Biscuits

My husband's college roommate was a great cook and I still hear stories of some of the southern fabulousness Dave Walker served up. So when Dave posted his biscuit recipe in FaceBook, I knew I had to share! Mark says that when Dave's momma made iced tea, it was so clear and incredibly sweet, it sparkled.

DAVE'S BISCUITS
2 cups all purpose flour (never self rising)
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 T Crisco (never use oil)
1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 475. Put 1 T of Crisco on a 10" flat cast iron baker and put baker in the oven while it is preheating just long enough to melt the Crisco. Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in remaining 2 T of Crisco with a pastry cutter. Mix in just enough buttermilk to make a slightly soft dough. Turn out onto a floured pastry cloth( mine is over 30 years old and is never washed, just stored in a Ziploc bag). Lightly knead then pat out (never roll) to about 3/4" thick. Cut all dough with 2" biscuit cutter then put biscuits on the baker turning them over 1 time to coat them evenly in Crisco ( this make them golden brown top and bottom). Bake 8-10 minutes then enjoy.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE and BROWN SUGAR PECAN POUND CAKE with BROWNED BUTTER FROSTING
Pound cakes taste fabulous after they've sat (covered) a couple of days. They're never as good on the day they're baked.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake - a delicate white cake
3 sticks butter (salted), room temp
1 - 8 oz bar cream cheese (not low fat), room temp
3 C white sugar
6 lg eggs, room temp
3C all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 T vanilla extract
Cream butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Don't over beat.  Gradually add sugar, beat well. Add eggs one at a time. Sift flour and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour into well greased tube pan with a parchment or waxed paper liner on the bottom. Bake at 300 for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
This is not the same as the Sour Cream Pound Cake I make at Christmas. I may like it better!

Brown Sugar & Pecan Pound Cake - This cake comes out high and heavy and so so delicious.
Cream together:
3 sticks butter (salted), room temp
1 pound brown sugar (2 C)
1 C white sugar
Add 6 eggs one at a time
Add 1 C milk, alternating with
3 C all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
Mix and then add
1 t vanilla and
1 C chopped pecans (optional)
Bake 325 degrees in a large prepared tube pan for 1-1/2 hours.

Browned Butter Frosting
2 sticks salted butter
2 C powdered sugar (16 oz)
1/4 C half and half cream (or milk)
1 t vanilla
In a saucepan, melt 2 sticks butter over medium temp, stirring constantly. It will be a constant boil. Continue for about 8 minutes until it has passed the golden stage and dark crumbs start to develop. Pour all of it, including the crumbs, into a glass bowl (put a metal spoon in to absorb the heat so the glass doesn't crack). Let it sit a few minutes and then remove the spoon and refrigerate until it is very cold and the edges start to harden. Scrape into a mixing bowl and mix until the butter looks a bit fluffy. Add powdered sugar and milk, alternating, ending with the powdered sugar. You can add/subtract sugar depending on thickness desired.  Add vanilla and mix. If you use these exact measurements, the frosting will be a bit loose, easy to ice cake, but won't slide down the sides. You will see specks from the burnt butter in the frosting, which to me, adds character. Decorate with pecan halves. This is my absolute favorite icing and well worth the extra time for cooking and cooling. It is really good on hummingbird cake too.