Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits

 

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Not My Momma Biscuits! Not My Momma Biscuits! Just in time for Mother’s Day. One of my favorite tv shows of all time is Martin. Not only is he one of my favorite comedians but all the characters on this show gave me something to love about them. From Tommy not having a job, to Cole being so stupid, to the friendship between Pam and Gina, and to the love story that Pam and Martin shared. I couldn’t help but fall in love with this show. I also have to admit that the talent that Martin has playing other characters is spectacular. One of my favorite characters that Martin plays is his mother, Mama Payne. Even when Mama Payne wasn’t physically on screen, she made her presence known with her raisin butter biscuits.

Although there are a few episodes that mention these famous biscuits, this one is my favorite. Here’s a clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ufj8zlcirM

Martin loves his Mama’s biscuits so much. Maybe it’s because he’s a mamas boy or maybe they were just that good. Anyone else wondered what they would taste like? Would she make hers with self-rising flour? Would she use buttermilk like cooks in the South do? Would she roll her butter in by hand or use one of them fancy pastry cutters? If Mama Payne made biscuits, I would imagine that they would look something like this.

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and place a rack in the center of your oven. Next, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 2 1/2  teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Next, grate 1 stick of cold butter (1/2 cup).

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Grated butter? Why you may ask? Because it makes it so much more easier to combine the butter with the flour. Who needs a pastry cutter if you already have a grater at home?!? Yay for saving on kitchen space! Also, make sure that the butter is really cold. It’s the key to making sure your biscuits rise properly and are fluffy and mmm mmm good.

Next, add your grated butter to your flour mixture and whisk it until combined and your flour mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.

Next, add 1/3 cup raisins to the flour and combine.

Next, add a lightly beaten egg to 3/4 cup of milk and add it to your flour mixture.

Use a wooden spoon (I know, I know there is a red spatula in my photo but you know, a wooden spoon works better) to combine until it becomes a ball. Then remove and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead with caution, rolling the dough ever so lightly until the dough is fully combined. Be careful not to over knead as your biscuits may not rise (speaking from experience here). Then, roll out your dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick.

Next, use a floured round circular object to cut out dough. Normal people use biscuit or cookie cutters, I use this little gem. Yup, that’s my daughters Halloween gimlet. She drinks orange juice out of it but it broke during the process of me making these biscuits…bummer.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet already lined with parchment paper. I got about 8 biscuits out of this dough with my “biscuit cutter.”

Place biscuits in the freezer while you create the honey butter. Why the freezer you may ask? Good question. Biscuits rise and become fluffy when the ingredients are cold, especially the butter. Yes, I know I said that already but it really is that important. Cold ingredients = better biscuits. I pop this dough in the freezer because I know all my kneading and stirring has caused it to become a little warm. The colder the better.

In the alternative, you could always prepare your honey butter first and set it aside. Once biscuits are cut, you can immediately brush honey butter on the biscuit.

To prepare honey butter, place 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup honey in a sauce pan and melt together. This should happen in a jiffy or about 5 minutes.

Once honey butter has melted, remove biscuits from the freezer and brush honey butter mixture on top of the biscuit.

Place biscuits in oven on middle rack and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Serve with butter or your favorite jelly. Don’t let Martin know you have his Mama’s biscuits…you know how he acts around his Mama’s biscuits. Enjoy 🙂

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking.