I don’t cook breakfast very often, even for company. That’s why I need my sister, Kay, as a partner in our theoretical bed and breakfast scheme. She knows how to do breakfast! It’s also why I like this recipe. I can make the dough and roll out the biscuits the night before (or weeks ahead of time) and put them in the freezer, then pop them in the oven when I roll out of bed.
My brother-in-law, Phil, makes these biscuits with the same sourdough starter he uses for his famous pizza, Unfortunately, I have not mastered the whole sourdough routine yet so I rewrote the recipe using a favorite ingredient I always have on hand–yogurt.
Unflavored yogurt gives these biscuits a wonderful texture and subtly tangy flavor. Their calling card is the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg. One bite into the crisp and sugary crust reveals a tender biscuit stuffed with raisins and toasted pecans. I love to eat them with creme fraiche (pictured) or cherry butter but I’m sure your favorite jelly would be delicious too.
They are best eaten warm out of the oven but they taste mighty good the rest of the day too… although that’s pretty much the limit. If you don’t have many hungry mouths to feed, freeze the raw biscuits and keep them up to two months. Do not defrost before baking. Just add 3-5 extra minutes oven time.
Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits
Makes 18 mini biscuits
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg (or out of a can if you must)
5 tablespoons COLD butter
3/4 cup plain yogurt (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/2 cup sour cream if you’re pants are too loose)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup toasted pecans
Directions:
First: Mix flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut butter into dry ingredients using a fork or your fingers until pieces are the size of oatmeal.
Second: Pour yogurt over flour mixture and mix very lightly with a fork. Press dough into a ball and turn out onto floured board.
Third: Quickly and without fuss, press dough into a 6-7-inch square. Dough should be about 1 inch thick. Cut into 9 squares–3 cuts across and 3 cuts down. Cut each square in half diagonally. Paint each biscuit with melted butter and sprinkle with sparkling sugar (The grains are larger than regular sugar).
Fourth: Bake in oven preheated to 425 degrees for 15-17 seventeen minutes. (Add 3 or 4 minutes if biscuits are frozen.
Twisted Cinnamon-Pecan Breakfast Yeast Bread
My Favorite Cinnamon Rolls
Traditional mashed potatoes are comfort food for me. But adding sweet potatoes makes them so much more interesting and breaks the monotony of plain mashed potatoes.
On the other hand, a dish of 100% sweet potatoes can be cloying and somehow seems to end up mixed with lots of butter, sugar and spices. While I like that on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I don’t want it very often. Adding white potatoes seems to mellow out the sweet potatoes in a nice way.
Don’t save this dish just for fall and winter holidays. It’s perfect with grilled meats–especially something spicy. My favorite is sausage for a quick weeknight meal.
Sweet and White Mashed Potato Swirl
Makes 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and diced in 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced in 2-inch pieces
4 Tablespoons butter (divided)
1/2 + cup warmed milk (divided)
Salt
Pepper (I use white pepper)
Directions:
First: Place white potatoes in bottom of saucepan, then sweet potatoes on top. Barely cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart.
Second: Drain potatoes. Remove sweet potatoes from the pan and place in another bowl. Mash white potatoes your favorite way. I normally use a masher–sometimes a portable mixer. Add 2 tablespoons (or more) butter and 1/3 cup (+ more as necessary) milk until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Third: Repeat step two with sweet potatoes. Start with about 2 tablespoons of milk, adding until consistency matches white potatoes.
Fourth: Plop mashed sweet potatoes back into pan with mashed white potatoes and take a couple folds with a spoon to barely mix. Move to serving dish being careful not to mix too much.
Sweet potato lover??
Skinny Sweet Potato Chips
Streusel-Crusted Sweet Potato Balls
These peppermint patty-studded brownies are sure to send your sweet tooth into nirvana. They are minty, dense and very chocolaty.
Perhaps you’ve heard me talk about the TWD blog before. It’s fun and educational to read through my fellow bloggers’ baking experiences. Every week I learn new things. For example, I read that these brownies can cause you to have a baby. Holly said so here although she retracted her amazing assertion later. Mary used Reese’s peanut butter cups instead of peppermint patties. Can’t wait to see how those turned out. Some people had trouble with the patties melting into glue (delicious glue they claimed) with major stickage problems. I say thank goodness for non-stick aluminum foil.
Meanwhile, if you are a self-described peppermint patty fiend like Ms. Kate, get the recipe from Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life.
If you are a brownie recipe collector you might want to take a look at these variations…
White Chocolate Brownies
Rick Katz's Brownies
