Some Southern Comfort

Biscuits with Honey and Petit Jean Bacon

It's been said that I can make a mean biscuit...

Making biscuits is one of those things that isn't hard, 

but that people tend to overthink and overwork. 

Some secrets? 

REAL SALTED BUTTER

ACAST IRON SKILLET

HOT OVEN

The recipe I use is one based on a recipe taken from 

the BHG- New Cook Book. 

 

I modified it a bit (doubling and a few other small changes)

but it's basically the same recipe. 

BISCUITS

Makes about 10-12 large biscuits

4 cups of organic unbleached flour

2 Tablespoons of Baking Powder

4 Tablespoons of sugar (unbleached granulated)

1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup of butter (you can also use a combo of butter and coconut oil to equal 1 cup.)

1 1/3 cup of organic milk (possibly more depending on humidity.)

• Preheat oven to 450.
• Put about a tablespoon or two of oil in skillet and place in oven.
• In bowl stir together dry ingredients
• Cut in shortening with pastry cutter or hands until it resembles coarse crumbs (or peas.)
• Add milk and stir until dough just clings together.  You may have to add more if dough is too dry.  You want it to be moist but not mushy.
• On floured surface, knead dough GENTLY for 10 strokes.  
• Pat into a rectangle shape gently and then roll to about 1/2 inch thickness.
• Fold in half and repeat twice. 
• Dip a glass in flour and cut into biscuits. 

 

• Transfer to hot skillet and bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Muffins

For Halloween I wanted to try a pumpkin muffin.

Now, muffins are something of a hit and miss at my house.
None of the five of us like the same kind so usually the chickens end up
with a few.
Not with this recipe!

Cinnamon-Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice or apple-pie spice (I like Penzey's)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup molasses (or more to taste) 
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
2 large fresh eggs

1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon (to sprinkle on tops)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line muffin tins with papers.
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.
Mix pumpkin and rest of wet ingredients together in another bowl.
Combine both mixtures and mix until just incorporated.
Fill muffin pan with batter (I use a small ladle to fill cups)
Sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar.
Bake until puffy and until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into middle of a muffin,
which is about 25 minutes or so.
Cool in pan until you can touch and then take out and cool on rack or countertop.

On Food Blog Fun

What do you get when you put a bunch 

of Arkansas food bloggers in one room for a day?

Great Information,

Healthy Competition,

Great food,

  Cool Swag,

And LOTS of Laughs! 

Whitney & Our little friend

Alison, eating a tomato and sporting the cool aprons they gave us!

Thank you to the great ladies of AR Women Bloggers for setting up Foodie Friday!

Also a big thank you to the sponsors, epecially:

• Ziploc (for the great goodie bag especially the wonderful VersaGlass!)
• Petit Jean Meats (I don't eat pork but my kids will only eat PJ bacon! Did you know they do gift boxes and can even ship a complete Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner?  Also great coffee cake!)
• Yarnell's Ice Cream (Yes, it's back!)  How about this fun picture Whitney took on our way home?

Thank you from- Alison, Sarabeth, Me, and Whitney!

DNA cookies

My daughter wanted me to make cookies for her biology class party and this is what we came up with...

DNA Cookies

I used this same recipe for sugar cookies.  (I used unbleached cane sugar instead of white sugar in the cookies.)  I ended up making royal icing because I was afraid a regular soft icing would not last in the heat and transport.  Hope they like them!

On sweet goodness

I made up a recipe for sweet rolls today because my impatient husband and son wanted sweet rolls "NOW!"  I didn't want to make the short cut recipe I usually do when we want sweet rolls quickly- so I improvised by using the ratios I use on my pizza crust.  They ended up being better than almost all the other recipes we usually use!   After breakfast I had 4 left out of a pan of 15...
(It also made a small pan with 6 small ones in it that I'll freeze.)

The results.....

What I did:

Sweet Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Vanilla Glaze

5 cups flour
add 1/2 stick of butter (melted) and put in mixer with dough hook
On stove warm 2 cups milk
(You want it to be warm, but cool enough to stick your finger in and not be burned if you count to 10)
To this add 3 1/4 teaspoons of yeast and about 1/4 cup of sugar (I use Mexican cane sugar instead of white sugar in everything.)
In a small cup beat 2 eggs
Add milk mixture and eggs to flour mixture and blend. 
If dough is really sticky add enough flour to make it still moist but where you can touch it and
not have sticky fingers (it's okay if it's more on the sticky side now because you can add flour later when your knead.)
Let rise about 15 minutes (would be better to let rise til double, but we are impatient.)
Knead dough on floured surface.  Add flour to make a nice dough if it's sticky.  Knead until you have a pretty, soft dough. 
Roll out into a large rectangle (about 18 x 20)
Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (you can add nuts or chocolate chips or raisins if you want to.)
Roll up from long side pressing as you go. 
Cut into about 1 inch pieces and place cut side down in a greased baking dish.
Let rise at least another 15 minutes (or ideally until doubled.)
Bake at 350 until light golden brown. 
Pour or brush glaze over rolls while warm.

Glaze
About 1/4 cup of melted butter (more or less)
Add powdered sugar (1-2 cups, again more or less)
thin with orange juice and add about 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla