Top 'O the Mornin' to Ya'

“Top of the morning to you”, or more casually “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya”, is a well-known traditional Irish greeting that Irish people don’t really use anymore, but I think we should. Beginning the day in a positive spirit and sharing that spirit with those around us can make all of us enJOY better days.

One way to start the day off right is with a yummy breakfast. Your mother was right: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Not only does it give you energy to start a new day, but breakfast is linked to many health benefits.

Eating breakfast is important for everyone, but is especially so for children and adolescents. According to the American Dietetic Association, children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and on the playground, with better concentration, problem-solving skills, and eye-hand coordination. Even if you think you don’t have time to eat breakfast, biscuits with a piece of ham or egg tucked inside provide grab-and-go options that fill the bill.

Our grandson, Samuel, loves hot biscuits with gravy for breakfast. He also enJOYs biscuits stuffed with ham and cheese. When he spends the night, I make sure we have plenty of biscuits for him to enJOY, however he chooses to eat them. Seems like he always wakes up extra hungry after a good night's sleep.

Biscuits are great topped with plain white gravy or chocolate gravy. (Have you ever eaten Chocolate Gravy? If not, check out the recipe on page 94 of "A Pinch of This ... A Smidgen of That" cookbook.) My husband likes sausage gravy and biscuits, but I think his favorite biscuit topping is butter and either homemade blackberry jelly or peach jam. I try to keep a good supply of both on hand.

When I was growing up, I remember my momma making homemade buttermilk biscuits every morning for breakfast. They were soooooooo good! I only wish I'd paid more attention to her method of making those biscuits. Unfortunately, by the time I was old enough to want to learn how to make them, she had passed away. (You can learn from my mistakes! Ask your momma NOW to show you her kitchen secrets before it's too late!) I've tried dozens of biscuit recipes over the almost 40 years I've been married, and none compare to my momma's fluffy, delicious, high-rise biscuits. But, I'm still trying ... and always learning!

The recipe I want to share with you today still can't compete with my momma's, but it's pretty close. I still have a few "tweaks" I want to try with it, but I didn't want to wait until then to share this great biscuit recipe with you. I can tell you, these are delicious fresh and hot from the oven -- crispy on the outside and tender and fluffy inside -- and they are equally as good when they are a day old, if you wrap them in a paper towel and microwave them for a few seconds. I just bag up the leftovers from breakfast on Saturday morning, and we enJOY them with ham and cheese or other accompaniments during the week. It's a quick, but nourishing, treat with a hot cup of coffee. And, it makes you want to say, "Top 'o the mornin' to ya'", I promise!

So, let's get started and make a nice batch of yummy biscuits. Go gather your ingredients and "mise en place" (pronounced: miz on plas). My daughter tells me this is French for "putting in place". (Whatever it is, I know it sure helps avoid some messes in the kitchen if your ingredients are organized and ready to grab when you need them!)

Here's what you'll need:

First, you need to preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. (It's important the biscuits go directly into the hot oven.) Lightly grease a cookie sheet or biscuit pan. I like to use air-bake cookie sheets.

Use a wisk to blend flour, salt, cream of tartar, sugar, and baking powder.

   

If you're really energetic, you could sift this mixture, but I think it turns out fine just to use a whisk.

Use a pastry cutter to incorporate butter (cut into small cubes) into the flour mixture.

Lightly beat egg in milk before stirring it in the flour mixture.

Add the egg and milk mixture all at once. Work quickly, using a spatula to combine.

Mix only long enough for most of the flour to be taken up. DO NOT KNEAD. Flour a work space and turn the lump of dough out onto the counter. You may have a bit of flour in the bottom of the bowl when you turn it out onto the floured countertop, but it will work in as you press the dough down and roll it out.

Knead only a couple of times to get the rest of the flour worked in. Don’t ever-knead the dough as you would yeast bread. The dough should appear floury on the outside and sticky on the inside. Using your fingers and palm, press the dough down and use a dough roller to flatten to half-inch thickness.

Cut to desired size (mine were about 2 1/2 inch diameter) 

and place on a lightly greased baking-sheet (I like the air-bake sheets). I can get about 15 to 20 medium-sized biscuits out of this dough. You might get more or less, depending on the size of the cutter you use.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until they reach desired golden brown. I rarely use a timer; I just pull them out when I like how they look. You might start checking them at about 10 minutes (just look through the glass door---if your oven has one---don't open it until you think they are done). Allow them to go a little longer, depending on the degree of browning you desire.

When hot out of the oven, these biscuits are flaky in the outside and moist in the inside (and oh soooo good slathered with a pat of butter and some jam or jelly).

They will soften a bit on the outside after they cool, but they hold together well and remain delicious as leftovers. Store leftovers in a plastic bag. To warm, wrap desired amount of biscuits in a paper towel and microwave about 15 seconds.
EnJOY!

Don't forget to save the recipe below in your recipe file! Leave me a comment and let me know how yours turns out and what you used to top them. (Hint: Sorghum molasses just makes these better and better!)

 

 

HIGH-RISE BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups of all purpose flour (you may substitute a cup of whole wheat, if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup of butter.
1 egg
1 cup of milk (I used 2%, but I want to try buttermilk to see how it turns out. I'll let you know!)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. (It's important the biscuits go directly into the hot oven.) Lightly grease a cookie sheet or biscuit pan. I like to use air-bake cookie sheets.

 

Use a whisk to blend flour, salt, cream of tartar, sugar, and baking powder. Use a pastry cutter to incorporate butter (cut into small cubes) into the flour mixture.

Lightly beat egg in milk before stirring it in the flour mixture. Work quickly, using a spatula to combine. You may have a bit of flour in the bottom of the bowl when you turn it out onto the floured countertop, but it will work in as you press the dough down and roll it out. Knead only a couple of times to get the rest of the flour worked in. Don’t ever-knead the dough as you would yeast bread. The dough should appear floury on the outside and sticky on the inside.

Using your fingers and palm, press the dough down and roll to half-inch thickness. Cut to desired size and place on a lightly greased baking-sheet (I like the air-bake sheets). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until they reach desired golden brown. I rarely use a timer; I just pull them out when I like how they look. I can get about 15 to 20 medium-sized biscuits out of this dough. You might get more or less, depending on the size of the cutter you use.

When hot out of the oven, these biscuits are flaky in the outside and moist in the inside. Store leftovers in a plastic bag and microwave to warm. (They will soften a bit on the outside after they cool, but they hold together well and remain delicious as leftovers.)

With St. Patrick's Day coming up in a couple of weeks, I've been thinking a lot about  my Irish heritage. Food was often scarce for the Irish in olden times. The biscuits we shared in today's recipe would have been a special treat to many. Famines had ravaged potato harvests and driven Irish immigrants to America to escape the hardships. One result of experiencing hard times is that we often become even more thankful for God's blessings and even more willing to tell Him so. Mealtimes are appropriate times to acknowledge and ask for God's continued blessings on our homes and families.



Irish blessings have been handed down through the ages to enrich many occasions. Irish prayers are suitable for all the family and instill a sense of deep belonging. You would be touched by Irish blessings said prior to meals that are generally blessings to give thanks and gratitude for food that was often hard to come by. Irish blessings before meals often give thanks for the abundance at the table, since poverty was prevalent among the Irish population. Here is one such prayer: “May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.”

 

You may have heard these Irish blessings repeated during a St. Patrick's Day celebration: “May good luck be your friend in whatever you do, and may trouble be always a stranger to you.”

 

Always appropriate and welcomed by all is this blessing:

“May this luck of the Irish be always at hand,

and good friends always near you.

May each and every coming day,

bring some special JOY to cheer you.”

 

Don't forget to give THANKS for your "daily bread", even if it is only biscuits!