In Raging Sun there’s a scene where fresh from the oven biscuits are served. In a recent newsletter, I mentioned that the inspiration were my mom’s own tea biscuits she baked when I was younger. After many emails requesting the recipe, my mother has agreed to unlock the vault.
There are two versions of this recipe. This is my father’s:
- Whine and whimper a lot;
- Say how Gramma and my mom used to make me tea biscuits because they loved me;
- Whimper some more;
- Mention how beautiful she looks today;
- Pray for help;
- Lastly beg.
I remember eating them a lot when I was younger, so I guess his recipe worked. Her recipe is below, though she certainly doesn’t refer to it. Remember, this is forty years of cooking and tweaking, so an extra pinch of something here, or a heaping instead of level teaspoon of something there, could change the outcome. Here it is, experiment away!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 8 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 egg
- milk
Method:
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender. In a one cup measuring cup, beat the egg with a fork until frothy then fill cup to top with milk. Add another 1/2 cup milk. Mix liquid into dry mixture with a fork. Turn out onto floured surface and quickly knead until it comes together. Do not overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough. Roll out onto floured surface and cut into circles. Do not roll the dough too thinly or the biscuits won’t rise high enough. Brush top of biscuits with cold water, this will help them brown. Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in 425F oven for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Try to eat just one.
I’m now calculating whether or not driving 36 hours round-trip is worth it for a batch, or should I just fly.
Or does FedEx have one of those Dominos heated delivery bags?
Hmmm, maybe Amazon Prime will deliver them by drone to my doorstep.
Woah, just had my mind blown. Can you imagine fresh baked goods delivered by drone each morning from your local bakery?
Order me a new belt, this one just shrank!
Robert, thanks to you and especially your Mom, awesome recipe…tonight I get to try my first batch and share with my neighbors here in Chitrè, Panamà. Also, plan to send a copy of “Mom’s” biscuits to my Peace Corps friends throughout the world, and my family in Oregon and Southern California…Awesome!
Bob Arias
Hope they turn out!
Funny little addition to this. A reader sent me an email after this went out, mentioning that outside North America teas biscuits are known as scones. I’ve had scones here, and they were more like little triangular cakes. We exchanged a couple of emails about how the same word meant different things in different countries, and as I was reading the latest response, I was watching an episode of Matt Leblanc’s show, Episodes. In it a British couple go to a meeting with another Brit and they are served homemade scones.
That looked exactly like tea biscuits.
I think my lottery numbers are due.
Hope Amazon follows up on your delivery idea…Tea Buscuuts fresh in the morning via a Drone…awesome!
They’re training birds to take down unauthorized drones. I’m thinking you train them to take it down, grab the goods, and fly home. The fun part would be seeing what you get each morning. One day biscuits, another day scones, another day a pack of AAA batteries.
I’m from England but live here in America, love your books and the Raging Sun is an awesome book, some of the things that were in the book about Europe and the issues that are happening are so very true and sad, my sister calls me once a week and the situation there is not good.
Your tea biscuit recipe does remind me of my scone recipe, I love to bake and I’m sure these will go fast.
Hope your next book comes out soon, have read every one.
Have to reply to above comment about the situation in Europe. Things aren’t as bad here(I live in France-albeit in a sleepy little village in the mountains in the south) as it seemed to be portrayed in Raging Sun, we are not overrun by immigrants and there are not multiple rapings etc. The whole world has to be responsible for the mess in Syria, not least America and Russia. But please do not get the wrong impression about Europe. We are a strong nation. America sometimes get completely the wrong impression about other parts of the world, I think that your news reporting is completely off the planet. By the way wondered about those tea biscuits when I was reading about them. Thanks for the recipe, they are English scones! Love your books, please keep writing them – looking forward to the next already.