Thursday, March 6, 2014

Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while.  It took some time to remember to find cinnamon chips, and to stock the fridge with heavy cream, but I finally got all the right pieces together to make them for breakfast the other day.  The original recipe says to make 4 biscuits--after trying it myself, I would recommend making 6, especially if you plan to eat them warm (they are very rich), but we found that they are even better after being refrigerated when we got back from a day out snowmobiling.

I say "we", I should say "my boyfriend", who went out, bought ingredients for a second batch, and made me make them so he could have them for breakfast during his work week in San Francisco (most of which he ate on his way to work monday morning).

According to him, they "taste like cold cinnamon rolls, but are still soft like fresh ones."

Personally, I was a little worried about the fact that my cinnamon chips didn't get all melty--in fact they started to burn by the end--but Taylor thought that the little bit of crunchiness added to the experience, and they didn't taste burnt at all.... Maybe it was my choice in cinnamon chips (I just used hershey chips, I found them near the chocolate chips in the baking isle), but let me know what you experience in the comment section.


Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits
Recipe adapted from theKitchn

Ingredients:
2 cups all- purpose flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream***, divided
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla

***Note: (via original recipe) "If you want to use anything other than heavy cream in this recipe, please know that you will not get optimal results.  All the fat in this recipe comes from the cream (instead of butter), so if you use low-fat milk, or any other kind of dairy, the whole recipe would need to be tweaked.  If you do not want to use cream, I would recommend making another biscuit recipe that you are familiar with and just adding cinnamon chips as directed"

Directions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking pan, or line with one sheet of parchment paper, hanging over the sides (I usually cut angled slits in the parchment paper at the corners of the pan to help it lie flat).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, breaking up any clumps in the brown sugar.  Pour 1 1/4-1 1/2 of the cream (just enough to make a wet, sticky dough) into the dry ingredients and mix quickly, just until combined.  Dump the dough out on a floured countertop and pat into a long, thick rectangle.  Though dough will be firm, yet wet and sticky.

Slice the rectangle into 12 equally-sized squares/rectangles. Lay half the squares in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of cinnamon chips over each square. Cover the cinnamon chips with a second square of biscuit and lightly press the edges to seal.  Top the biscuits with the remaining chips.

Bake 30-40 minutes, or until the biscuits are barely golden on the outside and just cooked through.  Remove from oven and use a knife to spread the hot cinnamon chips on top of the biscuits.

Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla.  Lightly drizzle the biscuits with this glaze.

Serve hot, OR refrigerate and serve cold (could be a good breakfast to make the night before so it is ready in the morning)