I know Paula Dean is still probably a pariah at the moment, or maybe she isn’t. Who can keep track of public opinion? And I don’t want to talk about her. But, I will say that woman can cook. And she can use butter in a way that even would make the Barefoot Contessa take a step back.

I came across this recipe in one of her cookbooks. The condiment of the sandwich is a mixture of butter and mango chutney? What could go wrong with that?!

The answer is, nothing. I wanted to lick it out of the bowl. I wanted to lick it off of the sandwiches. It was kind of out of control.

Basically, this recipe has you make adorable little finger biscuits, cut them into sandwiches, and fill them with ham and delicious buttery mango stuff. There is nothing complicated about this, but for some reason the combination is pretty magical. They are light, simple, and highly addictive.

 I made one change to the original recipe, amusingly, that was to add more butter. When I made the biscuits, I kept waiting for them to get “golden brown” like the recipe called for, and ended up over cooking them while I waited. If you brush on a little bit of butter before you put them in the oven, you will get a prettier, browner crust. And, you get more butter, so that’s good, right?

This dish would be perfect finger food for a summer cocktail party or a brunch. Or I suppose, if you are sitting at home drinking wine by yourself and just want to feel fancy. Whatever floats your boat.

Ham and Mango Chutney Finger Biscuit Sandwiches

Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook

• 3 TB minced mango chutney (Major Grey’s suggested)
• 3 TB butter, softened
• 3 TB butter, chilled
• 1 TB butter, melted for brushing biscuits
• 2 cups self-rising cake flour (*alternative listed below)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup whole milk, plus more if needed
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 oz thinly sliced ham

Preheat oven to 400.

In a small bowl, combine chutney and softened butter.

In a large bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Cut in cooled butter until the mixture forms chickpea sized chunks. Stir in milk and buttermilk. Drizzle in more milk, 1 TB at a time if needed to form a dough.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it just comes together. Pat it into a 8×5 inch rectangle, then cut that in half crosswise and cut each half lengthwise in to fifths, making ten 2 1/2 by 1/2 inch fingers. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter.

Transfer the fingers to a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool for several minutes and slice in half, like a sandwich. Slather with the chutney butter, layer in the ham.

*If you can’t find self rising cake flour, whisk together all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt for every cup you need.

Enjoy!

Photographs by Jessica Yager.