I Never Thought I Would Bake Bread for Thanksgiving—Until I Tried This 2-Ingredient Biscuit Recipe
If ever there was an occasion to do too much or go too hard in the kitchen, Thanksgiving might be the strongest contender. I've been known to start dreaming about my Thanksgiving menu as early as June, not because it takes me that long to plan the meal but because the production of Thanksgiving is truly my favorite part of the year—why would I want to think about anything else?
Even so, there are some Thanksgiving shortcuts I'm always willing to take, like skipping homemade cranberry sauce, making just a turkey breast and, until recently, buying bread from the store. Making bread for Thanksgiving seemed like a step too far on such a big day—I couldn't figure out how to make time for the dough to rise or for all those extra dishes to be washed. I let recipe carousels for holiday dinner rolls and fluffy biscuits roll right past me, until a one-bowl, two-ingredient recipe fell into my lap—or at least into my search algorithm.
King Arthur Baking's Never-Fail Biscuits are a classic recipe that you can memorize, especially if you own a kitchen scale. The instructions are simple: mix together equal parts (by weight) self-rising flour and heavy whipping cream until the dough is smooth. Then scoop out the biscuits into 1-ounce balls, brush the tops with a little water and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. You can make them larger, if you like. Just be sure to adjust the cook time accordingly.
The resulting biscuits are a miracle of kitchen science, fluffy, buttery and soft. I serve them with a tray of compound butters—this year the lineup will be citrus-honey, maple-bacon and rosemary-garlic—so everyone feels like they're eating something that took all morning to make, when in actuality it took as little as 15 minutes. If you'd rather keep the butter simple but add something extra to the biscuits, this recipe is ideal for noodling around. Add a few tablespoons of chives, scallions or your favorite herbs for extra flavor, or even toss in some Cheddar and bacon bits for a super-savory option.
The recipe gets lots of love from online reviewers, including one home cook who suggests tossing in peppers, feta and chives for a fun savory twist or going for cranberries and orange zest for something sweeter (and perfect for fall). Whether you decide to add something special to these biscuits or keep it simple, I'm sure they'll be a success—they *are* called "never-fail" for a reason! And if you're anything like me, you'll be baking a batch for Thanksgiving and any other occasion that calls for a delicious but easy biscuit on the side.