southern heritage.

ah, late summer. the minute peaches show up at the market, i pounce like a rabid animal. i buy them with abandon, and occasionally, with no plans for them. this week was one of those times. so i scanned the fridge…whipping cream (almost expired), buttermilk (almost expired)…

OLD FASHIONED PEACH SHORTCAKE!

so i whipped up some nice little buttermilk biscuits (thanks, Alton Brown) and a boozy peach compote. you’re welcome.


Buttermilk Biscuits (adapted from Alton Brown’s Southern Biscuits)

ingredients-
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into smallish chunks
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl. toss in butter chunks and start smooshing them with your fingertips. once you’ve broken them all down and the mixture starts looking something like sand, make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. stir til just combined then turn out onto a floured surface.
this stuff is going to be pretty gooey so make sure you have enough flour down. knead the dough a few times then pat out into a circle, roughly an inch thick.

line a cookie sheet with parchment. cut out your biscuits with whatever you have around. a proper cutter, a soup can with both ends taken off…get creative. i used a small cutter so i would get mini biscuits. place them on the baking sheet so that they just barely touch, or else they won’t rise properly.
bake for 15-20 minutes. they should look like this when they’re done:
Rum Peach Compote

ingredients-
4 large or 5 small yellow peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 stick butter
5 tlsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp rum

in a pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. add brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and cook til bubbling. carefully add in rum and peaches and continue cooking til slightly thickened.
cool slightly, pour over biscuits, top with homemade whip cream and enjoy!


(originally posted july 2011)