half-cat-head biscuits

Went on a deep dive about Southern cat head biscuits. Read four or five recipes, then did my own thing. They turned out great. They're like something in-between a drop biscuit and a tall buttermilk biscuit. Easy peasy to make, too. I'm calling mine half-cat-head because my 13 year old pointed out they were not big enough to be actual cat's heads. 

Some things I really loved about these: no rolling or cutting involved, denser texture than my traditional biscuits, and only mixing in 4 T of the butter made my hands less fatigued. 

HALF-CAT-HEAD BISCUITS

4 c flour (Southern style preferred - i.e. White Lily or un-self-rising cake flour)

3-4 big pinches of kosher salt

scant palmfull of baking powder

1 stick butter

1-1.5 c yogurt whey (or buttermilk)

1) Preheat oven to 475. Put a cast iron skillet it in to heat up. 

2) Whisk flour, salt, baking powder together. 

3) Cut your butter into 3 hunks - 2 T for the skillet, 2 T to top the biscuits later, and then take the remaining 4 T and cut it into little chunks. 

4) Drop the 4 T of little chunks into the flour mixture and squish with your hands until it's incorporated. 

5) Add about a cup of the whey/milk and gently mix with your hands. Keep adding more until the dough is a little tacky but doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl too much. 

6) Once the oven is hot, remove the skillet. Melt 2 T butter in it, being sure to coat the sides. 

7) Divide the dough into 7-8 pieces. For each piece, roll/squish it into a big ball. Don't over handle it, just make it so it's not shaggy. Plop all the pieces into the skillet and then use the palm of your hand to flatten so they're all touching each other. 

8) Bake 12-14 minutes. Near the end, melt the remaining 2 T of butter. Pour/brush the butter over the tops when they come out. Mmmmmmm. 

Sound up to hear the sizzle.