Buttermilk Biscuits

I made these for our family's New Year's Dinner.  Everyone loved them because they are tasty.  Tonight I was asked to bring the bread for our Sunday dinner.  I was torn between making Easy Rolls, breadmachine rolls (haven't posted this yet), or the buttermilk biscuits.  I let the Wee One and Imaginative One be the deciding factor.  They told me they wanted the biscuits.  So that's what we are having.

Buttermilk Biscuits
Southern Plate

Stars of the recipe:

• 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine (1 stick)


• 2 1/4 c self rising flour


• 1 1/4 c buttermilk (or whole milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice added)


• flour for dusting


• melted butter for brushing baked biscuits

Steps:

1. Cut butter with a  into 1/4-inch-thick slices.Put butter slices on top of flour in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour with a long tined fork until crumbly.


2.  Cover and chill 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.


3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle top of dough with additional flour.


4.  Fold dough over into itself, like you are folding a piece of paper into a letter, in three sections. Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches).


5.  Press or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a parchment paper-lined or lightly greased  cookie sheet. Try to make sure they touch because this will help them rise higher.


6. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 Tbsp. melted butter.