Blueberry Buttermilk Biscuits -- The Ones We Made the Morning Everything Changed

He proposed. Sean D. proposed. At Fenway Park, on the Jumbotron, during a Red Sox game on a Tuesday night in July, because this man — this ridiculous, perfect, history-teaching, pancake-burning man — decided that the most romantic thing he could do was put my name on a forty-foot screen in front of thirty-seven thousand people and ask me to spend the rest of my life with him.

I said yes. I said yes before the Jumbotron finished displaying the question. I said yes before he finished getting down on one knee, which he almost didn't manage because we were in the cheap seats and there's no room to kneel. I said yes and the whole section cheered and the people behind us spilled their beers and someone started a "She said yes!" chant that spread three rows deep, and Sean D. was crying and I was crying and the ring was beautiful — simple, classic, a diamond that caught the stadium lights — and I couldn't breathe and I didn't care because who needs oxygen when you have this.

I called Maureen from the concourse. She cried. She actually full-on sobbed into the phone, and Maureen doesn't cry, Maureen is the rock, Maureen is the woman who held this family together through every crisis with dry eyes and a pot of soup. But she cried for this. "My Katie," she kept saying. "My Katie." I could hear Da in the background saying, "About time," which is Da's version of an emotional speech.

The ring is on my finger and I can't stop looking at it. I caught myself staring at it during a patient assessment on Wednesday, which is unprofessional and I don't care. Maria at the nurses' station saw it and screamed — actually screamed, in the middle of the oncology ward — and then the whole floor knew and there were hugs and someone produced a bottle of champagne that definitely violated hospital policy.

Sean D.'s pancakes Saturday morning were engagement pancakes. Same recipe, same burned first one, same blueberries. But different. Everything is different now. Everything is exactly the same but the light has shifted, and the world has this golden edge to it, and I am going to marry Sean Donovan and take his name, which means I'll be Kate Donovan married to Sean Donovan, which is the most Southie thing that has ever happened in the history of South Boston, and that is saying a lot.

I wanted to bake something the week Sean proposed, but pancakes are his thing — so I made the next best Donovan-household Sunday morning thing instead. Blueberries felt right, a nod to Saturday’s engagement pancakes, and there’s something about biscuits that feels like a celebration you can hold in both hands. Here’s what I made while wearing that ring and probably crying a little.

Blueberry Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 14 min | Total Time: 29 min | Servings: 10 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw if frozen)

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Cut in butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Work quickly so the butter stays cold.
4. Add buttermilk. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork just until the dough begins to come together. It will look shaggy — that’s exactly right. Do not overmix.
5. Fold in blueberries. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Scatter the blueberries over the top and gently fold the dough over them two or three times, just enough to incorporate without crushing the berries.
6. Shape and cut. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Using a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut straight down without twisting (twisting seals the edges and reduces rise). Re-pat scraps as needed. You should get about 10 biscuits.
7. Brush and bake. Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet with sides barely touching for soft biscuits, or 1 inch apart for crispier edges. Brush tops lightly with buttermilk. Bake 12–14 minutes, until risen and deep golden on top.
8. Serve warm. Let cool for 2 minutes, then serve with butter, honey, or a spoonful of blueberry jam. Best eaten the day they’re made — which won’t be a problem.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 178 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 248mg