With the holiday season quickly approaching, I wanted to
share a quick and simple way to add some autumnal flare to your table. The
simplicity of these buttermilk biscuits combined with the sweet spice of
pumpkin and brown sugar make these biscuits the perfect accompaniment to turkey
dinner (although I think you can totally get away with eating these for
breakfast too!)
The key to having tender and flakey biscuits is to be gentle
and careful to not overwork the dough. Also, taking the time to roll and fold
the dough like a business letter creates layered and flakey biscuits.
Pumpkin Brown Sugar Biscuits
Makes 10 to 12 Servings
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
5 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch cubes
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
¼ cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350
degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt,
ground ginger and ground cloves. Add the butter and gently toss to coat in the
flour mixture. Press each cube of butter between your fingers to flatten. In a small
bowl, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree. Add buttermilk and puree
mixture to brown sugar and flour bowl, gently mix with your hands until the
dough comes together, do not over mix.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll into a large
rectangle approximately 1-inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, like a
business letter and gently roll into a large rectangle about ¾ inch thick.
Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter cut biscuits from the
dough and arrange on baking sheet. Gather scraps of dough and gently roll
another rectangle to cut additional biscuits. Lightly brush the tops of the
biscuits and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until deep golden brown, 25 to
30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
