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Holiday Tradition Calls for Squash Biscuits
by Elizabeth Benton
(November 18, 2004) These squash biscuits
have been a crucial element of Thanksgiving and Christmas
Day celebrations in my family for as long as I can remember.
While turkey and football may serve as national symbols
for Thanksgiving, at the Benton house in Larchmont, New York,
you can always tell it's Thanksgiving when my father is
caked
in flour, kneading the sweet-smelling orange dough at
the crack of dawn.
As with many family recipes passed down from generation
to generation, this recipe is more of a guideline than a
rule. Every year the ratios and baking time are tweaked,
leading family members, bite after bite, to exclaim that
each batch is by far the best ever.
Four years ago, my father was hit with appendicitis
just days before Thanksgiving, requiring emergency surgery.
Thankfully, the operation went smoothly and he made a
swift recovery, but our baker was out of commission - a near
culinary disaster. As the last minute, inexperienced replacement
chef, I can attest to the flexibility of this recipe.
Grammy Peg Benton's Squash Biscuits
Ingredients:
½ cup butternut squash either steamed and strained
or frozen (we use frozen)
¼
cup sugar (we always add more)
½
teaspoon salt
¼
cup butter
½
cup scalded milk
¼
yeast cake
¼
cup lukewarm water.
2 ½ cups flour
Directions: mix squash, sugar, salt, and butter together
in a mixing bowl. Allow scalded milk to cool to lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast into lukewarm water and mix with milk. Combine
with squash mixture. Add flour.
Cover and let rise over night. Knead dough. Place
into slightly greased muffin tins. Bake at 375
degrees
for
approximately
15 minutes.
First published in the
New Haven Register - Valley
Register on October 29, 2004.
Elizabeth Benton grew up in Larchmont and is a reporter with
the Register.
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