Pioneer Woman's Sugar Biscuits. I think a person would just about have to be living under a rock not to know who the Pioneer Woman is. She is one very savvy woman who has managed to parlay her blog into a multi-media industry with television shows, cookery books, hotels, merchandise, hotels, etc.
She is an amazing business woman who lives in America. I think I have probably been blogging for longer than she has, and sharing recipes for longer than she has, but the main difference is I am not that savvy when it comes to marketing myself.
I remember a friend of mine showing me the Pioneer Woman's page back when I was working at the Manor and she made a mockery of it, about how many photos this woman took, etc. Well, the Pioneer Woman got the last laugh and she is laughing all the way to the bank! Kudos to her.
As women we need to building each other up and supporting each other, not mocking.
These biscuit are ones that I saw on a tumbler page Mrs Morning Dove back in April of 2015. I took note of them, thinking they looked like something I wanted to bake. Its hard to believe that it has taken me six years to get to them.
You can see the original recipe here on the PW page. I have adapted it here to include British/European measurements.
I have also switched out a few things according to my own knowledge and what I did that worked.
First off I have to say that these are more like a scone than a biscuit. When I looked at the list of ingredients, I felt this to be so. With flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and copious amounts of butter and cream. Those are basic scone ingredients.
So I put them together like I would a scone. Scones typically will have the cold butter rubbed into the flour, rather than cut. You don't want to have huge lumps of butter in this dough.
Scones are also stirred together with a round bladed knife, using a gentle hand. This I did, and then I gathered the dough into a ball in the bowl. You don't want it to be too sticky, or too dry. So add the cream gradually and if you need more or don't need it all, don't be afraid.
It should be like that picture in the upper right as you are mixing and once gathered, like the lower left.
Even floured I had to kind of ease the cut biscuits out of the cutter onto the baking sheet. I was a bit worried about that, but thankfully it didn't cause any problems in the baking. I think if you added too much flour you would mess with their integrity.
I thought you might enjoy seeing another one of my embroidered tea towels. I thought this one very apt to be shown with a biscuit I plan on enjoying with fresh berries in about 8 weeks time!!
Like I said, I expected them to rise a lot more. With 5 tsp of baking powder, which is more than a TBS. As you can see they didn't rise a lot. I rolled my dough 3/4 of an inch thick and when I do them again (and I will, they are that good!) I will roll the dough 1 inch thick.
Mine also took longer in the oven, but again that was probably because they were thicker than hers when I cut them out. I also got more than she says. She said 18, I got 24, but I used a 2 inch cutter. I don't know what size her cutter was.
These did rise a bit but I have to tell you they also spread in most cases with the bottoms being a bit wider than the tops. Don't be alarmed. If you look at the photos on her page you will see hers do as well.
And they haven't risen all that much. So this is normal.
Once baked they are dipped in a sugar/milk/vanilla glaze. I only dipped the tops. I couldn't tell if she meant to dip tops and bottoms, but I felt the tops was enough.
I also cut the icing ingredients in half pretty much. 5 cups of icing sugar seemed a bit excessive to me, and I can tell you, I had plenty of icing to dip in half a dozen more biscuits than she had. Just so you know.
Do make sure you let any excessive icing drip off and put the dipped biscuits onto a wire rack to set. Also make sure the wire rack is placed over top of a sheet of parchment or wax paper. The icing will continue to drip down the sides before it sets.
Not a problem. Don't these look good? I can tell you that they are all that and more!
We are in love with these, even two days later. We froze half of them and are now wishing we hadn't because the other half are being inhaled.
The first day, right after baking and glazing, they have a texture which is somewhere in between a biscuit, a scone and a pastry. Incredibly short textured, rich, and buttery.
I think 2 inches round is the perfect size. I think they might crumble if they were any larger.
That glaze is just sweet enough and accents the richness of the biscuit perfectly. The tops cracked just a bit, but trust me, you don't want the dough to be any stickier than it was. It was perfect just as is.
They were gorgeous actually and as you can see there was a perfect indication in the center of them so that you know just where to split them.
I, of course, had to try one right away for research purposes. I couldn't wait for the rest of the family to get home. It needed to be done right there and then.
They were so short I was worried that they might crumble, but as you can see my worry was for naught.
What a beautiful texture. Almost cake like, but again as I said, close to pastry or shortbreads, but not quite as dense.
I had used my cream up in the dough so I didn't have any cream to serve on them, but I did enjoy this one with a nice dollop of sweet raspberry jam. I can see these being delicious served with whipped cream and berries during berry season. (Can't wait!)
I have two final word for you about them. BAKE THEM. Oh wait a third . . . TODAY! Don't delay. They are positively heavenly. They should be called Heavenly Biscuits.
Pioneer Woman's Sugar Biscuits
Yield: 24 (2-inch) biscuits
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min
These are like a cross between a biscuit and a scone, almost pastry-like, with a sweet vanilla glaze topping. They are truly delicious.
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 3 cups (420g) of all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (120g) granulated sugar (in UK use castor sugar)
- 5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter, cut into bits
- 1 1/4 cup (300ml) heavy cream (more if need be)
For the glaze:
- 2 1/2 cups (about 300g) sifted icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- whole milk to thin
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a large baking sheet with some baking paper. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder and salt. Stir in the sugar. Drop in the butter and cut it in using a pastry blender, two round bladed knives or your finger tips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the cream and stir it in with a round bladed knife until the dough begins to come together. You may need a bit more cream. Use your hands to bring the dough together into a shaggy ball.
- Tip out onto a floured surface. Knead gently a few times to bring the dough totally together and then roll out to about 3/4 of an inch in thickness, using a lightly floured rolling pin.
- Using a sharp round 2-inch cutter stamp out rounds. (You will need to flour the cutter) Place the rounds spaced apart on the baking sheet, allowing at least 2 inches for spreading.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. (her recipe said 16-18, but my oven took longer.) They should be a very light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave to sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- When you are ready to glaze them, whisk together the icing sugar, vanilla, salt and just enough milk to give you a drizzle glaze that you can dip the tops of the biscuits into.
- Dip the tops of each biscuit in the glaze, allowing any excess to drip off and place onto wire racks placed over wax paper to set completely.
- Store in an airtight container. They will keep several days. Try not to eat too many at once! Yes, they are that good!
These doggie tea towels are so cute. There is the beans one, a corn one, onions, cherries, strawberries, etc. I am having so much fun doing them!
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Apple Spice Muffins with Streusel Topping. Can you ever have too many muffin recipes? I think not!
Especially when you are talking about deliciously tender muffins. Chock full of apples and spice and topped with a yummy streusel topping!
This recipe I am sharing with you today has been adapted from a Robin Hood Flour baking book entitled, quite simply, Baking.
Robin Hood is the flour I grew up with and the flour that I used all of my married life until I moved over to the UK.
I have always trusted their recipes implicitly, which is why when I was looking for a good basic baking book to buy when I recently moved back to Canada, I chose to buy one of theirs.
I have been collecting their recipes for years and years. In the old days, a few times a year, they always had a baking booklet inserted into many of the major Canadian magazines, especially near the holidays.
I had a whole collection of them and was sad to have had to leave them behind in the UK. I am sure I will be able to find them someplace. Recipes which are that good surely have a place in most kitchens.
I even had my mother's old Robin Hood Christmas Baking leaflet. I am so hoping that I have it in one of my boxes. Oh great Cosmos, please pretty please with sugar on it!!
In any case I do have a copy of it in my Google Documents as I had scanned and uploaded it as a Christmas Gift to all my readers a few years back. You can access that here if you wish to.
I have a great love for all things Vintage. Vintage kitchenaelia, vintage linens, etc. I have always said I was born too late.
But then in the next breath I have to say I am glad that I was born when I was because if I had been born too much earlier, I probably wouldn't still be here! I am not quite ready to go just yet!!
That is why I am working hard embroidering cotton tea towels for my kitchen to be, knitting/crocheting dish clothes, etc. I know they will bring me joy for many years to come.
I love things like this plate which the muffins are sitting on, which Dan calls the man-plate. A heavy stoneware oval plate my sister picked up at a yard sale once upon a time.
And this very pretty little tea cup from my mother's collection of tea cups, that are now my tea cups. I admired and wished for these cups all the days of my childhood.
This is an especially pretty pattern, hand painted with pink and mauve blossoms, edged with green and gold.
Made in England, the pattern must be called Roslyn. At least that is what is stamped on the bottom. There is only one of them.
I wish I knew its history. Was it a gift to my mother when she got married? Probably because it looks really old. In those days people often gifted others with pieces from their own collections when someone got married.
And here is a closer look at the tea-towel embroidery work. It is from an Aunt Martha Transfer pattern. I have done a lot of those through the years as gifts for other people. Now I will have some for myself.
I thought the apple butter one was a very apt one to use as a prop for my Apple Spice Muffins. I hope you will agree. It is also one my favorite ones from the ones I have embroidered so far! But back to the muffins.
These muffins are begun in a way which is somewhat unusual for a muffin. The dry ingredients are measured into a bowl and then the butter is rubbed into them.
A portion of this is set aside to use for the topping. They are very wholesome using almost as much old fashioned oats as flour.
I love using oats in baked goods. They always give what you are baking a nice, nutty wholesome flavor and texture.
There is no oil in this recipe, just butter. And there is no need to melt it either . . . just rub it in.
Once you've done that and reserved some of the mixture for the topping it follows the rules of pretty much any muffin. Whisk together the wet ingredients and add all at once to the dry.
It has ever been so. Do be careful not to overmix your wet and dry ingredients. A gentle hand is needed. It is most acceptable for muffin batter to be lumpy and to even contain a few dry streaks, "few" being the key word here.
Peeled, cored and grated apple form a part of the wet ingredients in this recipe. As the muffins cook the apples release moisture and flavor into the muffin.
Do be sure you pick apples that have plenty of tart juicy flavors. I would recommend Granny Smith and that is what I used.
You will need about 2 medium apples, grated. Cinnamon and nutmeg also add to the flavor.
I always like to grate my own nutmeg. That way I can know it is as fresh as fresh can be! Old nutmeg can taste musty and unappealing, but freshly grated nutmeg? Well that's a different kettle of fish and tastes a-maz-ing!
Once you have the simple batter mixed together you spoon it into prepared muffin cups. I lined mine with paper liners, but if you butter your muffin cups really well, they shouldn't stick.
As you can see, these muffins turned out perfectly. (I'd expect nothing less from Robin Hood.) Slightly domed with just the right amount of holes and tunnels throughout the interior.
Not too sweet, but only slightly so, with the flavor of the spices and the apple shining through. Perfect to enjoy with a morning or mid-morning, or even mid-afternoon hot cuppa!
Best served warm, but they can be frozen for future use. Simply thaw them out for about 30 seconds on high in the microwave. Split and spread with cold butter. Yummity yummity yum yum yum!!
Apple Spice Muffins
Yield: 12
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
These crumble topped oat and apple filled spicy muffins are wonderfully moist and delicious. You can replace the apple with an equivalent amount of grated zucchini (courgette) if you wish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1 cup (about 2 medium) grated apple, peeled and cored
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Alternately butter really well. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove and reserve 1/2 cup (75g) for the topping.
- Whisk together the eggs, milk and grated apple. Add to the dry ingredients all at once. Stir to combine, just until moistened. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Sprinkle the reserved topping over top of each muffin, patting down gently.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the tops spring back when lightly touched.
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Farmhouse White Bread. I do so love white bread. Getting older means that I eat whole wheat bread most of the time, but every once in a while I like to indulge myself in a nice loaf of white bread.
Especially Amish farmhouse white bread. What is it about Amish food that gets all of our tastebuds tingling? I think its because we all know that they are a simple folk that make simple food, that is always delicious.
And our hearts long for simplicity. Am I right or not?
Chocolate Chip Snack Cake. This is a lovely 8 X 8 cake that your family is going to fall in love with. The original recipe comes from an old friend of mine called Leona. I have known Leona for many, many years.
I met her the night before my middle son was born and he turns 40 this year, so that is how long Leona and I have been friends. A long, long time. I am so grateful that 40 years later we can still call ourselves friends.
I have to say that every single recipe that Leona shared with me became one of my tried and trues. She was and is an excellent cook, even at the ripe old age of 82!
The only thing I have changed with this through the years is to use butter instead of shortening, and to add a chocolate icing instead of the original vanilla butter cream. It really is a lovely cake. Nice and moist (dare I say) and yes, incredibly delicious.
When it comes to chocolate chip cake, this tasty cake sets the standard for everything else. Trust me on this!
As I said, the original recipe used a vanilla butter cream icing on top. It was really very good. I found that my family always enjoyed it more with a chocolate butter cream frosting, however and that is how we still enjoy it.
And its a no faff kind of a frosting as well. As simple as sifting some cocoa powder into a bowl, adding some butter and vanilla, a bit of milk, and beating it all together.
There is no messing about with melting chocolate or anything like that. Just measure, beat and spread. As they say easy peasy lemon squeezy.
A simple icing as befits a simple cake. Dessert doesn't have to be complicated to be good! That's my motto and I stand by it.
The cake itself mixes all together in one bowl. First you beat some butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. I like my butter to be at room temperature.
Actually I like all of my cake ingredients to be at room temperature. If your eggs are cold from the refrigerator, just fill a bowl with hot water from your sink. (Not boiling)
Add the cold eggs to the water and then leave them for a few minutes. Easy peasy, room temperature eggs.
Once you have that done, you beat the eggs in, one at a time. This helps to prevent the butter mixture from splitting and curdling.
If your mixture curdles, simply stir in a spoonful of the flour. It works a charm to bring it all back together. Just like magic.
I like to whisk all the dry ingredients together separately. Just to make sure that the baking powder and soda are mixed properly into the flour. Its a simple thing to do, and it can make a huge difference in your end result.
This is a really moist cake, due to the fact that it uses sour cream in the batter. This gets added alternately with the dry ingredients. You could also use yogurt if you don't have any sour cream, plain, not flavored.
Once you have done that all you have to do is to add the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. I know you will get tired of hearing me say this, but I always toast my nuts first.
I repeat myself for the benefit of those who are coming here for the first time. I always, always toast my nuts first. And this isn't just for baking either. Toasted nuts just taste . . . nuttier!
I do them a whole bag at a time. Simply spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Pop into a hot oven, about 375*F/190*C and toast them for about 5 to 8 minutes. You will know when they are done because they will smell nutty.
Let them cool before using. I store them in a zip lock baggie in the freezer. I can then just take out as many or as few as I need. Toasted nuts are great in any kind of baked good or even in salads.
They are even great to snack on. I love snacking on nuts. They are filled with fiber and vitamins and are quite good for you eaten in moderation.
As you can see the chocolate chips and nuts don't sink to the bottom in this cake, but stay evenly distributed throughout that moist, beautifully crumbed cake.
I baked this cake today in my 8-inch square Laurel pink anchor hocking baking dish. I love these dishes. I have bought a couple of them for my hope chest for when I move into my own place. I bought mine at The Hudson's Bay online store.
They had a good sale on and I purchased this, two pie dishes and a loaf pan. They are so very pretty, and I dare say they will come in very useful!!
I baked this cake for my father. He comes here to my sister's home every day for his supper. He really looks forward to having something a tiny bit sweet at the end of his meal. His eyes light right up when you ask him if he wants something.
Being able to spend time with him is the silver lining in all of this horrible business I have been through during these past six months. I never thought I would be able to see him again, and just think, now I am baking cakes for him!
There is always a bright side to everything! Bake the cake for your family. I am positive they will enjoy it. Its been pleasing mine for 40 years!
Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
Yield: Makes 1 8-inch square cake
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A simple and delicious cake that is easy to make and delicious!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (60g) sour cream
- 1/2 cup (80g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (60g) chopped toasted walnuts
For the frosting:
- 3 TBS butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups (about 170g) sifted icing sugar
- 2 heaped TBS sifted cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- milk (about 3 TBS)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/189*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish/pan, and dust lightly with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with the sour cream, until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking dish/pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until risen, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, whisk together all of the ingredients until light and fluffy, adding only enough milk to give you the perfect consistency for spreading. Spread over the top of the cooled cake evenly.
- Cut into squares to serve.
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Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!!
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