.
Now I’ve learned one thing here in Lincoln and that’s most people don’t return a container empty. Thus the reason the cream biscuits found there way into the empty insulated bag and placed back on my neighbors property for him and his kin to enjoy.
That’s what it’s all about. It’s about reciprocity. It’s about sharing a little of me with a little bit of you and vice versa. It’s about breaking bread and filling cups. And in some cases those cups are steins. Enough of CHEWING THE FAT. Enough of the sermon. Let’s eat.
And all God’s people said?
Amen.