Biscuits and Cocoa

I managed to find enough snow pants, gloves, jackets, and boots to get the girls bundled up and outside in the snow this morning, then I turned my attention to treats.

First, I measured into a sauce pan enough milk for three cups of cocoa. I added two tablespoons cocoa, two tablespoons sugar, and a capful of vanilla. I set that to cooking on low.

Next, to bake. I make a lot of biscuits. I'd say it's the thing I bake the most. I start with the basic recipe that I got from my old Betty Crocker cookbook.

1/3 cup shortening (I use 5 1/3 tablespoons butter)
1 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon, or less if I'm using salted butter--Betty says 3/4 teaspoon)
3/4 cup milk

Heat oven to 450F. Cut butter into dry ingredients -- I use my fingers, to make gravelly crumbles. Stir in milk so dough leaves side of bowl and rounds up into a ball. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly. Roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Today, I altered the recipe by replacing one of the tablespoons of butter with a tablespoon of solid bacon grease (from the refrigerator). I replaced 1/2 cup of the flour with 1/4 cup coconut flour and 1/4 cup corn flour. In place of the milk, I used about half apple cider and half cream.

The dough was a little stiffer than usual, and kind of resembled sugar cookie dough.
I think I'm going to have to do some research on cooking with coconut flour!

They puffed up nicely, though perhaps not quite as high as all flour biscuits do.
(Yeah, my oven is dirty).

While the biscuits were baking, I gave the cocoa a stir.

The biscuits got just a little browner than I like,
as I was helping the girls out of their snow clothes.

Cocoa and biscuits with butter, honey, and raspberry jam

Peace.