Làm 8 cái bánh quy Makes 8 biscuits

DROP BISCUITS are kind of the ultimate shortcut. Like a cross between a pie crust and a cut biscuit, these give you all the flaky, buttery, and comfort-evoking feelings that each of those elicits, without having to fuss too much with the dough. Mix up the flour, drop in some buttermilk and your ripe sourdough starter, and you’re just a few minutes away from delicious biscuits that can be eaten solo, with butter and jam, or used as a rustic cobbler topping (see How to Tinker, this page ).

Makes 8 biscuits

• Slice the butter into ½-inch pats and place in the freezer.

• Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the chilled butter and toss to coat. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour, stopping occasionally to coat the butter with flour, until the butter is the size of small peas. (Alternatively, freeze the stick of butter and then use a box grater to grate it into the flour, or pulse the butter and flour in a food processor.)

• In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and sourdough starter. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until just combined (avoid overmixing). Add a little buttermilk if needed to get the dough to come together, but be conservative; the dough should just come together when squished with your hands.

• Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop or ¼-cup measuring cup, make 8 mounds of dough on the prepared sheet pan.

• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbles. Transfer the biscuits to a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft and moist as they cool. Serve warm.

HOW TO TINKER

DROP BISCUIT COBBLER

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Follow the recipe for the biscuit dough up to scooping out the mounds of dough.

In a medium bowl, combine 700g fresh blueberries (or a mix of blueberries and a stone fruit, chopped), 38g granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Gently stir, then pour into a 10-inch round skillet or 8-inch square baking pan.

Gather the drop biscuit dough into a mound and roll out to about a ½-inch thickness. Using a small biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Gather up and reroll the scraps and cut out more rounds. Place the rounds over the top of the berry mixture so the pieces are just touching. Optionally, brush a light layer of heavy cream or whole milk on top and sprinkle turbinado sugar onto each round.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the juices are bubbling. Let cool for 15 to 30 minutes. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.