My dad Jack has made these biscuits every morning for most of his adult life. At his restaurant appropriately named “Jack’s”, which is located in the Aina Haina Shopping Center in Hawaii. He asked me to shrink the recipe to a dozen biscuits, so home cooks could attempt it. Well, here is my best shot.These simple biscuits bake up with a scone like crispy top and a muffin/cake bottom. This happens because they are shaped and baked in muffin tins. They can be a bit touchy at times but after a few tries, and you get the feel of the process, you will think they are worth the effort.
JACK’S SPECIAL BISCUITS
DRY
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3 Tblsp. sugar
2 Tblsp. baking powder
WET INGREDIENTS
½ cup butter, melted (1 stick)
2 Tblsp. oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a whisk to evenly distribute the salt, sugar and baking powder. Make a well in the center.
Add the wet ingredients to the well and mix well. You will have a wet and sticky batter. Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes so it will thicken up and make it easier to scoop and work with.
I used a ¼ cup size ice cream scoop but you could use a ¼ cup dry measuring cup to measure out your batter.
Place 2 cups of flour in a 9” X 13” pan. (this is for the kneading process and will be more than you will use but is needed to knead the batter)
Scoop out 2 portions at a time into the flour. Gently knead with your finger tips lifting and dropping back into the flour until the dough is coated with the flour. Shake off the extra flour and place dough in a muffin tin. Continue this process with the rest of the dough.
Bake for 20 – 22 minutes. Serve with equal parts of honey and butter mixed together.
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Ate at Jacks yesterday for the 1st time and loved the biscuits! We need to try this recipe. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteLove Jacks biscuits! So light and fluffy! Amazing! Will definitely try this recipe! Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteI just found your website. I've heard so much about these biscuits and how wonderful they are, I will definitely try this recipe. Thank you for sharing your father's recipe.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a Kalua and Cabbage recipe, and found this, too.
ReplyDeleteWow, I love Jack's biscuits!!!
Thank you for sharing. I will give it a try some time.
I am not sure how the kneading process goes, though.
Any chance you will be showing this on YouTube!? :P
Thanks for stopping by. I don't think that I will be doing a YouTube. However, I will try to better describe the kneading process :)
DeleteWhen I scoop the batter into the flour I gently, with all 5 finger tips, coat it in the flour. Then with all 5 finger tips, pinch and gently squeeze the dough ball then drop it back into the flour. I repeat this until the dough ball is no longer sticky. Then I shake off the excess flour and drop it into a muffin tin.
I hope that helps.
I grew up on Opihi Street and my family ate at Jacks every weekend! Can't wait to make these! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy parents still live in Hawaii Kai very close to Opihi St. They are retired and no longer own Jack’s. But I hear that the new owners still make the biscuits. Mahalo for stopping by :)
DeleteI found this posted in the "You know you're from Hawaii Kai when..." Facebook page. I can't wait to try them! I grew up on the corner of Hawaii Kai Dr. and Kuapa Isle - I believe it was just a few doors down from your parents home? We ate at Jack's often. In fact even as a very young child my parents couldn't get me to eat at McDonalds since I insisted Jack's hamburgers were better and I liked that he made them special for me! Mahalo!
ReplyDeleteHi Mei Ling, Yes - that was just a few doors down from my parents home and yes, those were the best hamburgers!!! Mahalo for the memories.
DeleteAloha, Susan
I grew up in Aina Haina and my dad ywent to Jack's last week and they were closed for renovations. I guess he had a Jack's biscuit craving because he called me and gave me this recipe to make. I made it the next morning and he said I baked it too long. I was trying to get it to look like your picture of the biscuits. I tried again today and cooked it 20 minutes and they were softer, but he said the real biscuits have more holes in them. I'll try again and let them sit longer before I bake them. They are delicious though. Thanks Susan!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
DeleteYou might need to knead you dough balls just a little bit more and as I mentioned in the post. They do take practice. I’ll be rooting for your next batch!
So happy to find this recipe! We discovered Jack's Restaurant on our first trip to Hawaii, and it's our favorite place to go for breakfast when we're on Oahu. We love those biscuits!
ReplyDelete