Spicy Kickin Biscuits Recipes

SPICED BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon of the za'atar, the sugar and salt in a medium bowl using a whisk. Using a bowl scraper or your fingers, mix in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal; using your fingers will create a more cake-like texture. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir until just combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 5 or 6 times. Roll the dough into a 1-inch-thick disc and cut out biscuits using a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Make sure you don't twist the cutter otherwise you'll squish the sides and the biscuit won't rise. Knead the scraps together, re-roll and cut out biscuits until all the dough has been used.
• Place the biscuits bottom-side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Whisk together the vegetable oil with the remaining 1 tablespoon za'atar and brush the mixture on each biscuit. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

THE ULTIMATE SPICY CHICKEN BISCUIT

Steps:

• PREP/PREPARE
• THE MARINADE
• Gather and prep all your ingredients.
• Thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
• Add the chicken and the marinade to a non-reactive bowl or a Ziploc bag, and thoroughly coat the chicken with the marinade.
• Chef's Tip: Before adding the chicken to the marinade, cut into pieces that would fit nicely on a good Southern biscuit (I got six pieces).
• Place in the refrigerator, and allow the flavors to blend for a couple of hours, or overnight.
• Chef's Note: The best time to perform the marinade is before you go to bed. In the morning they will be ready for breading and cooking.
• THE BREADING
• Gather and prep all your ingredients.
• Add all the breading ingredients into a large plate, and mix thoroughly.
• Remove a piece of the chicken from the marinade; allow the excess marinade to drip off, and place in the flour mixture.
• Thoroughly coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
• Allow the chicken to rest for ten minutes.
• Chef's Note: Repeat for the remaining chicken pieces.
• While the chicken is resting, add the oil to a skillet (cast iron is good), and heat to 350f (175c).
• Add the chicken, and cook until nice and brown, about 3 minutes per side.
• Place the chicken on a paper towel to drain.
• PLATE/PRESENT
• Slice open your favorite Southern-style biscuit, and add the chicken.
• If you like you could add a nice fried egg. Enjoy.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

FANCY ICED BISCUITS

Steps:

• Line a couple of trays with baking parchment and heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Mix together the flour, salt, caster sugar and lime zest (keep the zested limes for the icing). Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Beat the egg and vanilla bean paste together with a fork, then mix into the other ingredients. Knead until even. Chill until firm, then roll on a lightly floured surface until about 4-5mm thick. Stamp out 8cm rounds, transfer to baking trays, then chill again for 15 mins before baking for 15-17 mins until golden. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before decorating.
• For the icing, put the royal icing sugar into a bowl, add about 65ml lemon or lime juice and use a metal spoon or electric mixer to beat until it is fairly thick and glossy. If the icing is too thick though, it will be hard to pipe. Take a quarter of the icing, put into a piping bag fitted with a No 2 (very small round) piping nozzle and set aside. To see step-by-step images, please see the tips, below left, for a link to our guide page.
• For the flood icing, add another 10ml lemon or lime juice to the remaining icing, a few drops at a time until it is pourable. You can now divide this icing into as many bowls as you like and colour by mixing in a little gel food colouring.
• Place the coloured icing into three piping bags, ready for decorating.
• To decorate the biscuits, use the thicker icing to draw your outline or design onto the biscuits. Let the icing set for a few minutes.
• Pipe enough runnier icing to cover the entire biscuit - don't worry about it being neat at this point. Use a toothpick to spread the icing evenly inside the hard icing 'wall'. If the surface of the icing isn't flat, gently shake the biscuit back and forth until you have a smooth covering.
• To add a simple dot decoration, while the icing is still wet, use the runnier icing again to pipe dots again - this will sink on, leaving you with a smooth effect. Pop the biscuits onto a baking tray and place into an oven at its lowest setting for about 30 mins to allow the icing to set hard.

SPICE BISCUITS (COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C (170C for fan ovens), 350F, gas mark 4 and grease a baking sheet or cookie sheet.
• Beat the softened butter with the caster sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolks and beat to combine.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon and whisk (or sieve).
• Stir the spiced flour into the egg, butter and sugar mixture and knead lightly on a floured board to bring the dough together.
• Roll out dough to 0.5cm (quarter of an inch) thickness on a floured board or surface and cut out into 2 inch rounds or whatever shapes you desire; Do not reroll dough too many times or biscuits will be tough.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until very lightly browned at the edges then use a spatula to transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool.
• Store in an airtight container to retain crispness.