Whole Grain Biscuits with Molasses

I'd like to thank Gregg for mentioning that he was going to make biscuits after yoga class last Sunday. He planted a seed....a biscuit-making seed.
Not that a girl like me needs convincing to get out my rolling pin and get to baking.
I will admit. I did have a bunch of lovely, local Sparkman's buttermilk that needed to be used. Brilliant.

Lucky me....I also had a new bag of white whole wheat flour and some leftover Kerrygold butter for my biscuits. Don't you love it when you have everything you need at your fingertips, when the urge to bake strikes?

I have to be honest here. Cream scones are what rock my world. I've been making scones for years and I swear by Rose Levy Berenbaum's recipe from the Pie and Pastry Bible. Gorgeously buttery and flaky. I think every place on earth that serves scones and all bed and breakfasts should use her recipe.
Biscuits always seemed like a second class citizen next to a scone. Enter in biscuit toppings.....a nice jam, salty butter, or my all time favorite topper....molasses. Give me a hearty drizzle on my warm biscuit and I'm pretty darn pleased.

I hope you are enjoying some holiday baking and hey, if you've got some buttermilk hanging around.....make some biscuits and surprise everyone for breakfast!

Whole Grain Biscuits

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen


2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 to 1 cup full fat, chilled buttermilk {do use a good local buttermilk if you can, not that watery, tasteless stuff}

Molasses, for topping

Preheat oven to 400 °F and cover baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large, wide bowl. Using fingertips, rub cold butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, Add 3/4 cup buttermilk and stir until large clumps form and dough begins to come together. Add more buttermilk if needed if mixture is too dry.Reach hands into bowl and knead mixture briefly until it just holds together.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and pat out until 3/4-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, press straight down into dough and transfer biscuits to prepared sheet, spacing two inches apart. You can re-pat together scraps once to get an extra biscuit or two.


Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then serve warm with molasses or your favorite jam, butter, apple butter {the list goes on!}