You’ve had pimento cheese on a cracker, now you can have pimento cheese in your cracker.  In my on-going quest to eat as much pimento cheese as possible, I arrive at these little gems.  They are a hybrid of two Southern party classics – pimento cheese, the pate of the South, and the classic cheese straw.  Crumbly and cheesy, with the tang of pimentos and the crunch of pecans, these are the perfect nibble with tall glass of ice tea (or short glass of bourbon).  They are wonderful packed up in your heirloom Tupperware for a weekend at the lake or displayed on your heirloom silver for shower or a cocktail party.  They are a marvelous standby, as you can keep the rolls in the freezer for emergencies and they make a lovely gift, wrapped up with a ribbon.

And yes, to answer the obvious question, I would serve pimento cheese crisps and pimento cheese sandwiches at the same time.

Pimento Cheese Crisps

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos

8 ounces sharp cheddar

½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

Dash of cayenne pepper

A generous pinch of salt

A few grinds black pepper

½ cup chopped pecans

Rinse and drain the pimentos and place them on paper towels.  Pat them dry and then leave them for 10 – 15 minutes to air dry.

Grate the cheese and the cold butter together in a food processor.  Switch from the grating blade to the metal blade, then add the flour, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne salt and pepper.  Process until the dough just begins to come together and looks moist and grainy.  Add the pecans and process until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and form a ball.  Add the pimentos and pulse a few times until the dough is a ball.

Dump the dough onto a piece of waxed paper, scrapping out all the pimento pieces.  Knead the dough a few times just to incorporate and distribute the pimento pieces.  Cut two more lengths of waxed paper, divide the dough into two portions and place each portion on one waxed paper length.  Form each onto a log and roll tightly, pressing in to form a nice solid log.  Twist the ends like a candy wrapper.  Refrigerate the logs for at least an hour before baking, but you can refrigerate them for two days or freeze them for 3 months.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Remove the rolls from the fridge and slice into medium-thick wafers, about 1/4 inch each.  Place on the baking sheet with a little room to spread and bake until golden around the edges and firm on the top, about 10 – 12 minutes.  Cool on the pans for a few minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen

Simple, delicious spring vegetables really just need the simplest of bright accompaniments, and this dip really hits the bill.  It is tangy with lemon and perfectly creamy and even has a sunshine-y yellow hue.

I love this at room temperature as a dip for lightly steamed asparagus spears or artichoke leaves.  Put it can also be spooned over as a sauce.  And its uses go far beyond that.  Spoon it over grilled chicken or steamed fish.  I love the use of meyer lemons with their sweet-tart flavor.  This sauce, with the citrus and the wine, is puckeringly tangy.  If you use regular lemons, reduce the amount of juice by a couple of Tablespoons.

Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables

1 large shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

Leaves from 2 rosemary stems

½ cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

1 cup white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

6 Tablespoons butter

Place the shallot, garlic and rosemary leaves in a saucepan and add the lemon juice and wine.  Give to a good stir, then bring to the boil over medium-high heat.  Boil gently until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup.  Stir in the heavy cream and cook until the liquid is reduced a bit more and the sauce is thickened.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring jug and pour the sauce through, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Wipe out the pan and return the sauce to it.  Place over low heat and whisk in the butter ½ Tablespoon at a time, letting each piece melt before adding more.

Transfer to a small bowl and let it come to room temperature.  You can serve this hot as a sauce.

Makes about ½ cup dip

From the first time I made macaroni and cheese, I’ve used this basic recipe, with the sauce you simply stir up.  We were not a big macaroni and cheese family, and never had any version from the box until college, when the hot pot was our main cooking apparatus and I had an ingenious roommate.  I think I might have originally found the recipe in a kids’ cookbook, but I don’t really remember.  The recipe served me well for years, particularly in a poorly equipped kitchen in graduate school.  And I just thought this was how mac and cheese was made.  It was years before I learned that most macaroni and cheese recipes start with a roux made into a cream sauce.  As I progressed in the kitchen, I started working on recipes made with béchamel sauce, white wine based sauces, an onion soubise, exotic cheeses and the like.  But for simple meals, I always came back to this method.  And I’ve really decided I like it better.  It’s very creamy, very cheesy, and of course could not be simpler.  So now I make it with cheese only, or flavorful add-ins.

This version is my favorite, and based on a macaroni and cheese served at a favorite restaurant.  I am sure they use a great more expertise and skill in making it, but I manage to get the flavors I love spot-on. I like corkscrew-y cavatappi pasta, but regular macaroni, or shells, or farfalle work equally well.  Once you have this simple, basic recipe down, you can alter it however you please – with different cheeses, added spices, bacon or roasted chicken…the possibilities are endless.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Country Ham and Leeks

4 leeks

6 Tablespoons butter, divided

¼ cup white wine

8 ounces uncookedelbow macaroni or cavatappi noodles

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces white cheddar cheese

4 ounces fontina cheese

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt  and ground black pepper to taste

8 ounces country ham, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 375° Butter a 2 quart baking dish well.

Slice the white and palest green parts of the leek in half lengthwise, then slice into half-moons. Rinse the leeks very well in a colander under cool running water and shake to drain. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat and add the leeks, with a little water clinging to them, and stir to coat.  Pour in the white wine and ¼ cup water, cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the leeks are wilted, transparent and soft, about 20 minutes.  If needed, add a bit more water to prevent sticking.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to package instructions in well-salted water.  Drain and return to the pan off the heat.  Stir 2 Tablespoons butter into the pasta to melt and coat to prevent sticking.  Leave to cool.

Grate all the cheeses and toss together.  In a bowl, whisk together the milk, flour, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Shake well for at least a minute until the flour is completely mixed with the milk.

Toss together the cooled pasta and the most of the grated cheeses, reserving a few handfuls for the top of the dish. Stir in the leeks and diced country ham until evenly distributed. Pour over the milk mixture and stir thoroughly until well mixed.  Spoon into the buttered dish and spread out to create an even surface.  Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden on top and bubbling and heated through.

Serves 6, 8 as a side dish

A few years ago, I was in charge of preparing an Easter lunch for my family.  We were a small group that year, and decided on classic Southern brunch food – grits, fruit, ham.  But a whole ham would have been more than enough food for our group.  We would have had leftovers for years.  But most of the smaller hams on the market are pressed hams, and I am not into that.  And I didn’t want to serve pre-sliced pieces from a plastic package either.

I was standing at the deli counter, contemplating whether or not there was some kind of compromise I could work out.  And I saw the Canadian bacon.  They sell it sliced, like any deli meat, but of course behind the counter, they have it in whole chunks.  It took some explaining to the deli supervisor, but I went home with a big chunk of cured Canadian bacon.  I realized I could treat it both like a ham and like bacon, baking it with a sweet, sticky glaze and serving it sliced. And it was a hit.  Perfect for a small gathering, and perfect with the classic brunch accompaniments.  You can slice it thick or thin, as you like, but basically serve as you would ham.  If there are any leftovers, it is amazing on sandwiches or try an eggs benedict – the tangy, sweet edges on the bacon add a special touch.

Glazed Canadian Bacon

2 pounds Canadian bacon, one piece, unsliced

¼ cup light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon bourbon

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon cane syrup, molasses or maple syrup

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Generous grinds of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a baking dish with parchment or non-stick foil.

Place the piece of Canadian bacon in the prepared dish.  In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cane syrup, mustard, mustard powder, ginger and pepper.  Brush half the glaze over the bacon, spreading along the sides and ends.  Add one Tablespoon of water to the baking dish.

Bake the bacon until it reaches and internal temperature of 165°. This should take about an hour.  About 20 minutes into the cooking time, spoon the remaining glaze over the bacon and continue cooking.  When the bacon is done, leave it to rest for 5 minutes or so before slicing and serving.  It can be served warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8 – 10

Bananas Foster is a classic New Orleans dessert with a storied history, and is one of the many dishes from the Crescent City’s famed restaurants that have made its way around the world.  And Bananas Foster is an impressive dish to order at a restaurant, when done the old-school way.  An expert server, rolls out a cart, heats the sugar for the caramel sauce, sautés the bananas, and flames the alcohol.  All tableside, to oohs and aahs, and nowadays, snapping cameras and flashing phones.

But who does that at home?  That experience is best left to the experts, in my opinion.  It is one of those dishes you go to restaurants for.  But rich, rummy caramel and bananas are a great combination.  Though I will admit here that I prefer cakes or cookies made with bananas to actual bananas.  We all have our quirks.  And so I love this cake.  I mean love this cake.  It has a very pronounced fresh banana flavor, and the addition of the mashed fruit makes it incredibly moist.  The rum is just a background note, enhancing the flavor.  The caramel glaze is a boozed-up version of my classic cheat for caramel icing, but the pairing with banana and rum takes it to a whole new level.

This cake makes an amazing dessert for any meal, but for some reason really shouts brunch to me.  Maybe because that’s when I’ve enjoyed the real Bananas Foster at those New Orleans restaurants.  Trust me, whatever the occasion; you want to make this cake.

Bananas Foster Pound Cake

For the Cake:

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 ripe bananas, mashed

4 Tablespoons dark rum, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

For the Glaze:

¼ cup butter

½ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons dark rum

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a 10 – inch tube or Bundt pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter for a few minutes, then add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 – 7 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Stir 3 Tablespoons of the rum and vanilla extract into the mashed bananas, then beat the mix into the butter until combined.  Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together, then gradually beat into the batter until completely incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the pan.  Bake for 45- 50 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  If the cake starts to get too brown, cover it loosely with foil.

Leave the cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack set over a piece of foil or waxed paper (to catch drips from the glaze). Poke holes on top of the cake with a skewer, then dribble the remaining 1 Tablespoon rum over it, distributing it evenly.  The rum will soak right in.  Leave the cake to cool completely.

For the Glaze:

The cake must be completely cool, or the glaze will slide right off.

Cut the butter into cubes and place in a saucepan with the brown sugar, cream, rum and salt. After everything melts together, bring to a full, rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When it reaches that boil, count to 60 Mississippi, then pull it off the heat. Leave the pan to cool for about 5 minutes, then vigorously beat in the powdered sugar until smooth.

Immediately pour the glaze over the cake, but do so slowly and evenly to cover as much surface as possible. Leave the glaze to set, then slice and enjoy. Covered tightly, this cake will last a few days.

Serves 10

Soufflé. It’s the word that strikes terror into aspiring cooks. Actually, it can strike terror into the most experienced cook. The idea of any dish that must be treated with such care and delicacy, that a loud noise or simple sneeze might ruin all your hard work. Something thought so difficult that even the tiniest of misteps can turn it into soup or a leaden, burned brick. We’ve seen the TV episodes of the Fifities housewife desperate to impress the in-laws reduced to tears by a fallen soufflé. Soufflé the dread, soufflé the feared! Like the greatest sinners among us, we fear becoming The Fallen.

I have been instructed by experienced chefs, I have experimented in my own kitchen, and yes, I have had a fallen soufflés. But practice makes perfect, and mistakes sometimes take you where you meant to go. I worked on a soufflé recipe for months, making notes, crossing things out, writing in the margins, spilling milk on the ink and somehow I got here. I may not of reinvented the wheel, but I sure made it simple. This is the soufflé for the culinarily challenged. I won’t say it is foolproof; it does take a little patience. But from the first time I accidently stumbled upon the formula to the many times I have made it since, I have never had a dud. My nieces and I used to create “restaurants” at my house. We’d design a menu, plan the cooking, make the signs, take the orders (from indulgent parents and grandparents) and cook and serve the meal. On the first menu of our first restaurant, we offered this Cheese Soufflé, and it was a best seller. So trust me, you can do it.

Cheese soufflé makes an elegant first course, a lovely light luncheon with a salad, or a sophisticated breakfast or brunch treat. Jazz these up with herbs added in, or the addition of a surprise at the bottom of the dish. I always argue for using the best ingredients possible, but in a simple dish like this it is really important that they shine. Farm fresh eggs, quality butter and really good cheese. I use a natural white cheddar.

Cheese Soufflé

It is important that the eggs are at room temperature, and that the cheese mixture has cooled before folding in the egg whites to get the puffy soufflé effect.

5 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

4 eggs, separated, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 400.  Have a sheet pan ready. Butter and flour 6 ramekins, about seven ounces each.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in the flour until it starts to bubble and turns white, about 3 minutes. Take off the heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Return to heat and whisk until bubbling and thick. Switch to a spatula or sturdy wooden spoon and add the mustard, cheese, nutmeg and salt. Pull off the heat and add the egg yolks. Stir vigorously until everything is smooth and fully incorporated. Cool.

In an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir a large dollop of the egg whites into the cheese mixture to loosen it up, then gently fold in the rest of the whites.

Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins.  Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat for about 5 minutes. Carefully place the ramekins on the heated baking sheet and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately. These will deflate as they cool – deflate, not fall or collapse. They are still lovely, light and airy.

You can chill the pre-baked ramekins for up to 4 hours in you prefer. When ready to serve, cook as directed above, though they may take a minute longer.

Serves 6

*For a little flair, spoon an extra into the ramekins such as crumbled blue cheese, chunky salsa or chutney.

There was a pub I frequented when I was a graduate student in England.  I will admit I didn’t eat there as much as my friends and I took a study break for last call at the bar. But they did serve food.  It wasn’t gourmet, it wasn’t even all that great, but they did have these potato cakes that I was very fond of.  They were cheap and filling, which are two of the top criteria for any student’s good food list.  It was only many years later, when I concerned myself primarily in recipe reading and research, that I came across boxty, and realized it was the same dish I’d eaten those years ago. I’ve since searched them out at pubs that do specialize in good food, and found the principle was pretty much the same.

My research revealed that boxty (pronounced bach-shtee) is a classic Irish dish.  A potato cake made with mashed and grated potatoes, often using leftover mash and that last potato in the drawer.  I follow the traditional method I’ve read in recipes over the years, but I add the bite of green onions, as is traditional in Champ, the classic Irish mashed potato dish.  And, as usual, I prefer the tang of buttermilk. Boxty aren’t pretty, but they are tasty.  The creamy mashed potatoes with the texture of the grated potatoes sets them apart from most other versions of potato cake.  I honestly can’t remember how they were served at that pub, but I have since had them as part of a “full English (or Irish)” breakfast, with bacon, sausage, tomatoes and egg all fried in the same pan.  I love them with a good pat of butter melting on top, but they make an excellent side dish, and would be brilliant with corned beef and cabbage or soaking up the gravy from a stew.

Boxty

Irish Potato Cakes

2 pounds (3 to 4 large) baking potatoes

3 spring onions, white and light green part, chopped

¾ cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ Tablespoon kosher salt

4 Tablespoons butter

Heat the oven to 200° and line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Peel two of the potatoes and cut large pieces.  Place the chunks in a large saucepan, salt generously, and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook the potatoes uncovered until fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Halfway through the cooking time, drop in the chopped green onions.  When the potatoes are soft, strain them through a colander and return to the pan.  Mash them with ¼ cup of the buttermilk until they are smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

While the potatoes are cooling, peel and grate the remaining potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and place on a clean teal towel.  Gather the towel into a ball and squeeze out as much moisture from the grated potatoes as possible.

Beat the remaining ½ cup of buttermilk and the egg together in the measuring jug.  Fold the grated potatoes into the mashed potatoes and green onions.  Fold in the buttermilk mixture, flour, and salt until incorporated. You should have a pretty stiff batter.  You can add a bit more flour if needed.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat.  Add enough butter to lightly coat the bottom when melted. Drop 3 mounds (about 1/4 cup each) of the batter into the pan and flatten each to about 1/4 inch thick. Cook until the pancake bottoms are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Place on a baking sheet and set in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter. Serve warm.

Makes 12 – 16

Muffins are the easiest bread to whip up.  No yeast, not kneading, no rising.  I love sweet muffins for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and I have certainly had muffins that are less sweet and more savory, but I really wanted to develop something straight up savory.

I have many recipes for sweet muffins that use applesauce or fruit purée to make them moist, and it occurred to me that a puréed onion would have the same effect.  It also makes the batter tangy and unique.  I add a crunchy walnuts and creamy goat cheese with a hit of fresh herbs to make these little packages full of surprises.  These are perfect with a bowl of soup or chili, slathered with butter, melting into its nooks and crannies. Savory muffins would also be a twist at brunch, alongside sausage, grits or a ham.

Walnut, Goat Cheese and Herb Muffins

You can substitute oregano or sage for the marjoram if you prefer, or use a combo of soft, leafy herbs. You can make these in mini-muffin pans.

1 medium yellow onion (to make 1 cup purée)

10 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Several grinds of fresh black pepper

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Peel the onion and cut it into chunks and purée it in a food processor or strong blender until smooth (I use a mini-processor). You should have 1 cup of purée.

Whisk the cooled, melted butter and eggs together in a large bowl.  Add the onion purée and stir to combine.  Stir in the flour, baking powder salt and pepper until just moist.  Add the goat cheese, marjoram and walnuts and stir until just combined.  Don’t overwork the batter; just stir until everything is mixed.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full.  Bake for 25 – 20 minutes until golden and browned around the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

The muffins will keep in an airtight container for a day, but are best served warm.  Loosely wrap them in foil and reheat in a warm oven.

Makes 12

This is, I suppose, a treasured family recipe.  For my entire life, both my mother and my aunt often waxed poetic about the favored meal of their childhood.  Waffles and Hash.  We were regaled at family meals about the tradition of having Waffles and Hash for Sunday night dinner.  Any mention of family food traditions with these two always includes waffles and hash dinners.  But in all my years, neither my mother nor may aunt have ever made waffles and hash.  We would sit around my grandmother’s table on Sunday nights during our visits, eating whatever lovely meal was prepared, and the conversation would turn to memories of waffles and hash.  There is some tangible evidence to the truth of these tales, though.  My great-grandmother submitted a waffle recipe to a local community cookbook.  My mother submitted the same recipe to a cookbook many years later.  They are known as Perre’s Waffles (we all share the same name). The waffle iron I still use today was a housewarming gift from my great-grandmother to my mother when she moved into her first apartment.  I have absolutely no recollection of my mother ever making waffles.  Much less hash.

So I finally decided to take on the dish myself.  I know (and have been told) that it is not like the hash from my mother’s childhood.  But she can’t really describe that hash except that involved chicken, so I was flying blind. My aunt and I sorted through my grandmother’s recipe notes and clippings a few years ago, and found a faded piece of legal paper with a hash recipe on it.  I thought I had found gold, but my aunt immediately read it and dismissed it as” not the hash we used to have at all.”

I include salty country ham in my version, because chances are, at those Middle Tennessee family dinners, we were probably eating a country ham. I love the slight sweetness added by the apple cider with that salty hit.  The waffles cook up crisp on the outside, but airy and tender on the inside.

My mother includes the absolute proviso that there must be lots of gravy, because the whole point is that the gravy from the hash soaks into the waffles. So let the gravy thicken, but not reduce too much.  If you want to, add a bit more cider, and definitely add more if you re-heat the hash.  The family legend also states that this meal included a waffle with hash for dinner, and a waffle with ice cream and maple syrup for dessert.

Waffles and Hash (Chicken Hash with Cider Gravy)

For the Hash:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 cups fresh apple cider

1 carrot

1 rib celery

1 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 ounces country ham slices, cut into small pieces

salt and pepper to taste

For the Waffles:

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter

4 eggs,  separated

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

8 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups milk

For the Hash:

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Place the chicken breasts in one layer a baking dish and pour over 2 cups of the cider.  Place in the oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken to a plate and discard the cider.  When cool enough to handle, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, finely chop the carrot, celery and onion (I pulse this in the food processor).  Pour the oil in a large saucepan and add the vegetables.  Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft. Chop the garlic and add to the vegetables, cooking one more minute.

Add the butter and stir until melted.  Sprinkle over the flour and stir to coat.  Pour in the reamaing 2 cups of cider and the cream and stir until slightly thickened.  Add the nutmeg.  Stir in the shredded chicken and the country ham to coat thoroughly.  Season generously with salt and pepper.

Pour the hash into a baking dish.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to one day).  When ready to serve, heat in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through.

For the Waffles:

Melt the butter and set aside to cool.  Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Stir the yolks together with the milk. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in the milk mixture.  Pour in the melted butter and stir to combine.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold into the waffle mixture.

Grease a waffle iron, heat and prepare the waffles according to manufacturers’ instructions.  The size of the waffle iron will determine how much mixture to use in each batch.

Place the cooked waffles on  rack set over a cookie sheet and place in a low oven to keep warm until serving.

Serve the waffles with the hash spooned over. 

Serves 6 (my waffle iron makes about 16 4-inch square waffles)

The heirloom waffle iron at work

I love biscuits in all forms, and have myself developed many permutations, from fresh corn, to blueberry, to pimento cheese.  But with the sweetheart holiday coming up, I thought I’d try my hand at a rich, chocolate version. Bake up a batch of these babies for someone special and you’ll make your way onto their heart.

These biscuits don’t rise as high a standard buttermilk biscuit, but are sturdy enough to hold your favorite toppings. I love these spread with a little raspberry jam, and maybe topped with a little clotted cream or whipped cream.  These would also make an excellent base for strawberry shortcake. The crackly sugar topping is a lovely touch, but feel free to replace it with a chocolate drizzle or a sweet glaze.

Chocolate Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

1/3 cup cold butter, diced

¾ cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Grease a baking sheet.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt baking soda and sugar. Mix in the finely chopped chocolate.  Cut the butter into pieces and drop in the mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until the flour and shortening are blended together and look grainy.

Measure out the milk and crack in the egg.  Beat lightly to blend, then stir in the vanilla. With mixer running, add the milk to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.  It will be a soft, floppy dough.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and sprinkle a little flour over the top.  With well-floured hands, lightly knead the dough.  If the dough is too wet to work with, you can work in a little more flour, but this is meant to be a sticky dough.  With floured hands, gently pat the dough into a rectangle about 4 by 8 inches. Place a little bowl of flour on the work surface and dip a biscuit cutter into it before cutting each biscuit.  I use a 2- inch cutter, but make them the size you prefer, even using a heart-shaped cutter if you’d like.  Carefully transfer the biscuits to the greased baking sheet.  Carefully re-roll the scraps and cut a few more biscuits.

Bake the biscuits until risen and firm on the edges, 8 – 12 minutes, watching closely.

While the biscuits are cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan or the microwave.  Stir in the sugar until you have a thick paste.  The sugar will not dissolve completely.

When the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops with the butter and sugar mixture.  Coat the biscuits well, but you may not use all the topping.  Leave to cool on the pan.

Because of the sweet buttery, sugary topping, these biscuits do not keep well, so it’s best to make them the day you plan to serve.

Makes 14 – 16 biscuits