Cream of Tartar Drop Biscuits
Submitted by: Karen Anderson / Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Who passed this recipe down to you? My Great Aunt, Muriel Carson
Recipe origin: St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada
How old is this recipe? At least 50 years old
The story behind the recipe:
The recipe was originally called Olde Tyme New Brunswick Cream of Tartar Drop Biscuits. I shortened it to Cream of Tartar Drop Biscuits for everyone’s sake. Lol. It evolved because my cousin Mary had to make a rolled out and cut version of these Olde Tyme biscuits when she worked as an interpretive guide at a New Brunswick’s historic site—The Sheriff Andrews House in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Her mother, my Great Aunt Muriel Carson, liked the taste of the recipe Mary brought home but she thought that having to roll and cut the biscuits was, “a bit too fussy.”
Aunt Muriel devised these drop biscuits cooked in muffin tins instead. The cream of tartar adds loft, replaces the usual buttermilk in biscuits and explains why the biscuits need a little “rest period” as called for in the instructions below. My cousin Mary says that while the batter had its little resting period, Auntie would patiently wait and sing a little tune. Auntie Muriel was the sweetest of sweet people, like her mother, my great-grandmother, Allyne Dyer, before her.
Both women cooked with love and patience and with whatever they made, you could always taste that love as the first and foremost ingredient. Note: I’ve also written out Aunt Muriel’s instructions for doubling and tripling the Cream of Tartar Drop Biscuits because it’s not a matter of simply doubling and tripling the ingredients.
Light and fluffy, these biscuits come together in a jiffy and use ingredients you can always have on hand.
Ingredients:
Yield: 1 dozen
1 egg
¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons milk
⅓ cup vegetable oil
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
Yield: 2 dozen
2 eggs
1¾ cups milk
¾ cup vegetable oil
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1½ teaspoons slat
⅓ cup sugar
Yield: 3 dozen
3 eggs
2 ⅔ cups milk
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
2¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup sugar
Variation:
Add a teaspoon of dried herbs and a few Tablespoons of grated cheese to the batter to change things up.
How to make it:
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Beat the egg/s in a large measuring cup, then add the milk and oil.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and sugar together in a large bowl, make a well in the center, pour in the egg mixture and stir into the flour mix until moist throughout.
Let the batter stand for 5 minutes (this is when Aunt Muriel would sing a tune).
Drop the dough (evenly) in the greased muffin tins and bake for about 12 minutes.
Enjoy with a hot bowl of chowder or baked beans or with a little butter and jam and a nice cup of tea.