Biscuits, sweet or not

Today I'm in recipe-testing mode. I'm about two-thirds done with my "Sunday Dinners" cookbook, but have only begun to test recipes. Today I tested two for baking powder biscuits. One is from Serita Jakes, the pastor and first lady of The Potter's House in Dallas; the other is from Pastor Suzette Caldwell of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, the largest UMC church in the country. Both of them are yummy. I'm giving you Suzette's recipe, with an option for turning the dough into into sweet cinnamon-raisin biscuits.

Baking Powder Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon coarse salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 cups heavy cream

§         Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

§         Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk together well.

§         Add butter, and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

§         Add heavy cream, and stir just until dough comes together; mixture will be sticky.

§         Transfer to lightly floured work surface, and, with floured fingers, knead dough until it forms a ball. Sprinkle flour on work surface and lightly dust dough to keep from sticking. 

§         Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness. Use coffee mug or cookie cutter to cut out biscuits. 

§         Arrange biscuits in a lightly-greased 13x9 pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve hot with maple or blueberry syrup or strawberry jam.

Tip: To turn these biscuits into sweet rolls for breakfast, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the flour mixture. Then add 1 cup of raisins when heavy cream is added to the dough. Finish with a powdered sugar glaze.