Pumpkin Sage Buttermilk Biscuits

Piping hot pumpkin-sage biscuits smothered in butter and honey are addictive! I could eat these all day long. And I have been eating them all day long while recipe testing. My Executive Chef in New York liked to walk down the line during service calling out: "Tasting our food! Tasting our food! We're tasting our food, right?". I've just put away 6 of these babies in the space of 3 hours. Yes, I am tasting my food.

I experimented with different types of flour for these biscuits, hoping to create a healthier recipe. The addition of pumpkin pack to the batter keeps whole wheat flour biscuits (like sprouted whole wheat) moist but they do not rise tall even with added leavening. They still taste delicious, but instead of having a flaky filling the crumb is more cake like. Unbleached white flour works best.

 

 Making pumpkin pack is as simple as roasting sugar pie pumpkin wedges in a roasting pan with a 1/4 cup of water covered with tinfoil. When soft, scoop the flesh out and purée. Other squashes can be substituted for pumpkin like Kuri or Kabocha.

Two of the farmer's at Echo Valley carved messages in the pumpkins while they were still small. Nobody noticed until the pumpkins grew up and the messages stretched and hardened. What fun to find a pumpkin with your name on it in the pumpkin patch!

Pumpkin Sage Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking bowder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pumpkin pack

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon (heaping) local organic honey

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

7 tablespoons butter, unsalted

Preheat oven to: 425˚F

In a mixing bowl whisk dry ingredients together. In a smaller bowl mix wet ingredients together plus sage. Cut butter into flour mixture using finger tips (pretend you're counting money) or with a pastry cutter until it resembles little peas. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in wet ingredients. Mix just to incorporate. Do not over mix. 

Bring dough together into a ball. It should be soft but not sticky. If necessary add a touch more flour just to help it form into a ball. Gently roll dough into a 1-inch disk on a lightly floured surface and cut out with a biscuit cutter.

Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet with edges touching. Bake until golden brown on the top, about 20 minutes. Brush melted butter over the top when done, if desired.

 

Comments

[Siara]

Thanks for the information and for sharing the recipe!!! How many dishes we can cook with pumpkin!!! That's so cool!!!

[Ronnie]

Very intersting recipe! Sounds wonderful.

[Look Book]

Those pumpkins are so cute! Who would have though to do that!