Hello! Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Honestly, I don’t even know what I am meant to say at this time of year any more. So just know that I wish all! good! things! for every single one of you reading this.
This shall be one of those short posts, because although many of you tell me how much you love all the stories and other things that come galloping across the screen at you from this little blogette of mine, there are times when I know that deep down all you want - all you really, really want – is just to get the recipe already. These Sour Cream and Chive Biscuits make my heart beat a whole lot faster, and if I know you at all, I think yours will too. At the risk of sounding a little pretentious, these are the best biscuits I have ever eaten in my life. I think I’d want them to be my last meal kinda best-biscuits-in-my-life. Just think of the travesty that would have occurred if you hadn’t gone SANE – you’d have never got to eat them. GASP! These biscuits are reason enough for going SANE. Forget the fact that they will make you healthier and slimmer. If you’ve avoided trying your hand at any baking since you got SANE, please start here. You’ll never look back. You may never make any other SANE baked good but these, but you’ll make these over and over again, I am certain.
I took a couple round to the Bailor house earlier today and the gorgeous Mrs. Bailor was reported to have said, “Oh goodness! These are amazing!”
These are absolutely pull-apart fabulous about 30 minutes after they get out of the oven – if you can wait that long. They are still fantastic the next day, although the texture changes somewhat and they fall apart easily. If you still have some left the next day, I recommend warming them slightly before you eat them (and I really do mean slightly) as this will heat the feta which gets kinda crunchy after it is cold. Cold is still awesome though. I had two cold for my Christmas Day breakfast. They rocked.
- 15 oz almond flour / ground almonds
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter, cold
- 1 egg
- ½ cup fat-free sour cream
- 1 tbsp cold water
- ½ oz fresh chives, chopped
- 6 oz low-fat feta cheese, chopped into small pieces
- Beaten egg to glaze
- Paprika
- Place almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cold butter into a food processor and pulse just until it resembles breadcrumbs. Do not over process!
- Turn into a mixing bowl and add the egg, sour cream, water, chives and feta cheese and mix just enough to form a rough, soft dough.
- Turn onto a board (use almond flour to dust if sticky) and knead about 10 times until the dough is all together.
- Flatten the dough lightly with your hand until it is a 1 inch thick square.
- Cut into 2 inch squares with a sharp knife.
- Place biscuits on a baking sheet, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with paprika.
- Bake in the center of the oven at 375 F for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
SANE™, inSANE, SANEity – terms used in Jonathan Bailor’s book, The Smarter Science of Slim. (Which is now out of print…but a new book will be here in January 2014 and it will be even more awesome!)
by carrie
allisol - I’m so full from these biscuits I have to make this short so I can go lie down! Honestly, I don’t usually get too full from a SANE dinner but tonight it was some serious goodness.
My BFF is visiting and she is also a SANE girl so when we saw this recipe we thought it should accompany our spaghetti dinner(our “noodles” are julienned zuchini, of course!). Boy oh boy were these biscuits TASTY! It was awesome to have something cooking that was drawing the attention of the entire household (two husbands, 4 kids) and have it be the SANE item!!! So two thumbs up, way up. We saved them for tomorrow and we will be eating lunch out (Subway salad). My BFF thinks I’m crazy but I’m planning to BYO Biscuit and enjoy a biscuit with my salad. Subway should take a page from your book and offer them for sale!
So just a little feedback for anyone else who attempts to cook these. For one, my food processor is too small to mix this whole batch. We had to do it in sections so we risked not mixing it well enough. The blender was also not a good option, even though everything fit. So note to self: need a big food processor for this one. For two, although we know you have friends who follow some crazy other measuring system, the ounces was a challenge. 15 oz of almond flour does not all fit in my scale container so I had to do it in two batches. It worked out, but I would have preferred cups. The almond flour did not seem like flour at all, I ground it in my food processor and then again in my coffee grinder. It was not fine like flour. But it didn’t seem to affect the taste. They were a wee bit flat but they were a great platform for my butter so I’m not complaining.
Bottom line, they turned out great and seemed to hold up to all the imperfections in the cooking process. I love love love them with loads of butter. The feta is a great touch – cheesy and tasty but you can’t actually tell it’s there.
Two thumbs up. From two SANE gals!
carrie - Allisol! Thrilled you loved them – I think they’re the best thing I ever made :-)) You don’t have to use a food processor. You can rub the butter in with your fingers or use a pastry blender. It will take slightly longer but will solve your batch issue. Now – when it comes to dry ingredients, the cup system is the crazy one ;-) Maybe you did not see this post that explains it: http://www.marmaladeandmileposts.com/archives/21158 Cups are not accurate and will give you different results every time, which is why I do all the baked recipes (or recipes where the ratios of ingredients really matters) by weight. This is so that everyone can be successful all the time. When I come down next Christmas I’ll bring a kitchen scale as your hostess gift ;-)
Almond Flour does have a different texture to wheat flour, don’t panic! Re-grinding it is a good idea though. Or get it from Honeyville, which is reputed to have the finest almond flour around that does not require any further grinding – it’s what I use. It is also a lot cheaper than most other almond flour in stores. I LOVE that you are BYO Biscuit!!
Now you’ve made me want to bake {yet another} batch. Sigh.
ALLISOL - OK, I get it about the ounces. I had seen that post but forgot about the accuracy part. I have a birthday coming up. In addition to a better blender I will ask for a digital scale. That should make things easier! I’m sure we can come up with something else you can bring as your hostess gift. You could come while my BFF is here. We will follow you around like little puppies, in awe of your creations. And we’ll fluff your pillows on the lawn chair when you’re done cooking. The hubbies will have to do the dishes. :)
You are awesome. Mwah!
carrie - Get this one if you can – it means you can use any size bowl you want as your container, and you can also do reverse weighing, which I do 90% of the time. Saves on getting a whole bunch of stuff dirty. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WJMTNA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000WJMTNA&linkCode=as2&tag=foodifootn-20
I should warn you I like to get up at 3 am to go shoot stuff – but don’t worry, I’ll come back in time to cook you some scrumptious thing for breakfast ;-)
Jennifer - Hi Carrie! I baked these up tonight. Followed your recipe exactly and it all went smoothly. The verdict? — two were scarfed down IMMEDIATELY by my husband who swore up and down that he loved them. I liked the biscuits a lot; they were a (rare) successful flourless baking experience and looked & tasted much like biscuits. There was a bit of a strange after-taste for me. I’m wondering if it was the new taste of a non-traditional ingredient like xylitol…or the taste of so much baking soda? This aftertaste was toned down a bit after they cooled from the oven; I almost preferred the biscuits cooled down instead of piping hot. Anyway, this is a great recipe which I know I’ll make again. Thank you so much!
Mikki - Hi there I wonder, is xylitol necessary? Is this instead of sugar and could I substitute it out or omit altogether? These look amazing and I’m keen to try! Thank you :-)
carrie - Hi Mikki – yes you can substitute for stevia or similar natural, non-caloric sweetener. Happy baking!
carrie - Hi Jenifer – I doubt it would have been the xylitol, which is as close to regular sugar in taste as I’ve found. more likely the baking soda – did you measure accurately? A touch too much baking soda is all it needs to go the wrong way. So glad you and hubby loved them!
Jennifer - Oh! Dear me! Carrie you are right. Now that I look back at the recipe, I see that I accidentally reversed the measurements for baking soda and baking powder! 4 t of baking soda seemed like a great deal to me….and it was! Gulp. Will make another batch sometime soon and update my feedback. Thank you for helping me figure this out! J.
carrie - **Giggling**
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Rowena - Hi Carrie,
I just wanted to thank you for your fantastic recipes! They make eating SANE even more brilliant than it already is.
I’ve made these scones with the chive and feta and then I made them without when I Needed a SANE-ish sweet treat. Oh. my. god. they are amazing with St Dalfour Jam and a very very small dollop of double cream. Sooo much better than normal scones for afternoon tea and no guilt attached!
Thanks again from a fellow Brit!!!
carrie - THANK YOU, Rowena – I love it! Next time, lose the jam (or make sure it’s sugar-free) and double the cream ;-)
Rowena - Ooh I meant to say St Dalfour is sugar free. Have a look next time you’re in the UK, its perfectly scrummy!
carrie - YAY for sugar-free jam!!!
Romy - Dear Carrie
I love to raed all your posts. Unfortunately I cannot digest milkprotein and therefore all your delicious recipes with dairy are no options for me.
In the comments I read that one can omit the feta and chive and the biscuits are still delicious. Can I substitute the sour cream with coconutcream?
Thanks for your answer and best regards
Romy
Lista - I looked up xanthan gum because I wasn’t sure what is was and see its derived from corn sugar. Is that sane? Or is there another source it is made from? Where can you buy it?
carrie - Lista: http://www.marmaladeandmileposts.com/archives/23109
carrie - Hi Romy – I cannot promise it will work, but it seems like a good idea to try. PLs let me know how it goes!
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Firefox7275 - Finally got all the ingredients together for this mouthwatering vision …. but my baking soda and baking powder are expired. VERY expired. And it’s snowing horizontally. Don’t forget to date check for best results guys!
carrie - Great advice, Firefox!!! Sorry you have to wait :-(
Tara - Thanks so much for this recipe Carrie!
Made these exactly following the recipe last week and they were fantastic!!
This week my husband wanted “plain” biscuits, so I made them without the feta and without the chives. (left everything else exactly the same, including the sour cream) I’m pleased to report they turned out just as good. I will be baking both “flavors” frequently. :)
carrie - HURRAH, Tara! Makes me so happy that you loved them. Now I want to go make some…
Pam - Made the biscuits and they were a huge hit…have really been craving my bread-this totally hit the spot! Can’t wait to try another recipe…
carrie - YAY! Thanks, Pam :-)
Anna - SHUT UP! These are so delicious…I mean SO DELICIOUS!!! I haven’t had a real biscuit in a loooong time, but these taste better than anything I remember…and what surprised me the most is the moist light texture which I never expect when baking with almond flour, coconut flour, etc…they are just melt in your mouth delicious!
carrie - Anna – you made me smile :-) THANK YOU!
Sahara - Can greek yogurt be substituted for the sour cream – only asking because I happen to be out of sour cream and I’m craving biscuits!
carrie - Sahara – hope you got my email yesterday!
Sahara - Bummer – I did not. Now I have sour cream so the craving can be satisfied, but I’m still curious – what kind of disaster would i create if I used greek yogurt as a substitution?
carrie - Sahara – so sorry – I went back and found it stuck in my outbox. Stoopid email :-( I do not think it would be a disaster – I havne’t tried it but I am sure it would be fine except for a change in flavor. It is certainly worth a go.