Pumpkin Biscuits

Fill the bread basket with a batch (or two) of these Pumpkin Biscuits. They’re a simple but delicious addition to your next soup or chili night. And you can make them gluten-free!

Quick dinner ideas are the name of the game around here this month. Quick often implies that you’re gonna go simple, no elaborate souffles or dishes that take a long time to prepare. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t put in a little extra effort.

One of our simple meals is soup. It’s quick and easy and almost everyone in the family loves whatever soup I fix. Not all, but most. I’ve still got little people, so cut me some slack.

However, one way that I can win people over on Soup Night is to fill the bread basket with some homebaked goodie. Now, that doesn’t sound quick, does it?

But, if you make these Pumpkin Biscuits, it can be.

While I was developing recipes for Good Cheap Eats Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less, I played with all kinds of quick breads to serve as side dishes or even as the base of a larger meal. These Pumpkin Biscuits were one of the winning results of that testing.

I took a standard drop biscuit and mixed it up. Pumpkin puree replaces most of the liquid in the dish. A few spices add another element of flavor. However, I chose not to make these sweet. If you prefer a sweet quick bread or biscuit at dinner, feel free to add a couple tablespoons of sugar. However, I wanted something that was more bread than dessert. In 30 minutes or less.

And I succeeded.

If you’re wondering why this picture looks slightly different than the first, that would be because I retested the recipe with a gluten-free baking mix. While the end result is slightly different in texture — you folks familiar with gluten-free know exactly what I’m talking about, the recipe works well with gluten and without.

Since the recipe takes half a can of pumpkin, be sure to make two batches and freeze the second so you can maximize your baking efforts and avoid wasting that poor little bit of pumpkin.

Drop biscuits might not look fancy, but they’re super simple and taste great, particularly when you serve them with loads of butter and honey. I love these because they stir up quickly without a lot of fuss. Just drop the dough by spoonfuls like you would cookie dough. Send them to the oven and soon you’ll have piping hot Pumpkin Biscuits to fill up the bread basket.