Biscuits with Blackberry Soup
Forget jam. Blackberry “soup” is the best way to enjoy buttery biscuits.
Serves2
This simple recipe satisfies a craving for blackberries. It is thinner than a compote and a perfect way to use fresh or frozen blackberries; fresh biscuits soak up the juices for a sweet, comforting breakfast. Or you can delight your guests by adding a dollop of whipped cream and serving it as dessert.
I have been baking biscuits all my life, in search of the perfect recipe for decades. I tried for years to make them like my grandmother’s, but she never wrote down her recipe (of course). So, this recipe is mine. I think it’s just right — at least it seems to be the one my family likes best. An ideal biscuit has a slightly crisp crust paired with a tender softness inside and can hold up to jelly, or gravy, or a small piece of meat for a tasty morsel of a sandwich. The key to tender biscuits is not to mess with the dough too much. I like to see bits of butter in it, so the biscuits bake up with tiny pools of buttery goodness inside.
Biscuits with Blackberry Soup Recipe
Forget jam. Blackberry “soup” is the best way to enjoy buttery biscuits.
Serves 2
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
For the Praisesong Biscuits:
- 2 to 2 1/4 cups
self-rising flour, plus more as needed
- 4 tablespoons
(1/4 cup) vegetable shortening, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons
(1/2 stick) cold salted butter, plus more for serving
- 1 cup
whole milk
For the Blackberry Soup:
- 1/4 cup
sugar
- 12 ounces
fresh blackberries, rinsed (2 generous cups)
- 4
Praisesong Biscuits, preferably just baked or still warm
Instructions
Make the biscuits:
Place a rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour with the shortening and use a pastry cutter or two forks to blend them into a coarse meal.
Cut the cold butter into pea-size pieces. Add them to the bowl and stir to coat with the flour, then pour in the milk, using a fork to stir the mixture into a soft, shaggy dough. Add a bit more flour, as needed. Do not overmix.
Generously flour your work surface and your 3-inch round biscuit cutter (or inverted glass). Transfer the dough there and knead it six times — only adding a little more flour, as needed, to keep it from being too sticky and just to keep it workable.
Gently pat or roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Use the biscuit cutter to cut straight down, without twisting, to form a total of 8 biscuits. Gently reroll the scraps to use all the dough.
Place the biscuit rounds on an ungreased baking sheet, close together but not touching. Brush off any excess flour. Bake on the middle rack until lightly browned on top and bottom, 12 to 15 minutes.
Butter the biscuit tops and serve hot.
Make the blackberry soup:
Combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, and the berries in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sugar has dissolved and the berries have softened and yielded some of their juices. The “soup” will be only slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.
Equally divide the berry soup between two individual shallow bowls. Place 2 biscuits in each bowl and serve.
Recipe Notes
Reprinted with permission from Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson copyright 2024. Photographs by Kelly Marshall copyright 2024. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House.