Cottage Oat Biscuits a la Jane Brody

LUCY BURDETTE: This is not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving recipe, but it could be. You could serve on the Thanksgiving table or later at night make delicious little sandwiches or the next day with your turkey soup! 

I started making these biscuits twenty-five years ago--and I bet I've made 250 batches--they are that good. And good for you too, loaded with oats and cottage cheese.

The original recipe came from Jane Brody, who made them by hand. I make them in the food processor, which is much, much easier. It will take you longer to clean up than it will to put them together. And I add white whole wheat flour, and sometimes chop up some chives when I'm kneading the dough together.

We eat them with soup or omelets or as the basis for little sandwiches or even warm them up and serve them with honey and butter in place of dessert. Oh don't let me forget, they are the perfect base for strawberry shortcake!

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup ground oats (rolled oats whirred in the food processor for a minute)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cream of tartar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups 2% milk fat cottage cheese

Preheat the oven to 425.

First grind the oats in the processor. I like leaving them chunky because the half-ground oats add to the texture. Add the other dry ingredients to the bowl and process them briefly. Cut the butter into chunks, add to the processor bowl, and pulse until the pieces are pea-sized.

In a 2-cup measuring container, beat two eggs, then beat in the cottage cheese. Add all of this to the bowl and pulse until the batter gathers into a big mass. Scrape the batter out onto a well-floured surface and knead briefly until it's no longer sticky and you can shape it into a rectangle--make this about 3/4 inches high, and maybe 6 inches by 6 inches. The size will depend on how big you like your biscuits. Dip a knife into flour and cut the rectangle into twelve pieces. 

Move the dough to an ungreased baking pan, leaving room for the biscuits to rise while cooking. Bake about 10 minutes until the tops are browned.

These freeze really well so you can pop them into the toaster oven when you need a little treat--if there are any left over. 

And a warm biscuit with butter and honey would be the perfect thing to eat while reading DEATH IN FOUR COURSES!

You can learn more about Lucy Burdette and her Key West food critic mysteries at her website or on Facebook or Twitter.