Biscuits - hold the gravy

If you google "biscuits and..." the top options are all gravy. Personally, I am not a huge fan of biscuits and gravy, I have found many other ways to enjoy biscuits, so will share my recipe and ideas with you.

First of all, the recipe. This recipe, like that for piecrust in this blog, comes from the Wesson Oil Cookbook.

Stir-n-Roll Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 c white flour

1 T baking powder (note: this is baking powder, not baking soda!!!)

1 t salt

1/3 c vegetable oil (Wesson or other brand, or you can use canola or corn oil)

2/3 c milk (these biscuits are also good if you use buttermilk or cream)

Directions:

Stir dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Put oil and milk in same measuring cup, pour in all at once. Stir just until moist.

Roll between wax paper (or foil or plastic wrap). Fold in half and roll again lightly (this way they will split open easily).

Cut the biscuits using a biscuit cutter, or if you're in a hurry, just cut into rectangles using a knife. If you are using a cutter, note that many cookie cutters won't work as they aren't tall enough. I have several sizes of biscuit cutters that make a pretty scalloped edge.

If you use a cutter, you'll end up with leftover "scraps". You can reroll them and cut again, or just press them together to make "ugly" versions (as you can see, I'm impatient and often do that, they taste the same anyway!!!)

Place biscuits on a cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Ta-da!

At our house we usually enjoy these with butter and homemade jam. In fact, when I've made jam I often then NEED to make biscuits so we can enjoy them together.

These go well with beans and franks, or soups and stews. Or for breakfast, my kids enjoy these "as is" or made into cinnamon rolls.

To make cinnamon rolls, mix dough as above, but instead of double-rolling the dough, roll into a rectangle (as best as possible). On top of the dough, spread butter, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Leave about 1/2" bare dough around the edge to make it easier to seal. Roll up lengthwise, seal edge, and cut into 1-1/2" pieces.

Place pieces in a greased cake or 9" square pan and bake in 375 oven for 12-15 minutes or until slightly brown. For a doubly-delicious treat, frost them with store-bought (ewww!) frosting, or use the recipe provided by my sister below.

Frosting for cinnamon rolls:

Mash a blob (about 1 t) of butter into ½ c powdered sugar. Add ½ t vanilla and a little water or milk, mix until creamy. Add more water or powdered sugar if needed to get the desired consistency. Once cinnamon rolls are out of the oven, transfer them onto a plate and spread or pour frosting over the top and let it melt on. Yum!

Variations:

In addition to cinnamon rolls, you can make shortcake from this recipe by adding 2T sugar to the dough. The folding/cutting method works well for shortcakes. Add strawberries (cut and sprinkled with sugar) between and on top of shortcake, top with whipped cream. If you have coarse sugar, sprinkle on top of the biscuits before baking for a beautiful sparkle and delicious crunch.

For use with savory dishes, you can make cheesy garlic biscuits. Add 1/2 grated cheddar cheese to the dough, then brush biscuits after baking with a mixture of melted butter and 1/4 t. garlic powder. Feel free to be creative with fresh herbs (chives) or other ingredients such as onion, green onion, parmesan, etc.