Cora's Cottage

Sweet biscuits are one of my family’s favorite things, but they are are usually loaded with processed sugars. However, I have found a way to make sweet biscuits that are quick and easy, without all the processed sugars!

The trick to making a sweet biscuit without the processed sugars, is to substitute honey in for your sugar. This is even better if you can get a local honey that has been made from pollen in your area. You can use this trick on most biscuits, but it could take some trial and error to figure out how to adjust the flour and bake time so that the consistency of your dough and biscuits comes out how you would like. I have seen several different conversions for changing out honey for sugar, but I have found that typically two-thirds of a cup of honey is equivalent to 1 cup of sugar. However, keep in mind this can vary based on the honey you are using and the amount of fructose it contains and that using honey will require an adjustment of dry and/or your liquid ingredients as well.

This trick can even be used if you aren’t looking for sweet biscuits but would just like to substitute out the sugar in some of your recipes. I have done this with some regular biscuits and, after some trial and error, you can’t even tell the difference from when I used to make them with regular processed sugar.

The Process

I found over time that the easiest way to start any recipe is to set my oven to preheat, and then get all the ingredients and supplies out that I will need. This reduces the total amount of time I spend hunting down kitchen tools and ingredients. For this recipe that means I will need

Supplies

• Medium Size Mixing Bowl (Or Standing Mixer)
• Sturdy Mixing Spoon
• 1-2 Cookie Sheets
• Cooling Rack and/or Tea Towel
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Spatula
• Hot Pads
• Bag or Container for the Biscuits

Ingredients

• Salt
• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Heavy Whipping Cream (I like raw cream from a small, local diary.)
• Honey (Preferably Local)

Once I have gathered all of these items, I can actually begin mixing things without having to keep looking for ingredients or measuring spoons. When I mix this recipe together I usually try to mix all of my dry ingredients together (salt, flour, and baking powder) before measuring out my honey and heavy whipping cream. This just makes the measurement for the honey easier as I use the dry ingredients to pour into instead of a measuring cup (more on this later).

Once the dough is mixed together well, it is very sticky. To avoid getting your hands super sticky multiple times and to minimize the amount of dough wasted, use two spoons to place golf ball sized balls of dough on the cookie sheets. I have not greased the cookie sheets for this recipe in the past, and I have not had any problems with the biscuits wanting to stick. For this recipe the biscuits usually need to bake between 17-19 minutes though I have found the weather and humidity can affect this baking time.

When the biscuits are ready to come out of the oven, allow them to cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to remove, usually about 5 minutes. After the biscuits are firm enough to move, transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack or tea towel to allow them to cool completely before transferring them to a container or bag for storage.

Tips, Tricks, and Suggestions

With this recipe, it is easiest, fastest, and cleanest to measure out the honey by pressing the measuring cup or spoon into the dry ingredients and then pouring the honey into the hole you have created. This recipe is not super sensitive to minor measurement deviations like the one that is created by using the outside instead of the inside of the measuring cup or spoon, so it allows you to us this trick to make clean up easier. This trick is easier to use in a bowl that is taller and skinnier rather than shorter and wider, simply because it gives you more depth to push your measuring cup or spoon into when creating the hole for the honey to be poured into. You can see an example of this trick here.

Toppings and Variations

These biscuits can be made sweeter, or less sweet based on the amount of honey used. A similar biscuit recipe without the sweet twist is a good, family favorite too. However, if you use more or less honey, you will likely need to adjust your wet and/or your dry ingredients to get the consistency of dough you are looking to achieve. However, I have found that the baking time is not affected by the amount of honey nearly as much as it is affected by the weather and humidity in my area when I am baking as mentioned earlier.

While these biscuits are amazing plain, they are good with toppings like jellies and jams as well. They can also be topped with additional honey if you wish to sweeten them up even more. And of course, like any biscuit they are good with butter spread over them!

Recipe

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

3 1/2 Cup Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

3/4 C Honey

Mix the dough until all ingredients are combined. Scoop balls about the size of a golf ball and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 17-19 minutes.