Secret Ingredient Biscuits

Traveling through the South, it's tempting to sample biscuits at every chance. But more often it's a lazy Sunday morning when Nancy has a craving for them while she reads the Sunday papers in bed.

​Richard came across this surprisingly simple and quick recipe (from America's Test Kitchen) that yields a consistently good result. Can you guess what the "Secret Ingredient" might be? Click on "Read More" to find out.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup mayonnaise (the "Secret Ingredient"!)

Process

• Adjust oven rack to middle and preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
• With a wire whisk, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
• Whisk milk and mayonnaise together in separate bowl.
• Using a rubber spatula, stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. It will be rather sticky, not your typical dough consistency.
• Using a large table spoon and your rubber spatula, drop 8-12 (I prefer 8 - depends on how large you like your biscuits) dollops of the sticky dough onto the parchment, spacing them 1 1/2 - 2 inches apart. (About 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup each). Use your spoon & spatula to loosely shape the dollops into reasonably round balls. Even up the size of the balls as best you can.
• Bake until biscuit tops are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
• Transfer biscuits to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Serve with soft butter and your favorite jam, or split them and top with poached eggs.
• Wrap any leftovers in parchment paper and leave at room temperature. 

Notes

• Whole milk and full-fat mayo are important to get the right texture - don't substitute low-fat or non-fat varieties!
• I usually cut the recipe in half and just make 4 biscuits. It's so quick that having them fresh is easy. Plus, having too many leftovers of these tempting treats around is tough on the waistline.