Recipe: Cornmeal Drop Biscuits and Cornmeal Biscuits (2 recipes) for Mary Beth

CORNMEAL DROP BISCUITS
Makes 12

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

---

CORNMEAL BISCUITS
Source: Gourmet; September 1990
Makes 6 biscuits

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon yellow cornmeal, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
6 tablespoons half-and-half

In a bowl stir together the flour, 1/4 cup of the cornmeal, the baking powder, the sugar, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

Add the half-and-half and stir the mixture until it just forms a sticky dough. Gather the dough into a ball, knead it gently 6 times on a lightly floured surface, and roll or pat it out 1/2 inch thick.

Cut out 6 rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cutter dipped in flour and transfer them to an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon cornmeal over the tops of the rounds.

Bake the biscuits in the middle of a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are golden.