EASY PUMPKIN BISCUITS
Basic buttermilk biscuits are a weekly tradition in my house, but that doesn’t stop me from tinkering with my base recipe — adding sprinkles or lemon + poppy seeds. This pumpkin version is ideal for using up that can of pumpkin puree you opened up for holiday pie but didn’t quite use up completely. Enjoy these warm with plenty of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
Pumpkin Biscuits
Yield: 18 (2 inch) biscuits
Ingredients
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, chilled
4 ounces pumpkin puree, about ½ cup
12 ounces all-purpose flour, plus an additional 1/2 cup for dusting
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 ounces unsalted butter, chilled
Instructions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together the buttermilk and pumpkin puree, refrigerate while preparing the other ingredients.
Whisk together all the dry, powdery stuff (except the flour for dusting, of course) in a large mixing bowl.
Using your fingertips, rub the butter and shortening into the dry goods until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.Make a well in the middle of this mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir with a large spoon until the dough just comes together. Then knead in the bowl until all the flour has been taken up.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, then start folding the dough over on itself, gently kneading for 30 seconds, or until the dough is soft and smooth.
Press the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out biscuits, being sure to push the cutter all the way through the dough to the work surface before twisting to "punch" out the biscuit. Make your cuts as close together as possible to limit waste.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet so that they just barely touch. Re-roll scraps and punch out as many biscuits as possible.
Use your thumb to create a shallow dimple in the top center of each biscuit, and bake until the biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the biscuits out into a kitchen towel-lined basket and let cool for several minutes before buttering and devouring.