Oatmeal Biscuits for a cool fall day

The weather outside has all of a sudden turned delightfully cool and cloudy here. Finally! The leaves are turning red and yellow and drifting slowly down to the ground below, and cozy-ing up the house for the winter is on my mind.

I got out all the warm, fuzzy throw blankets yesterday, and today I decided to make potato soup for dinner.
The house is a bit on the chilly side, and we're not going to turn on the heat just yet- it's only in the 40's and 50's. So I thought I'd do a bit of baking to help it warm up.

What better to go with potato soup than crunchy biscuits, hot from the oven?

 I found this biscuit recipe in my Mary Jane's Farm Magazine, and I absolutely love it. The biscuits are nice and chewy and perfect for dipping in soup, or scooping up a bite of chili. They also go well with butter and jam as well, for breakfast or a snack.

Want to make your own delicious oatmeal biscuits?

Here's how:

First things first. Put on the kettle and warm up some water to make yourself some delicious hot chocolate to sip on while you are waiting for the biscuits to cook. Sea Salt and Caramel Hot Chocolate? Yes, Please!

Then, light a nice fall candle. Pumpkin Spice is my favorite. :)

Now you are ready to begin.
This is a basic baking powder biscuit recipe with oats added to it.
Nice and quick and easy!

In a large bowl, mix all of your dry ingredients together.

Cut in your butter til it is crumbly. Don't worry, there will still be lumps. It makes the biscuits flaky.

Add your milk.
Mix.

So the lighting is totally different in this photo..sorry. I'm still learning how to photo edit and stuff.

At this point I usually take my wedding ring off and jump right in there with my hands, to make sure it gets mixed nicely.

The dough will be slightly sticky. That's alright.
The recipe calls for you to roll out the biscuits and cut them, but I usually just form them with my hand like I'm making a hamburger patty. It's easier.
However, as a kid I used to hate when my mom did this because the biscuits weren't as pretty. For the first few years of being an adult and baking, I  rolled out and cut the biscuits. Then I figured, what the heck, they still taste just as good and just started smushing them with my hands. My mom knew what was up. :)
It's your preference, they are delicious both ways.

After you've formed your biscuits, place them on a greased baking sheet and stick them in a hot 450 degree oven for 12-20 min. The recipe says 15-20 min., but my oven tends to run hot so they are usually done after 12. Just watch them and when they are golden on top, they are done!
Take them out of the oven and put them on a rack to cool, or just eat them!
Enjoy!

Here is the recipe from Mary Jane's Farm. (I tried to find the actual link to the recipe but couldn't, but here is her website if you click on the link. You can subscribe to the magazine too, if you want. I don't get any compensation from her at all, but it is a darn good magazine, especially if you like natural living and farm-ish stuff. The articles are always encouraging!)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp plus 1 Tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
 (or if you want a more chewy, crunchy taste you can use steel cut oats. I do. Yum. I've also substituted barley and bulgar as well, and they are equally as good.)
4 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 1 in. pieces
3/4cup-1cup of whole milk. (if you use whole wheat flour, you may need closer to one cup of milk.)

Sift/Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix in oats. (or just dump it all in together and stir.)
Working quickly, cut in the butter with a pastry blender.
Add milk gradually, stirring til a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a 1' thickness. Cut into biscuits.
Transfer to a greased baking sheet, brush tops with milk if desired, and bake at 450F degrees for 12-20 min; until lightly browned.


Happy Baking!