Flourless Buns

Weird huh? All this time I have been trying multiple flours trying to capture the 'real' taste and the best bun recipe I have come across is a flourless one! They have a bit of a different texture, kind of a cross between a popover and a biscuit, but they actually behave like real buns, and by that I mean you can TEAR off a piece rather then crumble off a piece!

I was very skeptical when I came across this recipe at Food.com, but there were enough good reviews that I thought I would give it a shot, and I'm glad I did :)

Ingredients
4 Tbsp. Shortening (Butter works too)
3 Tbsp. honey
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Yeast
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Potato Starch (or Tapioca Starch)
1 Cup Cornstarch
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
2 Tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 Tsp. Salt
3/4 Tsp. Vinegar


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine all ingredients and mix well to remove any lumps.
The dough will be more of a sticky batter-like mess. Wet your hands to handle it. To make buns shape into balls or use an ice cream scoop to make them even. Place on greased baking tin, muffin tin or popover tin. OR if you want to make hot dog buns (which is what I did), shape into rectangle-ish shapes on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper).
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
Let cool, they will fall a little bit as they cool.

I think I'm going to see if I can get this to turn into some sort of pizza dough since it's something I will actually eat! (I just haven't been able to convince myself to eat gf bread/buns on a regular basis, but these are good!)
I'm also hoping the dough might substitute for my Deep Fried Cheese Balls that I used to make! I think this recipe is definitely worth some experimentation, plus it's a really economical recipe as well requiring things you can find in pretty much any grocery store!

Yogurt Biscuits

My kids love these for breakfast, snack, lunch...pretty much anytime they are available! The best part is that you can make them with whatever yogurt you have on hand :) A good way to use up ready to expire yogurt.They have a refreshing 'cool' taste to them and go well with butter, jam, peanut butter or just plain.

Ingredients
2 Cups of Biscuit Mix (Recipe)
1 Cup Yogurt

Preheat oven to 450 F
Mix together and drop portions on a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until bottoms are brown and tops are starting to brown. Enjoy!

Biscuit Mix

If you've ever used Bisquick, you know it's fast, easy and not very tasty. Mix up this recipe and you will have your own homemade biscuit mix ready to go. It can be substituted in any recipe calling for Bisquick. If you use margarine/butter, make sure you store it in the fridge or freezer, but if you use vegetable shortening, then you can store it in the pantry just like the boxed stuff :)

Ingredients
9 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup Baking Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Salt (I used a bit less)
2 Cups Shortening/Margarine etc.

Mix together the first 3 ingredients, and then cut in the shortening until mixture is crumbly. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place or in the freezer for up to 8 months.

2 1/4 cups of this mix with 2/3 cups of milk makes the basic Bisquick recipe. Bake at 450 F 8-10 minutes until golden. 

2 cups of this mix with 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs makes the basic Bisquick pancake recipe.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Sweet Potatoes are so easy to bake, and so full of good things it's hard not to try to incorporate them into everything! I don't like just eating plain sweet potatoes but I like them in things. I had a whole bunch baked and pureed for my 10 month old only to find out she has an intolerance to them. What to do? What to do?
How about Sweet Potato Biscuits?!

These are delicious warm with butter or with soup or with a little honey drizzled on top :)

Ingredients
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
4 Tsp. Baking Powder
2 Tsp. Sugar
2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
2 Tbsp. Margarine or Butter
1 1/4 Cups (Cooked) Mashed/Pureed Sweet Potato
1 Cup Milk (maybe a little less or a little more)

Preheat oven to 400F. Stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in margarine/butter until pieces are pea-sized or smaller. Mix in sweet potato and just enough of the milk to make a soft dough. Try adding 1/4 cup at a time. If you do add too much milk and the dough becomes too sticky, just add a little more flour to get the right consistency. Roll dough on a floured surface about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into circles. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.