Crescent Roll Biscuits

Crescent Roll Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

8 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter or hard margarine, cut into cubes

2 cups milk

2 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon milk

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough and knead briefly until it just comes together. Divide dough into four pieces.

Roll each piece into a thin circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle into eight triangles.

Starting from the wide edge, roll each triangle toward its point. Arrange crescents on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Beat together the egg yolks and milk and brush over the tops of the crescents. Bake at 425◦F for about 20 minutes until golden.

Buttermilk Biscuits

This is a basic buttermilk biscuit recipe that makes a good base for strawberry shortcakes. But the biscuits are also great toasted with butter and jam for breakfast, or served along a bowl of seafood chowder,

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 cup cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400◦F. 
Blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumble. Stir in enough buttermilk to bind the dough, then knead on a floured surface until combined.
Roll dough out to 3/4 inches thick. Cut into 3 inch circles.
Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for about 18 minutes until golden.
Makes 12 biscuits. 

Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Since it is strawberry season I am running strawberry shortcake on the menu as a dessert special. I've been changing up the components and plating a bit every day, but the main components remain the summer. Featured on this plate is a toasted buttermilk biscuit, chantilly cream, local strawberry and honey compote, lime coulis, a strawberry rose, and a fresh mint garnish. 

Tea Biscuits

My grandmother's tea biscuits, take number two of the season.

This time I reverted back to my grandmother's recipes and chose the one I thought might be 'the most accurate'. Of course they STILL didn't turn out like hers but they are probably my best attempt yet. They are certainly close - light and high and yummy. My grandmother even approved of them though she said they weren't quite there yet. Hopefully I will figure it out one day!

Almost Nonna's Tea Biscuits
1 large egg, beat into a measuring cup
milk, add to make one cup liquid (I used skim because that's all I had on hand)
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
scant 1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (I used salted)

Preheat oven to 425◦F. Line a double layer of baking sheets (to prevent bottoms from browning too quickly) with parchment paper.
Stir together all the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until pea-sized. Stir in the egg and milk mixture. Knead until smooth, Roll out on lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a round cutter, Place 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

Not For Tea Biscuits

My grandmother's tea biscuits, take number one of the season.

My grandmother makes the best tea biscuits. Or used to anyway, but hasn't been able to recently. They are light and fluffy and buttery and so delicious they can be eaten plain and cold; but of course are better warm with butter! (See http://bexysbakingblog.blogspot.ca/2012/05/nonnas-tea-biscuits.html).

She has given me a few different recipes over the years but although I have tried them all, I have never been able to get them quite as good as hers. Similar, yes. Tasty, definitely. Nonna's? Nope. I can't even pinpoint what the differences may be. We don't live far away from each other so we use the same brands of ingredients, same climate, even have the same or similar kitchen equipment to work with. Is she just missing something in one of her recipes? Does she have a special technique that just can;t be explained? Am I not kneading enough, too much, or too vigorously? Does my oven temperature run high? Is it a subtle difference in biscuit cutters?

It certainly doesn't help that her recipes are never specific. How long do I knead? How thick do I roll out the dough? How much is a 'scant' cup of sugar? What percentage of milk fat? Salted or unsalted butter?

This time around, I decided just to try my ow biscuit recipe I know has worked before and always produces a tender, flaky, and tasty product. But I tried to form them into more of a tea biscuit type. I'm afraid it didn't work out at planned and didn't come close to my grandmother't tea biscuits; but they were darn tasty!

Not high enough, not fluffy enough, not 'tea' enough

The Biscuit Recipe

Here is the recipe for the excellent biscuits that accompanied the chowder. Hint, if you need to do like, 900 biscuits, a dough sheeter (used for laminated dough, danishes, fondant, etc.) saves a lot of time and manpower in rolling out the dough and rerolling the dough, etc.

Biscuit Recipe
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3⁄4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2″ cubes
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp 2% milk

Preheat oven to 400◦F. 
Blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, pepper, soda, and salt.Cut in the butter until fine meal. Stir in enough buttermilk to bind the dough, then knead on a floured surface until combined.
Roll dough out to 3/4 inches thick. Cut into 3 inch circles.
Mix together the egg and milk and brush the biscuits. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for about 18 minutes until golden.

This recipe only makes 12 biscuits, not 900.

Mom's Tea Biscuits

My grandmother always made these delicious tea biscuits that we loved to eat for breakfast, but hasn't been up to it much latley. So my mother has made tea biscuits a few times, except she looked for a different recipe that was a bit easier and simpler. They taste very similar to my grandmother's, but they do have a slightly different texture. Another interesting thing is that they don't rise and shape completely even. But they are quite good! 

Mom's Tea Biscuits
2 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425◦F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter to coarse crumbs. Stir in milk. Knead gently, then pat out flat. Cut with round cutters. Bake 13-15 minutes.

This is an easy, no-fuss recipe. You can knead the biscuits longer to make them smoother, or shorter to make them very tender. Cut them into any shape and size you desire - for even easier biscuits, just cut out squares.

Garlic Biscuits

Fresh homemade biscuits + fresh homemade garlic butter + toaster oven = delicious homemade garlic biscuits to go with pasta.
To make my own garlic butter, I went with a on-the-fly cheat version. I melted a little salted butter, quickly crushed a garlic clove, added some Italian seasoning, paprika, and black pepper, stirred it all together, and spooned it onto biscuit halves. I let them stand to absorb all that buttery goodness for a few minutes before I toasted them.

Thanksgiving Dinner Canapés

Thanksgiving Dinner Canapés
caramelized red onion biscuits
butternut squash purée (or alternately sweet potato purée)
cranberry chutney/sauce (chunky, whole berry, not jelly and preferably homemade)
pickles

I baked my own vegan biscuits, adding in caramelized red onions to the dough for more flavor. I put my purée in a piping bag fitted with a star tip and piped a swirl onto each biscuit. Then I topped with a dollop of cranberry chutney, and cut my pickles into little half-moon shapes for a garnish.

I think this canapé is quite colorful and something different - more rustic ingredients presented in an elegant way. They were very much appreciated. The flavors balanced very well together - the purée and onions were sweet, the biscuit and pickle salty, the chutney tart, and the pickle acidic. Someone told me the pickle absolutely makes the canapé. I got inspiration for this hors d'oeuvre from Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.

Rustic Sweet Potato Pistachio Bread

Rustic Sweet Potato Pistachio Bread
approximately two medium sweet potatoes
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons tahini or nut butter
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sweetener of choice (blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, sugar, etc.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (peeled if desired)
nondairy milk or water, as needed

First cook the sweet potatoes. Peeled sweet potatoes are best for this recipe, though when I can I do like to eat the peel as well - it is full of fiber!
I think roasted sweet potatoes are best for this recipe as they caramelize in the oven, but boiled, steamed, or microwaved will work just as well. They just need to be cooked until they are soft enough to mash. A few chunks are ok, it doesn't have to be completely smooth. This step can be done in advance or make use of leftover sweet potato.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until no dry flour remains. Mixture should have the consistency of wet drop biscuits, if it is too dry, add liquid a little at a time. Pat mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want a less rustic look, pat it into an 8-inch round pan, or try an 8x8 inch square pan. Or drop in individual biscuits if you wish (baking time will be shorter). Bake at 400◦F for abut 30 minutes or until bread is cooked through. Great warm or cold!

This is a really easy and nutritious quickbread or biscuit recipe. I love the combination of sweet potato and pistachio, making the bread both moist and crunchy! It's also vegan.

Easter Biscuits

It's hard to believe it is nearly Easter time again already! I am beginning to get into the Easter spirit by baking some Easter treats, as yesterday's post also featured. Biscuits are a versatile baked good, great with dinner, breakfast, as a snack, or even for dessert. Biscuits are easy to make, easy to flavor in different ways, and always seem to be a hit. But one of the best things about biscuits is that they can be shaped in many different ways. Biscuits can be dropped from a spoon, cut into rounds, or cut into squares, rectangles, or triangles so there are no scraps. They can be pull-apart or baked in a pan. They can be baked on top of casseroles or cooked on top of soups and stews. But they can also be cut into any shape imaginable - as there are cookie (or biscuit) cutters in pretty much every shape imaginable as well. Here I have cut biscuits into the shapes of Easter bunnies and eggs. 

Everyone seems to have their own favorite biscuit recipe. Some like butter, some prefer shortening or margarine; some have egg; some use milk instead of water; some have add-ins such as herbs or cheese; some require a lot of kneading, and some are no-knead. I have a few great biscuit recipes in my head, and choose which one to use depending on exactly what I plan to do with them. For these biscuits, I used my best cut-out biscuit recipe, a dough that is really easy to work with and very tasty to eat. 

Cinnamon Scrolls

This is a variation on the tried and true cinnamon roll. Instead of a round, light and fluffy or yeasty roll, this is a flaky, crescent roll style biscuit with the sweet and buttery cinnamon filling, rolled up into a scroll. I find every cinnamon roll recipe differs in terms of texture - the dough is sometimes cake-like, sometimes muffin-like, sometimes biscuit-like, sometimes bread-like. This recipe is definitely a biscuit-like texture, but the filling, like most cinnamon roll fillings, is the same - sweet and chock full of cinnamon!

Cinnamon Scrolls
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 Tablespoons granulated (white) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt1/2 cup cold cubed butter
1 cup cold milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough, knead just until it comes together. Roll to a 1/4 inch thick circle. Brush with the melted butter. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over top. Leave a small border all around. Cut the circle into 16 equal triangular-shaped wedges. Roll up each triangle, starting from the long edge.
Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425◦F for about 15 minutes until golden.

Heart Biscuits

These biscuits are based from my go-to biscuit recipe I devised myself. I haven’t found a tastier, easier biscuit to make and this recipe never fails and can be manipulated in different ways. Here is the base formula

Basic Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter or hard margarine, cut into cubes

1 cup milk

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough and knead briefly until it just comes together. Roll or pat out to desired thickness and cut as desired. Bake until golden.

Variations

Flour: Try whole wheat, a mix, ground oats, or adding in other whole grains.

Sweet: Cut back on the salt and add up to two tablespoons of granulated sugar to use dough for sweeter applications.

Fat: Both butter and margarine work well. Use a compound butter for extra flavor, or cream cheese for extra richness.

Milk: I have had success with evaporated, powdered, and fresh milk of varying milk fat percentages.

Baking: I have been able to bake these at temperatures ranging from 350◦F to 425◦F – all work but the lower the temperature, the longer they take. Higher temperatures also make the biscuits slightly crispier. I always bake them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Preparation: I have prepared the dough ahead of time and refrigerated before rolling and cutting. I have also prepared biscuits and refrigerated those before baking. I have also mixed up the dry ingredients and had the butter cubed and ready to go and the milk poured in advance.

Applications: Use for basic biscuits, crescent rolls, pizza roll-ups, crusts for meats, croissants, shortcakes for desserts, turnovers, toppings for casseroles and soups, and more. The dough holds filling really well.

Chicken Cordon Bleu En Croûte

Chicken Cordon Bleu seems to be one of those dishes, like crème brûlée or foie gras (which is literally just duck fat), that just sounds so fancy and restaurant-quality. Really, it's just the classical French name, but names do sell, and these items are associated as high class. They are not necessarily difficult to make, but they can be nailed or not so great. Everyone seems to know chicken cordon bleu involves chicken with ham and Swiss cheese, but not many are really aware of the origin of the name. Well, most of these French terms cannot be taken literally, and cordon bleu just refers to meat wrapped around cheese. So you could have steak cordon bleu or pork cordon bleu, but chicken is by far the most common.
Add another French term - en croûte - to the mix, and it sounds even fancier, when really I am simply baking the chicken, ham, and cheese in a pastry crust. 

I have had chicken cordon bleu a few times, but this was my first time making it. Here is my recipe for chicken cordon bleu en croûte. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu En Croûte
oil
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
thin ham slices, diced
Swiss cheese, grated
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, cold
1 cup milk

Trim off any pieces of fat from the chicken. Slice each piece in half horizontally almost all the way through and open like a book. Pound until very thin and flattened, but not paper thin.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place about two to three teaspoons ham and a good heaping two tablespoons cheese on one end of each chicken breast. Press down to compress. Gently roll up chicken breast. You may secure with toothpicks if needed.
Sear the chicken breasts for a few minutes on all sides until golden.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375◦F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prepare the crust by mixing the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Mix in the milk, dough will be soft. Knead lightly until dough comes together. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle about one centimeter thick. Cut into squares or rectangles just large enough to wrap around the chicken breasts.

Place a chicken breast in a crust square and pull the sides up, overlapping on top. Biscuits can then be brushed with milk, egg wash, or a little melted butter if desired. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked thorough. Be sure to remove toothpicks before serving/eating. 

One word of advice: CHEESE! Do NOT skimp on the cheese! You want the cheese oozing out of the chicken - that is the beauty of the dish. If you think there is too much cheese, you are probably wrong, as long as you can still roll up the chicken around it. A little ham goes a long way but you need a lot of cheese.

Berry Cobbler

Berry Cobbler
2 cans berry pie filling (use a single berry pie filling or a mix of berries, or mix two different cans)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425◦F.
Mix the filling, lemon juice, and almond extract together in a 9x13 inch rectangular pan. Place in the oven to heat up while preparing topping. 
Meanwhile, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the milk to form a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls over the hot filling.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until biscuit topping is golden. 

Blueberry Grunt

Blueberry grunt is a cross between blueberry cobbler and blueberry buckle. It supposedly gets its name from the noise it makes while cooking. Traditionally it is steamed, but I like to bake it to make it easier and neater to serve. You cannot go wrong with a sweet, thick blueberry filling, and a crispy, doughy biscuit topping. It is good warm or cold, but especially nice warm if you happen to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream hiding in your freezer. 

Blueberry Grunt
FILLING
5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine
1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 425◦F.
FILLING: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients to a boil. Simmer while preparing dough.
DOUGH: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Work in the butter, then stir in the milk to form a soft dough. 

Pour the hot filling in a 9x13 inch pan. Place the dough in spoonfuls over top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until dough is golden and cooked and fruit is hot and bubbly. 

Classic Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is a classic comfort food, and a great way to use up leftovers - both chicken and vegetables. Once the prep work is complete, it really does not take long to put together and is such a homey, warm, and soothing dish. Here is my recipe for a big batch of chicken pot pie. I pictured it here before I put the biscuit crust on top so you can easily see the different colors and textures from the inside. 

Classic Chicken Pot Pie
2 cans cream of chicken soup (590mL each)
2 can-fulls of water
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1 3/4 cups milk
2-3 cups leftover cooked carrots (or use frozen)
1 package fresh mushrooms, chopped (250 grams or 8 ounces)
1 small bag frozen peas
1 small chicken (or use half of a turkey), cooked and diced
4 cups biscuit mix
4 large eggs
2 cups milk

In a large saucepan, bring the soup, water, and celery to a boil. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and 3/4 cup milk. Stir into soup, stir in remaining milk, and bring to a boil again. Boil until thickened and creamy. Stir in the carrots, mushrooms, and peas. Spread the chicken pieces in the bottom of a large pan. Pour the soup mixture over top and stir together. Cover pan, and bake in the oven at 350◦F for about half an hour, until warmed thoroughly. 

Meanwhile, mix together the biscuit mix, eggs, and milk in a large bowl. Once pie is warmed, pour this batter over top and spread evenly. Bake for an additional thirty minutes, or until biscuit is golden and cooked through. 

You can feel free to vary the vegetables in this recipe to suit your personal tastes - onions, potatoes, and beans are always good. Also adjust the seasoning and spices as desired. You can of course use your own biscuit recipe for this, but you will need a large batch and the biscuit mix is just convenient and fast. The trick to properly cooking the biscuits is to ensure the base is hot before putting the biscuit dough on top. 

No Touch Multigrain Biscuits

These are just like the {No Touch Biscuits}, except this is a whole grain, healthier version I devised. The trick is to handle the dough as little as possible. Of course whole grain biscuits don't tend to be as fluffy and light, however, they are still tasty and hearty with whatever spread you like best. I made these more hearty biscuits, but if you prefer them sweet, add up to three Tablespoons of granulated sugar along with the dry ingredients. 

No Touch Multigrain Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons each: ground flaxseed, oat bran, wheat germ, natural wheat bran
1 HEAPING Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt 
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 425◦F. Line a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the yogurt like you would butter until crumbly. Mix together the applesauce, milk, and water, and stir in to form a soft dough. Stir just until dough comes together, adding a little extra water or flour if needed. Dough should be slightly sticky. Gently pat dough into a shape about 1/2 inch thick, DO NOT KNEAD, then cut into biscuits of any shape. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing apart for crisp sides or placing together for soft sides. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden. 

Quick Rustic Biscuits

There is no need to spend precious time rolling, kneading, and cutting biscuits; sometimes biscuits that are mixed the least turn out the best. Whole grain biscuits tend to be less fluffy as is, so this method of preparation ensures a tender product. 

Quick Rustic Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup skim milk powder
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold butter, hard margarine, or Greek yogurt (not fat-free)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup water

In a large bowl, mix together the first seven dry ingredients. At this point, the mix may transferred to a bag and refrigerated, then used as needed.
To proceed with biscuits, preheat oven to 425◦F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
 Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir or cut in butter, margarine, or yogurt. Pour the honey and water over top and mix until a soft dough forms. Gently gather the dough in a ball in your hands, being careful not to overmix. Sprinkle a little extra water over top as needed. Divide dough into four pieces, then cut each piece into four thick wedges. These can be rectangles, triangles, squares, or whatever you like. Arrange on prepared baking sheet, it is fine if they touch. Bake for about 12 minutes until golden.

No-Cut Grain Biscuits

No-Cut Grain Biscuits
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup wheat germ
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 Tablespoon oil
1/2 cup water or milk

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then add in the wet and mix well. Let dough stand for 5-10 minutes. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes until set.

These are soft, sweet biscuits with a nice molasses flavor. There is no need of "cutting" in a fat such as butter or margarine - everything is simply mixed together. The result is a soft and fluffy biscuit that rises high and is easy to cut open and smother with jam or peanut butter.