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Preheat the oven to 450F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
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Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, break the butter into pea-sized pieces. Work quickly so the butter stays cold.
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In a small liquid measuring cup, crack the egg and whisk together with a fork. Add the milk to the ¾ cup mark. Stir in the vanilla or almond extract.
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Add the milk to the four mixture and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently stir the mixture together to form a rough dough. Add a couple teaspoons of additional milk to the mixture if it is too dry. It should just stick together but still be rough (not smooth). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat together to form a circle, about 1” thick.
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Using a biscuit cutter or glass (around 3” in diameter), cut the dough into 6 biscuits. You can press together the scraps to form one last biscuit if desired to avoid waste. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and brush the top of each biscuit with cream and sprinkle with the almonds and coarse sugar (if using). Bake until golden brown, around 12 minutes.