Peppered Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Instructions

For Biscuits:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk and softened butter until a crumbly dough forms. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and, using a circle cookie cutter, cut into 12 rounds. (My dough was just a bit too sticky to roll out so I patted mine into rounds instead of cutting.)
4. Place rounds on the prepared baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

For the Gravy:

1. In a large pan over medium heat,brown the sausage, breaking it up into crumbles with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
2. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet. Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
3. While whisking, pour the milk and butter into the skillet and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, or until desired thickness is reached.
4. Stir in the sausage and season with pepper and salt.
5. To serve, split each biscuit in half and divide them among plates. Top each biscuit with some gravy and serve immediately.