The Evening Called for Biscuits

Today is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. I'm not sure why we need an official day to celebrate eating buttermilk biscuits, but who am I to argue?

By the power of suggestion, this evening I wanted biscuits. Thankfully the person who suggested biscuits was The Happy Herbivore, who has a couple of great low-fat vegan cookbooks that are also part of my kitchen stand-bys.

One way of giving a buttermilk flavor to vegan cooking is to use lemon juice, although I find that it can be hit or miss. I flipped through Everyday Happy Herbivore and stumbled upon this recipe for Lemon Jam Biscuits. A simple drop biscuit recipe, but with the addition of juice from an entire lemon, as well as the zest.

Not exactly a buttermilk biscuit, but it sounded intriguing, particularly her suggestion of topping it with raspberry jam. This was super simple to throw together. I think total prep time was under 10 minutes.

1 c whole wheat-pastry flour (this is key—using regular whole wheat will make it reallllly heavvvvy)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper (easy way to be non-stick and oil free!)
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt
4. Add applesauce and stir until chunks of dough form
5. Add zest and juice of an entire lemon (you should really use organic, since you're using the skin)
6. Add water 1 T at a time just until the dough is wet but not runny.

Drop 5 spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

You seriously need to eat these with the raspberry jam. So freaking delicious.

I find that these biscuits taste best when they're hot out of the oven rather than left over, so it's best if you find a person or two to eat them with.