Maple biscuits

Serve these maple-flavored biscuits warm with a slather of melting butter.

One of my favorite takeaways from our Just Add Salt event was their maple biscuits. Linda, the owner, made these for us to have with the dishes we had cooked for dinner and at the end of the event, she gave each of us a packet of recipes which included said biscuits. You can’t imagine how psyched I was because these biscuits were amazing. I have a weakness for good biscuits, in case you can’t tell.

I had to make these twice though as the first time, I followed the recipe instructions but there was a typo in them and I ended up not adding the right amount of maple syrup to the dough.

A clarifying question posted to Just Add Salt’s Facebook page gave me the correct instructions so I made a second attempt. Although I have to say even the first attempt with only half of the maple syrup was pretty delicious, too, especially warm and slathered with melting butter.

The texture of these is somewhere between a flaky biscuit and a good, moist cornbread without the grittiness of the corn. Try it and see what I mean. You won’t be sorry.

Maple biscuits

3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Fleur de sel

1. Up to 2 days ahead: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. Using a pastry cutter or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cut in the cubed butter until it resembles small peas. Stir in 1/2 cup of maple syrup and buttermilk until the dough just comes together (it will still be clumpy). Do not overwork the dough.

3. On a lightly floured surface, gently press or roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the biscuits using a 2-inch round cutter; you should have 16 biscuits. Refrigerate biscuits for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. You can also freeze the biscuits until ready to bake.

4. When ready to bake: preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and 1 tablespoon hot water. Brush the chilled biscuits with the egg wash and top each piece with a pinch of fleur de sel.

5. Bake the biscuits until they just begin to brown, about 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven. Quickly drizzle 1 teaspoon of the remaining maple syrup over each biscuit, then place the biscuits back in the oven for 2 minutes more. Serve while still warm.

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