Recipe: Yogurt Biscuits with Cinnamon and Cheese Variations (no butter or shortening)

YOGURT BISCUITS

"You can stop wondering whether you should have a responsible bowl of yogurt for breakfast or a plate of flaky biscuits instead. With this recipe you can have both - all at once (and easily, too). If you have flour, salt, yogurt, and you can stir, you're halfway there."



2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120ml) plain yogurt
1/2 cup (120ml) milk (any type)
Milk or melted unsalted butter, for brushing (optional)
Coarse or flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, stir the yogurt and milk together, then gradually add this to the flour mixture and mix gently until evenly incorporated; use a motion similar to cutting in butter (folding and smashing as opposed to stirring), and stop when the dough is still crumbly rather than making it into one homogenous ball.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead; to avoid overworking the dough, fold it over onto itself repeatedly and press down to work it together. As soon as the dough comes together in a unified mass, roll it out to form a flattened disk about 2-inches (Scm) high.

Using a round cutter, cut out biscuits and place them on the lined baking sheet. Gather any scraps and gently knead them together, working the dough as little as possible, then cut out more rounds. Gently brush their tops with a bit of milk or melted butter, then sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until just barely golden brown (they will be paler if you did not brush them). Serve warm with plenty of butter.

Makes 5 large biscuits or 10 small biscuits

FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT:

CINNAMON-SUGAR BISCUITS
Use just a pinch of salt and add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the flour mixture. Separately, mix together 1/4 cup (50g) of sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Instead of sprinkling the biscuits with coarse salt just before baking, top them with melted butter and the cinnamon sugar.

CHEESE BISCUITS
Dial the salt back to 1/2 teaspoon and add a scant 1/2 cup (about 55g) of shredded cheese and 1/4 cup (25g) of thinly sliced green onions to the flour mixture.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Adapted from source: Food52 Baking: 60 sensational treats you can pull off in a snap by Amanda Hesser