Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping

I've made chicken pot pie a few times, so I thought this time I would try it with biscuit on top, instead of dough. I used my same trusty filling recipe (because I think it's really good). I liked it with biscuits, but honestly, no better (or worse) than dough. So my final call is extremely wishy washy...either way is good. Just don't put biscuit on both the top and bottom (it soaks up way too much of the filling).

CHICKEN POT PIE

Yield: 1 9-inch pie (or approx. 5 individual size pies)

Biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading the dough

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Filling:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed

2 potatoes, diced

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced celery

10 ½ tablespoons butter

2/3 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

3 1/2 cups chicken broth + more for cooking the chicken/vegetables

1 1/3 cups milk

Procedure

1.      Biscuits:  Preheat oven to 450º F.

2.      Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in cream with a wooden spoon until a dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather into a ball. Knead dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3.      Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a biscuit cutter (or ramekin of choice, if making personal size pot pies).

4.      Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 375º F.

5.      Filling: In a saucepan, combine chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, and celery. Add broth to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

6.      In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat (stirring frequently) until thick, about 10 minutes. Combine with chicken and vegetables; stir until well blended.

7.      Pour chicken filling into either a 9-inch pie plate or individual size ramekins. Bake until filling is hot and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes.

8.      Crumble the biscuits over the top (or if making individual servings, cut biscuits in half and place one half, cut side down, on top of the filling). Bake for 2-3 more minutes (just long enough to warm the biscuit topping).

biscuits from Cook’s Illustrated; pot pie filling from Robbie Rice

making the biscuit dough

cutting the biscuit dough

dough before baking ...just bake the scraps
and use to crumble on top (or snack on)

baked/sliced biscuits

chicken and vegetables

mixing the roux (butter, onions, flour & spices)

thickened sauce

filling all combined

before baking

after baking

topped with a biscuit beanie

i