Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Measure dry ingredients into a bowl with high sides or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add butter cubes and use your hands or the paddle attachment to blend on low speed until texture of flour changes from silky to mealy and dime- and quarter-size pieces of butter remain. Make a well in flour-butter mixture and add 1 cup buttermilk. Gently mix just until dough comes together; it will look rough.  Scrape dough from sides and bottom of bowl; add another 1/4 cup buttermilk and mix again to incorporate floury scraps.  Stop mixing when the majority of dough has collected in 2 or 3 large, messy dough clumps leaving some small floury scraps and butter pieces remaining. If dough is visibly dry and crumbly, add remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time. On a lightly floured surface, gather and gently pat dough into an oblong shape 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick using the heels and sides of your palms. It won’t look smooth or particularly cohesive—that’s okay.  Use a biscuit cutter to cut jammers at least 2-1/2 inches in diameter.  Layer leftover scraps on top of one another, gently pat to a 1- 1/2 to 2-inch thickness and cut into circles. Gently support the outside edge of the biscuit with your fingers and use your thumb to create a bulb-shaped hole the size of a fifty-cent piece in the middle of each biscuit.  It should be wider at the bottom and go nearly to the bottom (think pinch pot.)   Fill each indentation with 1 tablespoon jam and place jammers 1-1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the biscuits are deep golden brown.