Thyme-Maple Cream Biscuits: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Makes8 biscuits

Active time:10 min
Start to finish:45 min

March 2009

Made with cake flour and cream, these biscuits are just what you want them to be: miraculously light and tender. Their square shape and modest height add a touch of refinement. But they also have something most others don’t—a brush of maple syrup and a scattering of fresh thyme leaves (left over from Linguine with Brussels Sprouts Barigoule). Stirred into the dough and sprinkled on top, the herb has a definite but not overpowering presence. These biscuits go with almost anything, at any meal.

2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme, divided
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter a baking sheet.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add cream and 1 1/2 tsp thyme and stir until a dough just forms.
Gather dough into a ball, then pat into an 8- by 4-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface with floured fingers. Cut into 8 squares.
Brush tops of biscuits with maple syrup, then sprinkle with remaining 3 tsp thyme. Transfer to baking sheet 1 inch apart and bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Ian Knauer

Photograph by Stephanie Foley