The best buttermilk biscuits & southern chocolate gravy

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick real butter)
• 2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• additional Self-rising flour
• (for counter surface to knead dough)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

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Preparation

• Cut butter with a sharp knife or pastry blender into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle butter slices over flour in a large bowl. Toss butter with flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. (I used my hands) Cover and chill 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times, gradually adding additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle top of dough with additional flour. Fold dough over onto itself in 3 sections, starting with 1 short end. (Fold dough rectangle as if folding a letter-size piece of paper.) Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Press or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a parchment paper-lined or lightly greased jelly-roll pan. (Dough rounds should touch.) Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 Tbsp. melted butter.
  
  
  
  Southern Chocolate Gravy
  (pour over homemade biscuits)
  
  3/4 - 1 cup white sugar
  (if you want it less sweet use 3/4 cup)
  2 - 3 tablespoons flour
  1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 1/4 cups milk
  1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  Add all the dry ingredients to a medium sized pot. Add the milk, using a whisk combine the dry ingredients with the milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and stir constantly to prevent the mixture from scorching. The mixture will start thicken up. When it thickens remove from heat and add the butter and the vanilla extract. Pour over biscuits, I tear my biscuit up in a bowl first and then pour the gravy all over it.
  
  * If by chance your gravy is not at the consistency that you want. You can mix a bit of flour and milk together and add it to the boiling chocolate to thicken it as much as you like. Some people like their chocolate gravy a bit thin and some a bit thicker. I think it will be just right if you use about 3 tablespoons flour.