Newfoundland Biscuits

So all joking about the "real Canadian Thanksgiving" vs the "fake US Thanksgiving" aside, yesterday was the big day in Portland. I joined a crew of fellow out-of-towners for an "Orphan's Thanksgiving" at "K"risitie's place. She had a massive bird prepared - succulent, juicy and oh so perfectly done - along with cranberries and an old-fashioned pumpkin pie. Who could ask for more?

The rest of the crew pitched in with appetizers, mashed potatoes, vegetable, banana bread and liquor - decidedly a lot of the latter!

And I showed up with nothing less than Newfoundland biscuits. Food makes up a lot of our sensory memories when it comes to childhood, and I have, lamentably, never had too many of my Mom's recipes around to experiment with.

However, I was in Canada in October, and came across an old cookbook with a few gems in it - including, light, fluffy, slightly sweet and memory-laden Newfoundland biscuits. I highly recommend you all try these out and report back - for the celiac among you you might try a potato flour, while the vegan are well out of my area of expertise but I know you have tricks up your sleeves.

So with no further ado (cause, as you know by now, there is always "ado" on this page):

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup margarine
• 1 egg (in measuring cup - fill to 1 cup with milk)
• 5 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Combine all dry ingredients. Cut in margerine. Add egg and milk mixture and knead on a well-floured board. Roll to ~3/4" thick (experiment with this, I think thicker might even be better) and cut out desired shape with a biscuit cutter (or a water glass with the rim dipped in flour). Bake 20 minutes in a 400 degrees oven. Do not overbake - pay attention to your nose, it will be the best judge of when these are exactly ready to take out.

Enjoy the biscuits and leave me comments with your review.

Thank you a million for your hospitality Kristie!