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Tea Biscuits….what can I say about “tea biscuits”. Well, I can start with the fact that I have always struggled with making tea biscuits. They always, always turned out like “hockey pucks”. My grandmother made amazing tea biscuits but unfortunately, that was one skill she didn’t pass along to me. I tried different recipes over the years but never found one that worked for me. I totally wrote myself off as a tea biscuit maker. My go to “recipe” became opening a tube of Pilsbury biscuits and popping them in the oven. They served the purpose, but they weren’t the “real thing”……

And then one day, I asked one of my Facebook recipe/cooking groups for some ideas for a breakfast potluck. I was given a recipe for tea biscuits by Jil Evans. I decided to try making them just one more time. I followed the recipe, cut out the biscuits, gently added them to the cookie sheet and slowly slid them into the hot oven. I said a little prayer to the cooking gods….and set my timer. I wanted to peek in the oven halfway through the cooking time, but didn’t want to jinx it. I draped a tea towel over the handle so I couldn’t see in. Finally…the buzzer went off. I grabbed my oven mitts, opened that door and pulled out the tray…

Wow, they looked like my Grandmother’s tea biscuits and they smelled amazing…but what were they going to taste like? It was killing me to wait for them to cool enough to test, but I did….well…mostly…. 

I picked up that golden brown biscuit and broke it in two. It looked soft and fluffy, smelled good enough to eat, so I did. I ate it…then I ate another one! Oh my goodness, warm from the oven tea biscuits like my Grandmother used to make. I did it, I finally did it! And it only took 25 years.

My favorite way to eat these tea biscuits is warm out of the oven with butter melting into them and drizzled with molasses. In the comments down below, let me know your favorite way to eat tea biscuits.

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Here’s the recipe that finally made a biscuit maker out of me…

East Coast Tea Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (chilled)
• 1 cup 2% milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° (F) and grease cookie sheet (I used vegetable shortening).
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Cut the chilled butter into the flour mixture until crumbly  and the size of small peas. (If you don’t have a pastry cutter, use two butter knives.)
4. Dig a well in the center and pour in the milk.
5. Gently incorporate the milk into the flour mixture by going around the bowl and folding it in. If the dough is really sticky, you can add a little more flour.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and knead only 7 to 8 times. (Too much handling will make the biscuits hard.)
7. Roll out the dough until it is about a 1/2 an inch thick.
8. Cut with small round cookie cutter (or the open end of a small glass) and transfer to the greased cookie sheet.
9. Let stand for a few minutes before putting in the oven.
10. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (depends on the size you have cut them) or until they are golden brown on the top and bottom.
11. They are great served warm with butter and jam or molasses.

Recipe provide by Jil Evans.

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Ideas for Leftover Tea Biscuits!

I don’t usually have leftovers when I bake tea biscuits, but once in a while…it happens. Here are a few other things you can do with them.

Casserole Topping – You can take any creamy casserole and add a topping of lightly crisped, toasted tea biscuits. Since the biscuits are already cooked, just slice them in half and place on top of the casserole for the last five to 10 minutes of cooking, this will be just enough time to heat them through and leave the outsides a little crispy. Don’t worry if the biscuits are starting to go a little hard; the liquid in the casserole will soften them up. Click here for the Chicken and Biscuit Casserole recipe.

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Biscuit Bread Pudding – If you don’t have enough bread to make a decent bread pudding, try adding some leftover biscuits or just use the biscuits alone. The custard and sweet or savory ingredients will taste amazing with this bread/biscuit mixture. Click here for the Cranberry Biscuit Bread Pudding recipe.

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BBQ Burger Biscuit Bake – This is like a having a bbq in your oven! Ground beef mixture, topped with biscuits and melted cheese. You can personalize the ground beef base by adding in what you and your family love best. Click here for my BBQ Burger Biscuit Bake.

Let me know your favorite way to eat tea biscuits!