Diary of a Secret Housewife: Captain Fairfield's Scallion Biscuits

During our stay at the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport, we were treated to the most delicious baked goods by Loryn, the co-innkeeper and resident chef.  Among the most memorable breakfast items she made was a sea salt, black pepper, and scallion biscuit.  Fresh from the oven, the biscuit was a revelation: redolent with the fragrance of the scallions, with a nice bite from the pepper and a savory crunch from the sea salt sprinkled on top.

So you can imagine the giddiness I experienced when she told me that the recipe for this scone-like concoction was on the Inn's website.

Of course this meant I had to try out the recipe for myself.  Let's just say this recipe was a far better souvenir of our trip than the craptastic New England tourist kitsch being sold all over Kennebunkport.

To make the biscuits, first preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Whisk 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour together in a large mixing bowl.

Grate 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of frozen butter into the flours and mix with hands until well distributed. (Tip: Flouring the grater before you start grating will prevent the butter from sticking together into clumps as you grate it.)

Whisk in 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.  (I think the next time I make this, I'd up the sea salt to 3/4 teaspoon.)

Add 1/2 bunch of scallions, trimmed and chopped into small pieces, to 3/4 cup cold buttermilk.  Then add the buttermilk and scallions to the flour mixture.

Gently incorporate wet into dry ingredients. When a dough has been achieved, turn out onto floured board and gently form into a rough square about 1 inch thick and cut into 8-10 squares.

Place on cookie sheet and brush with melted butter, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and black pepper and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly brown on the top.

We had the biscuits with a roasted beets salad and a steak off the grill.  It was as good an accompaniment to dinner as to breakfast.

Many thanks to Loryn Kipp for the recipe and for keeping us so well fed last weekend.  And if you ever get around to writing that cookbook, there's a recipe for chocolate chunk cookies that I desperately want.  ;-)