Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits

OK, today is true confession day... if I had a celebrity crush, it would be Alton Brown.  How big of a foodie nerd does that make me?  :P   I have learned so much by watching him on Good Eats!  Alton makes cooking both fun and educational which I love!

 
Would you believe that this is the first time I've tried one of his recipes?  Tired of box mix biscuits and in a big hurry, I quickly scanned the first page of biscuit recipes that Chef Google dished up.  And there it was, like a cupcake in a refrigerator full of carrots... Alton Brown's Southern Biscuits.  I knew they would be perfect!

These were super fast to throw together and baked up in about 15 minutes.  Just follow the directions on the recipe here and they will turn out tender, fluffy and melt in your mouth amazing.  The best part is that I was able to wrap the leftovers in a damp paper towel and reheat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  To my surprise they still tasted fresh!  To me that makes them worth adding to my collection of recipes.  =)

Recipe
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled (or regular milk + 1 Tbsp white vinegar)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using fingers, work in butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Work quickly to keep fat from melting.  Make a well in the center and stir in the buttermilk until it is incorporated.  It will be really, really sticky.  It's OK, that's part of the fun.  ;)
3. Flour your work surface and turn out your dough.  Dust the top of the dough with more flour.  Kneed or fold the dough over 5-6 times.  Dust with flour as needed.  Pat dough to about a 1 inch thickness.  Use a 2 inch cookie cutter or a glass to cut out biscuits.  Place on a baking sheet with edges of biscuits touching.  Reform scraps to make more biscuits, making sure to manipulate dough as little as possible. 
4. Bake 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter if desired. 

Source: Food Network: Good Eats 
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