Can you make cathead biscuits??

If you can't......here is your chance!!

Ever heard of a cathead biscuit? If not, then you in for a treat!

A cathead biscuit gets its name from the shape. They are not rolled or cut; they are pinched - sort of!

Ingredients:

pre sifted self rising flour approximately 3 cups
budda milk [for those of you who don't understand buttermilk]
shortnin [Crisco shortening] OR 1/4 cup EVOO, I now use olive oil as you will see by the photos


Pour your pre sifted flour in a medium mixing bowl, cut into the flour two tablespoons of shortnin or oil until well integrated in the flour and no lumps remain. After cutting in the shortnin, add budda milk to get your dough mixture to the consistency of cake batter.

Do not over stir or mix. If you over work the dough, your biscuits will be hard as cannon balls!! You want your batter where it easily pours from the bowl.

Once ingredients are mixed, you will be ready to make yo biscuits.

Have a flat surface that is well floured with your pre sifted self rising flour....prolly a cup or three, spread thin to accomodate the batter when poured. Pour the batter on to the flour on your flat surface. Don't waste time; immediately start folding your batter into the flour. Fold until the batter is no longer sticky to the touch. [tip, flour your hands well so the batter does not stick to your hands prior to starting and continue to do that throughout the process]

Once your dough is of a consistency that is easy to handle, you are ready to make your biscuits.

Place your biscuits in a greased, floured pan. To make the biscuits, pinch off a small handful of dough [make sure you have floured your hands again!] and gently roll it around your palms. Place the dough ball in your pan and gently press to a semi flattened state and repeat until dough is all gone.

Scoot that pan in a preheated oven of 425 degrees and cook for approximately 25 - 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown. These are also easily cooked in a Dutch oven by the fire!! Usually some coals on the top help out with a Dutch oven.

tutorial continued...

Iffin ya need the photo tutorial..
















continued...

continued..

continued...

That's all there is to it....

dangit woman, I'm trying to cut down on white bread/flour eating and you throw that out there....

I do what I can Sugah...enjoy.

Dangit that looks good.

I'll be saving that recipe!

Those look great!!!

Looks like the ones my G'mother made all those years ago.

Maggie if you are a purist...you should add what my high school girlfriend's mother once said to me......

If it's not White Lilly it won't make biscuits!!!

Dang those look good!

If I say so myself, they are good. My favorite time to make biscuits is when fresh tomatoes are in season!!! Big ole slab of fresh tomato in a split hot biscuit.....I'd fight ya for it!!!

My nanny used to make those every day, sure were good

Yep...I had an Aunt that believed a meal wasn't a meal, yet, until the cathead biscuits were done, and that went for 3 meals a day! She kept her flour in a huge tupperware bowl with a lid, and never measured anything. She'd make a divot in the middle of the flour, pour in some oil and buttermilk, and start working flour off the sides of the divot into the dough. when the dough ball was the size and consistency she wanted, she took it out, snapped the lid on the flour and put it back in the cabinet, then pinched the biscuits into the skillet, then into the oven with them. One of my family's "treasures" is video of her making them and explaining the steps as she went. We lost her to cancer in '95, but I bet there are no less than 2 dozen copies of that video in my family...although no one yet can make them like she could!

Those look awesome. I can imagine one with a slab of butter and a bunch of Tupelo honey draining out the sides

Sweet sassy molassy. I gotta try this Saturday morning. If these turn out better than my wife's biscuits I'll have to decide if she's worth keeping.

Good lookin biscuits and the only thing missing is me eating them with honey and butter

Dang those do look tasty. I could tear those up with a big ole piece of county ham and chunk of cheddar cheese.

Thx for the recipe.

I think this should be a weekly thing for you to do, share some of those cooking secrets, those biscuits make me miss my mawmaw. nothing better than having a turkey swinging over your back on the way to show your grandma only to have the smell of fresh biscuits hit you in the face walking up the drive

Thank you and what a lovely memory Turkeymaster.

That recipe came from my maternal granny whom I never knew. She passed just after I was born but my mom and uncle could both make fine biscuits, so I continue the tradition.

I am happy to share with y'all.

Those look great. What's your reasoning in using EVOO instead of shortnin? I've always used 1/4 cup of Crisco, but I'll give your EVOO a shot next time.

Homemade biscuits is one of the recipes I deeply regret not learning from my late Granny, so a year or 2 ago I decided to learn how, and also teach my oldest daughter. At 4 years old now, she's a dang good biscuit makin helper.

My Mawmaw did too. Breakfast and lunch always had fresh buttermilk biscuits and there was always butter, golden eagle syrup and some kind of homemade preserves on the table.

Good looking biscuits.

No particular reason on the EVOO other than it is my oil of choice and has been for years. Crisco works great and I have used it but stopped using it many years ago. Just my preference and any oil works well. The main thing is to not use to much oil/shortening. That will cause your biscuits to be tooooo hard as well as over working the dough.

Way cool on your daughter!! Teach um young and they never forget.

Hon, you talking to a jelly & preserve making guru....I have folks that start calling me about the time jelly making starts to get on my gift list; no kidding!!

Those look exactly like the biscuits my 88 year old grandma has made for as long as I can remember.They taste like heaven especially with a slice of cheese in the middle.

Not to hijack, but got a question along these lines.

When I picked my kumquats back in January, I took what fruit I managed to stop myself from eating, and made honeyed kumquats. I do a lot of canning, but mostly meats, prepared foods, etc., in other words, pressure canning. This was my first attempt ever at making any kind of fruit preserve, and it turned out great! Spooned over plain yogurt, you get the flavor you'd expect from a lot of honey, but with a VERY citrusy twist to it. My question is this...I'm thinking for next winter that the sweetness of the honey would be rounded out and...fuller?...if instead of cutting the honey with water, I used a brandy...brandied honeyed kumquats! As the guru of jelly & preserve making, does that sound like it would be even remotely good, or am I just an alcoholic, trying to mix some booze in with something better left alone? *L* (yeah, yeah, I know the alcohol would be evaporated during the cooking process... )

Honey, those look divine!! I think your idea of brandied kumquats sounds great although, some of the brandied recipes I have seen did not cook the alcohol. There is an age old recipe for brandied peaches [I believe this first appeared in The New York Times in 1951, if I recall correctly] and it adds the alcohol at the very end. In example, you cook your fruit and sugar [honey] to get your syrupy mixture to add to your canning jars and top them with a bit of brandy.

HERE IT IS:
INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds ripe peaches

3 cups sugar

About 1/2 cup brandy


DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a shallow “X” in the bottom of each peach. Add the peaches, one at a time, to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove the peach from the water and plunge into a bowl of ice water. Repeat with the remaining peaches. Peel off the skins, then pit the fruit and quarter the flesh.


2. In another large pot, combine 3 cups water and the sugar and bring to a boil. Add the peaches and simmer until just soft.


3. Have the jars, bands and new lids scalded and ready. (To scald, dip the jars and rims in boiling water. You don’t need to sterilize the jars, as you will be processing them for more than 10 minutes.) Simmer the lids in hot water to soften the rubberized flange. Gently pack the peaches into the jars.


4. Boil the leftover syrup until it thickens slightly, then spoon it over the fruit, filling the jars ¾ full. Use a butter knife to release any air bubbles caught in the jars. Pour in enough brandy to fill the jars, leaving ¼ inch of headroom. Wipe the rims, cover with the lids and screw on the bands fingertip-tight. Place the jars on a rack in a big pot and cover with 2 to 3 inches of water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and gently boil for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and then, after about 5 minutes, remove the jars. Allow them to cool, untouched, for 4 to 6 hours. Check the seals and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

There are many recipes out and about as many variations as to how to use alcohol preserving. I have seen some that don't even use a canning bath but let the alcohol do the preserving. Personally, I have not tried using alcohol when preserving but boy have you flung an idea on me! It will probably take a bit of experimenting to get the consistency just right for your kumquats with brandy and I think they would be great even cooking the fruit down with the alcohol. With your canning experience, YOU'VE GOT THIS!!