Oh, Nutella.  Another year has come and gone, and once again, I’ve missed your special day.  I was going to make it up to you by wrapping you in pasta or swirling you through a Bundt cake, but at the end of the day I decided nothing quite shows off your flavours like a sweet buttermilk biscuit.  (except possibly a steaming hot crepe, but only when in Paris)  To make things special enough, I’ve placed you lovingly on one of my fancy china plates.

The most important thing about making perfect, high-rise biscuits is the temperature of the butter.  Michael Smith goes so far as to suggest freezing, then grating the cup of butter, but in the middle of winter, when it’s -18 outside (and it doesn’t feel that much warmer inside unless you’re snuggled up in bed or near the oven) I find that butter straight out of the fridge will work just fine.

2 cups white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
Nutella!

In a large ceramic bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
Cut the butter into chunks, then work it into the flour using a pastry blender.
Add the buttermilk and gently work the dough into a ball.  You may need to add another tablespoon or two of buttermilk.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.  It should be about an inch thick.
Cut out the biscuits using a round biscuit-cutter or the top of a juice glass.
Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Once the biscuits are out of the oven and cool enough to handle, cut them in half and top them with a generous spoonful of Nutella.