Angel’s Share Biscuits

Bourbon that evaporates while aging in barrels is known as the “angel’s share,” and these biscuits experience that same phenomenon with the alcohol evaporating during baking, leaving a trace of sweet, bourbon-y flavor behind. Eat the biscuits hot from the oven with butter and honey or build a biscuit sandwich with a few slices of country ham and a goodly squeeze of spicy mustard.

½ cup warm water
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1½ cups buttermilk
¼ cup bourbon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix the warm water and honey together and dissolve the yeast in the water-honey mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and shortening and mix with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal.

Mix the buttermilk and bourbon with the yeast mixture; add these ingredients to the flour mixture. Combine lightly until the ingredients are just mixed together.

Grease a baking pan and drop mounds of dough onto it. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 2 dozen.

Albert W.A. Schmid, The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook (The University Press of Kentucky, 2010)