Sky High Biscuits

The best biscuits ever!

From:  Taste of Home

2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 TBL. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 c. butter
1 cup milk
1 egg beaten

In a food processor mix the first six ingredients. Cut butter into chuncks and add to dry ingredients and mix until crumble it turns into a crumble. Combine egg and milk; add to crumb mixture just until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-15 times. Roll out to 1-in. thickness; cut with a 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 1 dozen.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

This is really, really yummy!

From Lil Luna

2 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 TB lemon juice

1/2 cup buttermilk (I used lemon yogurt instead)

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup grated zucchini

 

Glaze ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 TB lemon juice

zest of one lemon

1 TB milk (optional)

 

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread with Sweet Cinnamon Topping

 

From Mel's Kitchen Café

 

This Banana bread is sooo sooo yummy, I love the addition of the cinnamon in the batter.

 

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup) butter, softened to room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Topping: I double the topping

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until very light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and bananas.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
4. In a small bowl, mash together the topping ingredients until combined and crumbly.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle with the topping.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the bread is nicely domed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pans for 5-10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is our favorite bread lately.  The honey gives it a touch of sweetness and it has a nice crust.  My kids love this stuff! 

Allrecipes

1 cup water
1 TBL. butter melted
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/3 c. white flour
1 tsp. dry yeast

I usually double this recipe to get 2 loaves.

Melt butter and add to warm water along with salt and honey.  Then add yeast and let sit for a few minutes to foam up.  Once the yeast is foamy and dissolved, mix well and then add oats, flour and salt.  Allow to raise in warm place until doubled in size, usually a few hours.  Place in 2 greased loaf pans.  Turn on oven to 350 for 1 minute and then turn off.  Place raising bread in the oven for 1/2 an hour to raise.  Once raised remove from oven and preheat to 350, then bake for 20 minutes or till done.

Honey Bran Muffins

Ok these aren't necessarily healthy but they are absolutely delicious.  The first original Albertsons grocery store in downtown Boise is the only bakery that makes these.  After eating these gems, I was on a mission to find the recipe.  I found this one called "Mimi's Cafe honey bran muffins" and think they are pretty close.  These bake up and present beautifully!

The Lazy Wife's Guide

Makes 12 regular sized muffins

dry ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup wheat bran
4 tsp dry milk pwd(I left this out because I didn't have any)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
"liquid" ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup water
2 tsp. orange zest

Glaze:
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
3 Tbsp softened butter
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp water

Distribute about 1/2 Tbsp of the Glaze into each of your 12 muffin tins and be sure to coat the bottom and sides of each muffin tin. ( The original recipe said to use 1 tbl. in each but the first time I did that and it made a huge mess in the oven and the muffins weren't very pretty, but you can try it that way if you want, it does make a nice gooey carmelized exterior, just make sure you put your muffin tin on a baking sheet before placing in the oven.)

In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Add liquid ingredients and stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just moistened.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full, bake at 350 for 15 min. until a toothpick comes out clean (be sure not to fill the muffins too full because even at 2/3rds they spring up over the tops a little.
Immediately invert the baked muffins onto foil or wax paper to cool. These fall right out of the pan and are beautiful.  Then I use the remaining glaze and drizzle over the tops to soak in.

Dinner Rolls

Lately, I've been using this recipe whenever we want homemade dinner rolls.  They turn out great and are delicious!

How does she

1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup Sugar

1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 cup cold water

1 cup warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 c. melted butter

Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter cut into about 5 pieces, in a saucepan on stove top.  When butter is mostly melted and milk is about to boil, remove from from heat and pour into a large bowl.  Add 1 c. cold water to cool the milk a little, then add yeast and let proof for a few minutes.  Once yeast has puffed up a little, use a whisk to mix into milk and egg, salt and add 1 cup warm water.  Whisk and then add 8 cups of flour.  Mix in with a spoon and let sit at least 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

 

Once doubled, divide dough into 4 balls, it will be sticky.  Melt 1/2 cup of butter and set aside.  Working with one of the balls, knead in a little more flour into it until it is workable and no longer sticky.  

 

Use a rolling pin to roll into a flat cirle.  Spread some of the butter onto the dough.  Then use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut into 4 triangle.  Cut each of those 4 sections into 3.  This will give you 12 triangles.  Butter a large baking sheet and do 3 rows of 8 for a total of 24 rolls on each pan.  Repeat with all 3 of the balls to get 2 full pans of dinner rolls.  Turn on oven to 350 for about 30 seconds then turn off.  Place rolls in oven to raise for 30 minutes or until doubled.  Remove from oven and then bake rolls on 350 for 10-15 min.   Make sure to share with your neighbors!

King's Hawaiian Bread

I have made this twice now and the kids and I love it!  It is slightly sweet and super easy to make!

Mo Betta

1 cup of warm water
½ cup of sweetened condensed milk(1 can if doubling)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of melted butter
3 1/3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of yeast
This only makes one braid of dough, so I usually double to get 2.
The original recipe makes this in a bread machine.  But I just used a good ole' fashioned bowl and spoon.  Let yeast proof in water for a few minutes.  Then add remaining ingredients until combined.  Turn oven on 350 for about 1 minute, then turn oven off and put bowl of dough in oven to raise for at least an hour.  After 1 hour, remove and split into 2 balls.  Then take one ball of dough and divide into 3 sections and braid then folding ends under.  Repeat with second ball of dough.  Place both braids on one large baking sheet and brush with egg white.  Turn oven onto 350 again  for 1 minute, then turn off and put dough in to raise again for 30 minutes.  Then remove dough and heat oven to 340 and then bake for 30 minutes until top is golden brown.  You may then devour with homemade jam!

Cheese Zombies

This is a really nice roll recipe and gets even better because it is stuffed with cheese, it is like a warm cheesy goodness in your mouth!

7 c. flour
2 tbl. yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
Kraft Deli Deluxe sliced cheese

In a sauce pan heat milk, sugar and shortening until shortening has melted.  Allow to cool to warm then add 3 c. flour, yeast, salt and eggs.  Mix to combine then add 2 more c. flour to mixer and mix for 2 minutes until gluten builds up and starts to look stringy.  Use dough hook and add 3 more cups flour, add 1 at a time.  Knead with dough hook for 2-3 minutes until it looks elastic-y.  Remove and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes.  Form into a ball and set in greased bowl with a little grease on the top of the dough so it doesn't get dry.  Cover and let raise 1 hour.  If still too sticky add a little more flour  just until you can handle the dough without it sticking everywhere.  After doubling, form golf ball size dough and add cheese to middle.  You cut the square of cheese into fourths, then cut one of the fourths in half to form eigths.  You place one fourth square and one eigth square inside each roll.  Fold dough around cheese and seal by pinching.  Let raise an hour.  Bake 425 for 8-9 minutes.  When done brush tops with butter, best served warm.

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

I have made this recipe so many times now and it really is the best recipe.  I have adapted it a bit from the pioneer woman's by putting brown sugar and karo syrup in the filling and cream cheese frosting on top.  I guarantee you will love these warm, ooey, gooey, rich and comforting frosted cinnamon rolls!

The Pioneer Woman

1 quart Whole Milk (thats 4 cups)
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 cup Melted Butter (not margarine)
2 cups brown sugar
Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon
Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour(sometimes I do a little less than a cup because the stickier the dough the better they turn out), the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it - overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Sometimes I will even lightly drizzle karo syrup over the sugar and cinnamon, it gives it an extra gooey, caramelized flavor.  Make sure not to drizzle to much though or it gets really messy and ends up all over your pan during cooking process.
Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
Grease 2 cookie sheet pans. Then begin cutting the rolls with a sharp knife or with floss, approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1- 8 oz. brick Philadelphia cream cheese, softened (yes brand matters)
1/2 c. butter softened
2 lb. bag C&H powdered sugar (brand matters here as well)
2 tsp. vanilla
couple tbls. milk to desired consistency, I like mine thick enough to spread nicely

Mix all ingredients with hand mixer and frost rolls.  These are great warmed in the microwave.

You may freeze rolls with or without frosting.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Lemon lovers watch out, this is really more like a pound cake but it is so sinful!  It's a dense lemon bread soaked in lemon syrup then blanketed in a lemon glaze.

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 ounces cream cheese

3 large eggs

1 large egg white

3 cups flour , divided

2 cups blueberries , fresh or frozen

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (8 ounce) carton lemon yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla

cooking spray

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tbl.  lemon juice

simple syrup:

1/3 c. lemon juice

1/3 c. sugar

beat 1st 3 ingredients at medium speed till well blended

add eggs and egg white

save 2 tablespoons of flour and set aside.

add remaining flour to batter with baking powder,soda, and salt.

add yogurt and mix well.

mix remaining flour with blueberries till coated.

add blueberries and vanilla, mix by hand to incorporate berries without mashing.

bake in 2 greased bread pans at 350 degrees for 50 miutes or till done

cool completely and remove from pan.

In a pan on stove combine sugar and lemon juice, heat till sugar is dissolved then cook 3 more minutes.  Pour over loaves or brush on with pastry brush.

in a small bowl mix lemon juice and powdered sugar till runny and drizzle over loaves.

The Best Pumpkin Bread

This bread has the perfect amount of spice and pumpkin in it.  It is amazingly moist and soooooo addictive.  Let it sit for a couple days and it is even better!  Like most of the recipes that I post, I have adapted this from the original.  I reduced the nutmeg, and added the pumpkin pie spice and applesauce as well as did half and half brown and white sugar.  Of course you could adapt this however you want by adding more pumpkin if you like that stronger, you could also do half whole wheat and reduce the sugar by quite a lot, you could even cut out the oil entirely since it has the applesauce in it.  Hope you Enjoy!

From Allrecipes
3 cups canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup applesauce (no sugar added)

6 eggs

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 pkg. butterscotch chips or chocolate chips  or half and half (optional, I leave this out but it is good with too!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, applesauce and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed

English Muffin Bread

This is THE BEST BREAD! I love sourdough bread and english muffins.  This doesn't necessarily have the sourdough flavor but it has the texture and is amazing toasted!
Allrecipes

5 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)

1/2 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

Cornmeal

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease two 8-1/2-in. x 4-1/2-in. x 2-1/2-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (I turn my oven onto 350 for 30 seconds then turn it off and put the bread in to rise, it rises so much faster this way!)  until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans AFTER cool.

NOTES:
One of the reviews said this:
 I used 1 tsp baking soda (makes more nooks and crannies). I also used 1/2 Tbsp of vinegar in the milk and 2 Tbsp. canola oil. Makes it tast more like an English muffin.                                                       

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

I looooove these pumpkin muffins.  I thought the pumpkin muffin recipe on here already was really good, but these are my newest favorite!  They are so moist, and even better the next day!  You can make the cream cheese frosting but I thought they were delicious without it.

The Sister's Cafe

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1-15oz can pumpkin puree
2 1/4 cup flour
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp alllspice
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
In a large bowl, beat together sugars and oil. Add eggs and vanilla beating until well mixed. Add pumpkin and buttermilk until incorporated. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients and whisk. Add to pumpkin mixture and beat until creamy. Grease or line 24 muffin cups (36-48 mini depending on size of pan) and fill 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 18-22 (10-15 for minis) minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and frost with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and top off with a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3 1/2 -4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
2-4 TB water
Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add half of the powdered sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated. Add the remaining powdered sugar and water, until desired consistency is reached. Beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes and finish off with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar! Enjoy:)

Honey Cornbread Muffins

This is a sweet honey flavored cornbread!  I loved it and it is perfect for fall with your chili!  You really don't need honey butter with these because they are so good.  I got rid of my previous Famous Dave's Cornbread recipe because I feel like this is healthier, easier and tastes just as good.  If you still need honey butter use this Honey Butter Recipe, it's the bomb!  You could also reduce some of the sugar in this recipe to tone down the sweetness.

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Bran Muffins

This is the best bran muffin recipe I've made so far.  I am still experimenting but this one is definitely a keeper.  It has a lot of spices in it but you can adjust those to your liking.  It is moist and wonderful and they freeze beautifully!

Allrecipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or half/whole wheat

1 cup oat bran

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 eggs
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1.In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs, juice, sugars and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and nuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

Caramel Apple Muffins

This is the perfect moist cinnamon apple muffin for fall, they are delicious with or without the caramel.

From Cooks Quest

1 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
2 apples, peeled and shredded

1 1/2 cups caramel candies (about 25)

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Heat oven to 350 F and line cupcake pan with paper liners. Peel, and shred your apples using a box grater or food processor.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well combined. Add oil and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Stir in the apples and spoon into cupcake liners until almost full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry, about 25-35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

In a small sauce pan or double boiler, over medium to low heat, melt the caramels and cream together. Stir frequently. When the caramels are smooth and no lumps remain remove from heat and allow to cool just slightly. Spread over the top of the cooled cupcakes and allow to set up or enjoy right away.

Fried Scones (Elephant Ears)

Instead of waiting to pay 4 bucks for these at the fair in the summer, make them at home for a lot cheaper.  These are a crispy, greasy fried dough just like they should be. 

This is my mom's same recipe for bread except it has butter instead of oil. You can use any bread recipe for this or even Rhode's frozen dough.  We made these and put taco meat and toppings on them for dinner then had them for dessert with sugar and cinnamon or this amazing honey butter recipe.  This is a once a year food!

A Thrifty Mom

2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Cups warm water
4 Tablespoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoon oil
4 Cups Flour
1-4 cups of oil for frying

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast into warm water. Then add in sugar, salt and oil, mix then add flour one cup at a time. Form into dough then cover bowl with towel and set aside for 15 minutes to allow to raise. I had to add 1-2 more cups of flour to get this to a dough cosistency that could be rolled out or flattened, dough should not be sticky.  Heat oil in deep frying pan over med/low heat. You can roll the dough out like a tortilla or just pat it flat in your hands (getting it thin as you can) Fry on both sides for about 1 minute on each side (total cooking time 2-3 minutes). Recipe makes 15-20 scones depending on how big you make them.

Serve with your favorite topping…. honey, jam, butter, powdered sugar, or use as the base to a Navajo Taco.



Honey Butter

This is by far the best honey butter in the world.  The marshmallow creme gives it a lightly whipped and sweetened flavor and consistency.  Yum we use this with corn bread, rolls, pancakes, anything, everything, the sky's the limit!

 

2 sticks butter softened

1/2 c. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 jar marshmallow creme

Mix all ingredients and keep refrigerated.

Irish American Soda Bread Scones

These have a soft interior and a crusty flavorful exterior and have a very similar flavor to biscuits.  If your looking for a new biscuit recipe this is the one to try!

I made Irish soda bread for the first time this year during St. Patrick's Day and discovered that it is really just a biscuit recipe plopped down on a pan and cooked as one big biscuit and the recipe I tried was just ok.  It is sometimes called no rise bread and usually calls for buttermilk and baking soda.  I liked the idea of making the Irish Soda Bread and making it into individual smaller biscuits so when I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and then tried it, I was in heaven.  Her recipe is the best for Irish Soda Bread and I think this is really almost better than most biscuit recipes I have tried. These taste best if eaten the very first day.

4 cups flour
2 TBL. cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (or, make your own)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup currants or raisins (optional)
1 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)

my addition to this recipe comes from another soda bread recipe, you combine the two ingredients below and brush over the tops of the bread or scones before baking and if desired, a couple times throughout the baking process.  I really liked what this did to the bread, it made the outside really flavorful and crusty as well as a pretty brown.
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Work the softened butter into the dry ingredients with your hands until crumbly.
Add the wet ingredients (buttermilk and egg), currants or raisins and caraway seeds, if you’re using them, and stir with a fork until the dough just begins to come together. Will look a lot like drop biscuit dough.  If you want you can try to knead this on the counter a little to make the dough come together more, like Smitten kitchen suggests, but I didn't, I think really all that does is make them look prettier and more presentable, but in my kitchen I don't care about that. 
You can make these into 8 large scones or 16 smaller ones which is what I prefer.   Place on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet. Cut a cross shape into the top of each. (If desired brush with butter and butter milk as I described above)
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Scones should be golden brown a skewer should come out clean.  If making 1 loaf instead of the individual scones (biscuits), try to make 1 large round as best you can out of the dough and place on baking sheet (brush with butter and buttermilk as well if desired like explained above), bake 40-45 min.

French Peasant Bread

This is the best dang bread ever and it is super easy!  This bread has a really crusty crust and is raved about by all who eat it, thanks to my friend ashlee for the recipe. Yum both loaves will be eaten by the end of the day! 

1 pkg. yeast

2 c. warm water

1 TBL. sugar

2 tsp. salt

4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast, sugar and salt in warm water.  Add flour and stir until combined.  Let sit and double in size about an hour.  The dough at this point will be super sticky but resist the urge to add more flour, use some flour or butter on hands to be able to split the dough into 2 halves, try to shape into domes and place on greased pan with cornmeal.  Brush with melted butter Bake on 425 for 10 min. Then reduce temp to 375 for 15 min.  Brush with butter a second time just out of the oven.