Vanilla Cream Biscuits Makes 1 dozen biscuits These biscuits are absolutely delectable on their own, or as a base for strawberry shortcake. They are rich and melting and just barely sweet -- the intertwining of sugar and vanilla is almost more a fragrance than a flavor. Vanilla sugar is easy to make. Just stick a couple of vanilla beans -- the fresher, the better -- into a few cups of plain old white granulated sugar (I use one bean for each cup of sugar), and store in an airtight container. The vanilla flavor is apparent after just a couple of days, and the longer you let them sit, the stronger it will be. Some people remove the beans after awhile, but I let mine sit in the sugar until they are old and decrepit and mummified. Then, if I remember, I add more sugar (every few months or so, you might want to take the old beans out and put in new beans). If this all sounds like way too much trouble, you could always use regular old sugar. I am something of a closet Anglophile, and as such, I was pleased to discover that these would be just the thing with a cuppa (that's British for "cup of tea," for the uninitiated). When our son Henry was very small, we pretty much referred to anything small and sweet as a biscuit, just as the British do (they also call just about any dessert a pudding, but I have to draw the line somewhere). Henry especially loved these when I use my dinkiest star-shaped cookie cutter to create an entire biscuit constellation. 2 1/4 cups ( 9 ozs.) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the counter 2 Tablespoons vanilla sugar (see above), plus extra for sprinkling on top of the biscuits 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons frozen unsalted butter, grated 2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract 3/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing tops of biscuits -- Preheat the oven to 400° and dust the counter with a little bit of flour. -- In a deep bowl, stir together the flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer or with two table knives, incorporate the butter into the flour, a little at a time, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. -- Stir the vanilla extract into the cream. Add the cream mixture slowly, continuing to mix just until it is incorporated -- as with pie pastry, you don't want to overwork the dough or it will be tough instead of light. The dough should feel smooth and velvety. Add extra flour, not more than a tablespoon at a time, if you need to make it less sticky. You can do this in a heavy-duty standard mixer, on low speed, but doing it in a food processor is not recommended -- it will toughen the pastry. -- Transfer the dough to the floured counter. Using just your fingers -- not a rolling pin -- press out the dough until it is about 1/2" thick and cut into 12 equally-sized biscuits. Gather the scraps, gently press them together, and press out the dough one more time to get extra biscuits. After this, discard the scraps; you want to avoid overworking the dough. -- Place biscuits 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush each biscuit top with cream and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Bake on the top rack at 400° on the top oven rack for 13 to 17 minutes. Transfer biscuits from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm. Storage These biscuits freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the freezer. When you want to reheat them, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil, in a single layer, and warm in a preheated 350° oven for about 20 minutes. OTHER BISCUIT, TEA CAKE AND MUFFIN RECIPES Catherine S. Vodrey is available for freelance writing, editing, fundraising/development, and photography projects at: Post Office Box 835 East Liverpool, Ohio 43920 USA E-MAIL: WordBanquet@gmail.com Thank you for visiting www.WordBanquet.com!