When I first made this chili in December of 2012, I made "Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits" to serve with it. One of my followers had commented how she really liked the biscuits but they didn't slice easily (they were fragile). So, last weekend I made a batch that I tweaked a bit and while they turned out better...I wanted to try them again with another little tweak. So, this afternoon I made the buttermilk biscuits again and they turned out more like I wanted them to. A grain-free biscuit will never be quite as sturdy as a wheat and gluten containing biscuit...but these are pretty darn close. Also, it helps to let them cool before slicing in half. I often find that they actually slice more nicely the next day. The best way to reheat them is to slice them first and then reheat in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes. A regular toaster tends to burn them since almond flour burns more easily.
I snapped a few photos of my "improved buttermilk biscuits" below as well as the recipe. The recipe for my chili is here: Spicy & Sweet Autumn Chili. At that link you will also find the easy recipe for roasting butternut squash as well as my original buttermilk biscuit recipe that I revised to make a little sturdier and easier to slice. I wanted to note an interesting observation -- my recipe made 15 biscuits with the first 12 baked on the first pan. When I baked the last 3 biscuits after the first dozen came out, I noticed that those last 3 seemed to rise a bit more than the ones I baked right away. It leads me to believe that the batter might rise slightly after sitting for 20 minutes. I used a retractable cookie scoop to make the biscuits, so they were fairly uniform in size and the only difference in the last 3 biscuits was that the dough sat for 20 minutes before baking. The improved recipe for Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits #2 is below. My hubby (who is not grain free) said he could not tell these biscuits from regular biscuits...and since he was born and raised here in Georgia...that's a big deal to me! I snapped a few photos as well as the biscuit recipe below. Enjoy!
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| All these beautiful vegetables went into my chili! |
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| Cubed butternut squash tossed in oil, sea salt and black pepper before roasting |
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| Improved Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits! |
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| I finally found plain frozen (no sugar added) cranberries today...Yay! |
Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits #2
(Revised Recipe)
Ingredients:
3 cups blanched almond flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon Kosher or Celtic sea salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, small diced
3 ounces very cold brick style cream cheese, diced
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to mix well. Add diced chilled butter and cream cheese. Using a pastry/dough blender, quickly cut butter and cream cheese into dry ingredients until it appears crumbly and moistened. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add buttermilk and egg, mixing until it pulls together into a soft sticky dough. The dough will be light, airy and fluffy.
On a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or lightly buttered non-stick foil), use a retractable scoop to make 15 equal sized mounds of dough on the baking sheet, spaced evenly apart. Tamp tops very lightly to barely flatten top only (careful not to flatten biscuit). Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until light golden brown. Let cool approximately 5 to 10 minutes for easier slicing. Makes approximately 15 to 18 biscuits.
*If desired, brush tops lightly with melted butter and return to the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Note: This recipe has been revised from the original recipe to make biscuits less fragile and easier to slice when cooled.
33 comments:
Hi GGC,
We're huge fans of your buttermilk biscuits. Looking forward to trying out the revised recipe. I thought your comment about letting the batter sit for a while was interesting. I'm not sure where I got this idea, but I've had it for decades ... that things made with baking powder need to get into the oven quickly, otherwise the leavening loses its "oomph." Now I wonder if that's actually so. If it is, perhaps it's the difference between almond flour and wheat flour. Anyway, I'm going to try it!
I am gluten-free by choice - and I'm curious as to why you didn't add beans to your chili? I love your recipes and have tried several. I've also read Wheat Belly and I understand Dr. Davis is not a fan of beans, but my understanding is that they are gluten-free…so like I said - I'm just curious.
Thanks for your blog and recipes!
Jeri from WDM
Hi CyberSis! Glad to know you enjoyed the original buttermilk biscuits. Someone had recently told me she loved them but wished she could cut/slice them without them being so fragile...so I made a test batch of the new version last week and it was a bit easier to slice but still not there. I made a 2nd test batch yesterday afternoon and these sliced more easily. In general though, they slice better for me the next day for any of my biscuits for some reason. I'm curious to see which you prefer. I am going to try doing another batch of biscuits soon and bake half right away and half after 20 minutes or so to see if my observation yesterday was simply a fluke. I'm interested to see if you notice any difference, too. :-)
Hi Jeri,
I didn't add beans to my chili for a couple of reasons -- one, I'm not a big fan of them. I don't dislike them, but I don't miss them if they aren't there (I've always been that way). My 2nd reason is that while yes, you can have beans in moderation on Wheat Belly, they are higher in carbohydrates and I try to be careful with that because of my triglyceride sensitivity. I know butternut squash is higher in carbs as well and well...I decided to go with the "carb I preferred" rather than the one I didn't care about. Needless to say, the butternut squash won! You are correct though, they don't have gluten...they are just a little higher in carbs so they are perfectly fine for most people to add. Thanks for the kind words! :-)
I've been following your blog for months, your recipes look SO good!!! I'd been quite strictly following a program similar to Wheat Belly--they used WB as a source book in the first of 10 weekly classes, the program is called Life Watchers, and I'm thrilled to report that this program is now in book form. There are over 100 recipes as well as a great deal of information (the recipes start on page 300 of the book), and the book has been recently published and is available at Goodness Me Natural Foods only.
The book is called "Discover The Power Of Food" by Janet Jacks. Here's a link to their website-- https://www.goodnessme.ca/index
I cannot begin to let you know how grateful I am to have found your blog via the Wheat Belly FB page, and I've shared your site with everyone who wants to eat wheat-free and healthy as I do. With recipes like yours, I KNOW I can do this, long-term. I tried just giving up breads, pizza, biscuits, etc for a year but missed them--but being able to enjoy them this way will work.
I just ordered and received some Honeyville blanched almond flour, all due to your recommendation. Can't wait to try it!!! :)
I think you'd love Janet Jacks' new book, this program has really changed my life. I'm so grateful for all I'm learning through you, and wanted to share this source of this new book with you.
Dr. William Davis, author of "Wheat Belly" contributed to this book, "Discover The Power Of Food", and Janet Jacks participated in an evening of "wheatlessness" (or something like that name. Also Julie Daniluk participated, she wrote "Meals That Heal Inflammation" and was on the show on the Oprah Winfrey Network called "Healthy Gourmet) here in this area (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) with Dr. Davis a few months ago.
As well, through the Goodness Me website, you can access Janet Jacks' weekly hour-long radio show as well as archives--she interviews leading health experts and discusses all kinds of subjects, I think you'd find this very interesting and enlightening. As well, on the CHML radio website, they have a much more extensive archives of this show called "Just For The Health Of It" by Janet Jacks. You can simply check out the topics that interest you. I think you will be impressed.
I cannot wait to see what you create next!!! Thank you SO much!!! I'll let you know how these recipes turn out for me. I'm especially keen to try your biscuit recipe and chicken pot pie to start. Sorry this is so long, and I hope you don't mind I shared a new book that I think is fantastic and one I think you'll love the recipes and information shared.
Much gratitude, Joanne Lowe
Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for all the information. I will definitely check it out. I hope you enjoy baking with the Honeyville almond flour. I've tried several different kinds and so far that one is my favorite. I have another really good biscuit recipe that is one of my favorites -- my Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits. I hope you find some recipes here you like and thanks so much for sharing the information with me! :-)
Hello! I just wanted to say that I made your lovely Buttermilk Biscuits twice now. The second time I made them, I put the dough into a muffin tin. It was enough for 12 and they rose so nice! I did wait three hours before cutting into them. The longer you wait the less delicate they are. I then made freezer meals with them. I made a biscuit gravy with 1/2 a quart of half and half, 3 oz cream cheese, salt, pepper, and ground sage to taste. I put down the halved biscuits, and topped them with scrambled eggs and gravy. On the side I put a helping of chicken sausage. That meal freezes and reheats so well. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe! I can now have my favorite breakfast again! .....Valerie
Hi Valerie,
I'm so happy you are enjoying the Buttermilk Biscuits. You are right, the longer they cool, the less delicate. The problem is everyone wants to eat them hot out of the oven! LOL Your "freezer meal" using them sounds awesome! I am so very happy that you can enjoy your favorite breakfast again. The less deprived we feel, the easier and more enjoyable it is to "stay the course" and avoid wheat and grain. Thanks so much for letting me know you are enjoying them. :-)
Can I use heavy cream instead of buttermilk
Hi Anonymous,
Yes you can use heavy cream. You can actually make a "faux buttermilk" using heavy cream. Add 1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar OR lemon juice to your measuring cup and then fill to the 1/2 cup mark...let sit 5 to 10 minutes and "voila"...you have buttermilk substitute. The acidity in buttermilk (or in the faux version) helps with rise. :-)
I just made a double batch of these and they were great! Thank you for a great and easy recipe!
Hi Michele,
So glad you enjoyed the biscuits! You are very welcome. :-)
Just had to share my story about these biscuits. I made these the other day, and accidentally doubled the baking soda. They turned out well and would have tasted great - except for that over-the-top baking soda taste. But I just wasn't enjoying eating them at all. Well, yesterday I was looking up the recipe for stuffing bread cubes, and while reading the intro saw the comment about how some people use old biscuits for their stuffing/dressing. A lightbulb went off! :) I looked up several biscuit stuffing recipes, and now plan to make that as my alternate to the cornbread stuffing my sister-in-law will be bringing on Thurs! :) I already have the biscuits all broken up and toasted til dry, ready to go!(they toasted up at 400F in about 15 min) I think they'll work out phenomenally! :)
That's awesome Cheryl! Smart thinking on your part too. How nice that you can make a new creation out of a "woops" instead of tossing them. I bet your stuffing/dressing will be awesome. Maybe one day you can give the biscuits a try again, too (with less baking soda...LOL). It's nice to be able to make a grain free stuffing for Thanksgiving isn't it. Enjoy it! :-)
Why am I just now trying this recipe? FANTASTIC! I'll never make the "usual" biscuits again. Thank you very, very much
Hi Patti,
So happy you enjoyed the biscuits. Even my non-wheat free family members prefer them to the "regular" kind. Glad you like them! ;-)
Haven't tasted biscuits this good since I was a child in my Southern grandmother's kitchen!!!! Oh my. Thank you so much for this recipe. Now when I plan meals, I think, "hmm, what would go with those buttermilk biscuits?" Answer: Everything!
Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2015, and thank you for sharing your creativity and recipes so freely. You bless more lives than you will ever know.
Hi Cammie,
Thanks SO much for the kind words. I can't think of a better compliment than my biscuits reminding you of those you enjoyed as a child in your grandmother's kitchen!!! It just doesn't get any better than that!
You are so very welcome and so happy you were able to travel back in time to such a precious memory! I'm happy you are enjoying them. Happy New Year! :-)
Just made these and eating them with dinner and the whole family gave the two thumbs up. Thank you!!!!
Thanks Dawn! So happy everyone enjoyed them. Sometimes it's the simple little things that make us happy isn't it! :-)
Hi GGC!
I got to make your Buttermilk Biscuits #2 (Improved) tonight and, like everyone else commenting, they are wonderful!!
I couldn't find my pastry blender so didn't get the butter and cream cheese as evenly distributed into the almond flour dry mixture as it should have been - I did have some little pieces of cream cheese showing in the baked biscuits. Also, at least 1/3 of my almond flour was almond meal, but the texture was still very nice. I've got to order some more Honeyville!
When looking for my pastry cutter, I kept thinking that I would likely find it later. Sure enough, and not all that much later! Like while the biscuits were in-the-oven-baking-later and I was getting out of same drawer my silicone brush for buttering the biscuit tops shortly! I even lifted up a set of measuring cups that were sitting inside the pastry cutter as it was laying on the bottom of the drawer. Duh. Oh well, at least now I know where it is and I will be making these again!!
Will probably have to put these in the freezer or I likely won't be a good girl. (Oops!) It has been so long since I've had a buttermilk biscuit and they, like cornbread, are (were) bit faves in my past food life.
Thank you for all your fabulous recipes and all that you share.
Alice B.
Hi Alice,
So glad you enjoyed them, despite the little mishaps. It is nice to have a decent biscuit again, isn't it. I especially like having one on a weekend for breakfast with eggs. Glad you liked them! :-)
This looks fab. I was planning to make biscuits and gravy tomorrow but am not happy with the lc/gf biscuit recipes I've tried so far. Maybe this one will be it!!! Thanks.
Thanks Susanne. I also have another favorite biscuit recipe, too, that are similar to Red Lobster's biscuits. My Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits. (You can omit the pepper if you like). Here's the link: http://www.gourmetgirlcooks.com/2014/08/sunday-brunch-scrambled-pepper-jack.html
Hope you enjoy them. :-)
Love your recipes!! Thanks so much! Question: Can u use regular salt in these biscuits?
Hi GrandmaLinda...
Yes, you can use regular salt. Thanks so much...I hope you enjoy them! :-)
Love these biscuits! Very good for making breakfast sandwiches or lunch sandwiches. I would like to have the nutritional info and didn't see it posted anywhere. Most important to me is net carbs. Thanks for all your great recipes.
Thanks Debbie,
So happy you enjoy them. I generally don't post nutritional information because it is only accurate if you use the exact same ingredients and amounts as well as make the same number of servings. For instance when I make these biscuits, depending on how I scoop, sometimes I get 15...others 18 and it can vary. Regardless, this entire recipe (TOTAL) has approximately 51 net carbs (or 2.8 net carbs each if you make 18; 3.4 net carbs each if you make 15). The total grams of sugar is approximately 6.4 for the ENTIRE recipe, so less than 1/2 gram sugar each regardless of 15 or 18. Here is the recipe calculator I like to use: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php (Also, beware of nutritional information numbers on some sites...they can often be skewed to appear lower in carbs, etc. by basing it on unrealistic portion sizes...you know, the size which might satisfy a mosquito). ;-)
I finally got around to making these for our great granddaughter. Only about half of them look like a biscuit.)-: No idea why some spread out and was shaped crazy. I used the scoop and thought they were pretty when I put them in the oven. I got 18 so my scoop was smaller I guess. I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top of a few of them while they are still warm. Hope she will like them.
Hi Charlotte,
Hmmm...not sure why some spread out on you. Do you use Honeyville blanched almond flour? I think it's more fine and absorbent than say, Bob's Red Mill, etc. If you did use it then I am really puzzled. Did you cut in your butter and cream cheese fairly well where it was crumbly looking before adding the buttermilk? Those are the only things I can think of that might have affected the consistency of your dough. Let me know. Hope she likes them anyway! :-)
I would like to make these and I have some Honeyville Almond Flour but it the fine. This uses Almond Meal? I just want to make sure you are using Meal. I am surprised since the fine flour is lighter. Anyway looks so good. Do you think the fine flour would work or is the Meal the key to this recipe? Thank You!
Hi Allison,
Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour (which is finely ground) is the only almond flour I use. It is superior to almond meal for most baking. The heavier almond meal is okay to use for breading or heavier pie crusts, etc. You have the perfect almond flour to make these! :-)+
I don't think the it's not that he is not a fan of beans. Beans are great prebiotics. He loves prebiotics. You just have to watch the carb count on beans..keep meal below 15 grams
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