Easy Cinnamon Biscuits Revisited

Easy Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup applesauce (I never use vegetable oil)
3/4 cup buttermilk
70% of a stick of unsalted butter, SOFTENED (reduced from 1 stick in the original recipe)
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

Cinnabon Icing- I halved the original recipe since the above recipe only makes 8 biscuits
30% of a stick of butter (reduced from 1/2 stick in the original recipe, I'm trying to shave calories & fat here and there)
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/8 cup Neufchatel cream cheese (I didn't taste a difference with the reduced fat)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
sprinkle of salt (technically should be 1/16 of a teaspoon, but....)

1. Mix together dough ingredients.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface (I used too much, use less than me please).

3. Smear dough with SOFTENED butter (I use salted).  The original recipe said 1 stick, but that just seems ridiculous to me.  I use about 70% of a stick of butter.  Then the rest of it can go in the icing and then in one iced biscuit you only end up eating 1 tablespoon butter.

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.

5. Roll up dough into a log and pinch seam together.

6. Cut into 8 biscuits.

7. Arrange in greased 9 inch pan.

8. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes.

9. While you're waiting, make icing!  Mix up all icing ingredients:

10. Whip until fluffy:

11. Biscuits!

12. Ice biscuits while they're still warm (mine melted A LOT because I put the icing on instantly.  Hey, I was hungry when I woke up and had to wait like 40 minutes for breakfast). I only did half because my boyfriend wanted to ice his biscuits individually.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

 I mentioned the other day that I wanted to try these Sweet Cinnamon Biscuits.  Well this morning I made them since I my Dad and brother were coming over.  This way I wouldn't end up eating half the pan myself.

Dear God.  The deliciousness.  And the simplicity!  I have made these Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls before and while they are the most amazing cinnamon rolls I've ever had, they also take forever to make and are quite the production.

But these biscuit cinnamon rolls are really speedy to put together because there is no rising involved!  And they taste really really really good.  Especially when you slather on some Cinnabon icing!  I think they took me about 20 minutes to make.  And then they only baked for 13 minutes!  That is dangerously fast.

So here is the recipe and a few pictures.  I'm posting what I did since I reduced the butter and sugar and added icing.  Oh and changing the name because I think it's much more appropriate.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup applesauce (I never use vegetable oil)
3/4 cup buttermilk
70% of a stick of unsalted butter, SOFTENED (reduced from 1 stick in the original recipe)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (next time I'm going to try 1/2 cup brown sugar instead)
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon






Cinnabon Icing- I halved the original recipe since the above recipe only makes 8 biscuits
30% of a stick of butter (reduced from 1/2 stick in the original recipe, I'm trying to shave calories & fat here and there)
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/8 cup Neufchatel cream cheese (I didn't taste a difference with the reduced fat)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
sprinkle of salt (technically should be 1/16 of a teaspoon, but....)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9 inch round baking dish lightly (I used Pam).

2. Mix together the first four ingredients.  Add in the applesauce and buttermilk until nicely combined.

3. Roll dough out into a 15 x 8 inch rectangle (I didn't measure mine).

4. Spread SOFTENED butter onto the dough.  (If you are impatient like me this will be a very difficult step).

5.  Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over buttery dough.

6. Roll up rectangle, jelly roll style.  Pinch seam together.

7.  Cut biscuits off of the giant roll to about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Arrange in greased pan.

I added butter to the top since I used so much less on the dough than called for.  Next time I won't do this cause it wasn't necessary in the end.

8.  Bake for about 15 minutes. Then you get these:

9. To make icing: Mix together all ingredients until fluffy.  Spread over biscuits while they are STILL WARM so that it melts into the dough.  Yummmm!

You might notice once the icing was on the biscuits immediately disappeared before they could even be photographed.

Scrumptious Buttery Biscuits

Two days ago I made plain biscuits (once we had finished all of the cheddar biscuits and had a few days to be biscuit-free).  Then yesterday I made even more plain biscuits.  THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS!  Scrumptious, really.  They are good plain.  They are good with some butter.  They are REALLY good with a bit of strawberry jam spread in the middle.  And I bet they're really good with a bit of honey, too.

The first time I made them I forgot that I used salted butter so I put in the salt that the recipe called for.  The biscuits were a tad salty, but still very yummy.  The second time I made them I used salted butter and omitted the salt the recipe called for.  The biscuits were a tad sweet, but still very yummy.  Next time I make them I will use salted butter and then just a smidgen of salt.  I feel like Goldilocks.

The second time I made the plain biscuits I actually rolled them out and cut out the biscuits using the top of a glass.  So these ones actually look more like a traditional biscuit.  Look:

And finally, here is the recipe!  Courtesy of food.com

Buttery Biscuits

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt (OMIT IF USING SALTED BUTTER)

1/3 cup cold unsalted butter

3/4 cup cold milk

1.  Mix the first 4 ingredients together.

2.  Cut the cold butter into tiny little cubes.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until crumbly.  (Or do what I do and use your KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment which has been working fine for me.)

3. Mix in the cold milk.  

4. Roll or pat out the dough to 1 inch.

5. Using the top of a glass (or a biscuit cutter if you're fancy like that) cut out your biscuits.  You should get 12 biscuits but this will vary with your glass size.

6. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

And while I'm still in biscuit mode, check out these Sweet Cinnamon Biscuits!  They're like "healthier" (I'm using that term very loosely) cinnamon rolls!  I'm going to make these next weekend. 

The Wonderful World of Biscuits

I baked these in muffin tins, not realizing that they would then look like muffins and not biscuits.  Lesson learned!

I happened upon this recipe the other day and I am soooo glad that I did!  I had completely forgotten about the existence of biscuits.  They are now one of my favorite things because there is no rising involved.  So it's a quick yummy side dish for dinner.


For the first time I actually bought buttermilk instead of adding vinegar to milk as a substitute.  I'm planning on using the leftover buttermilk for some yummy pancakes this weekend.  Unfortunately I couldn't find scallions or leeks at my Super Target so I had to leave them out.  They definitely would complement these biscuits very well though and I need to make sure I have some next time I make the biscuits.


These also help me on my quest to finish off a large container of freshly ground corn meal that my parents bought for me.  We went on vacation and stopped by a small mill that ground the corn in front of you.  I promised them if they bought it I would use it all.  It's been over a year and I have a lot left to use.  So you'll hopefully be seeing several cornmeal recipes in the future on this blog.

If you like cheesy things please make these!  As you bite into it or pull pieces off of the biscuit you can see the oozey strings of cheese inside.  YUM!


Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter (or use salted butter and omit the salt like I did)
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
3 scallions, fine chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/3  cups well shaken buttermilk

1. Place the oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Line 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Stir in cheeses, scallions and garlic. Hand stir the buttermilk into the mixture until just combined.
3. Drop dough in 12 equal mounds about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 13-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Later this week I am going to make these plain buttery biscuits to go with White Bean Spinach soup.