Cat Head Biscuits

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No, no, NO.  It's nothing like that!  We're not talking about  'making biscuits' either.

Chances are, many of you have never heard of Cat Head Biscuits before.  Truth be told, I'd never heard of them either--until the April/May issue of Cook's Country arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago.  The name alone piqued my interest, and I knew instantly these biscuits would be a 'must try.'  Hailing from Appalachia, Cat Head Biscuits are incredibly soft and fluffy biscuits, so named because they're "as big as a cat's head."  That's a rather interesting yet accurate description.  And boy, they're not kidding.  Observe:

 Holey moley that's one big biscuit!  As you can see, it maxes out at the limit of my thumb to index finger gripping ability!  

With such a generous size, Cat Head Biscuits are best for sharing...not that you'd want to. Now these aren't the type of biscuit you'd want to make a breakfast sandwich out of because they're almost too soft and delicate to withstand being manhandled like that.  (Wait--what kind of complaint is that?  "My biscuits are too soft!?!"  One could only hope to be so lucky.) You probably wouldn't want to try eating this one in the car on your way to work either, unless you happen to like losing biscuit morsels in every nook and cranny of your vehicle.  Not that I would know anything about that. ;)

♣ Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day! ♣

Cat Head Biscuits (makes 6 giant biscuits)

From Cook's Country April/May 2010

1½ cups all-purpose flour*

1½ cups cake flour*

1 Tbl. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

8 Tbl. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened

4 Tbl. vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces

1¼ cups buttermilk

*3 cups White Lily® flour may be used in place of the all-purpose and cake flours

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425°F.  Grease a 9-inch cake pan.  Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  Rub butter and shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in buttermilk until combined.

Use a greased ½ cup measure or large spring-loaded ice cream scoop to transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared pan, placing 5 around pan's perimeter and 1 in center.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.  Serve.  (Biscuits can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.)