Freezer-Friendly Ginger Biscuits with Peaches and Cream

Ginger Biscuits with Peaches and Cream

(recipe makes approximately 9 biscuits; multiply recipe for freezer as desired)

Ingredients:

**See ingredient substitutions list below recipe.**

• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour (make sure you use certified gluten-free, if necessary)
• 2 Tablespoons ground chia seeds (I use a coffee bean grinder to grind seeds.)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 Tablespoons chilled palm shortening (Spectrum is a good brand)
• 1/2 cup grated fresh ginger
• 1 EnerG egg replacer (1 1/2 tsp powder + 2 Tbsp water)
• 1/2 cup dairy-free buttermilk (see instructions on how to make buttermilk below recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4-6 ripe peaches (see preparation notes below)
• allowed cream (see notes below recipe)

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Stir in grated ginger.
3. With a mixer on low speed, mix in the cold shortening a little at a time, until pea-sized pieces form.
4. Add egg replacer (whisking together powder and water in a separate bowl first), buttermilk, and vanilla to mixing bowl; mix just until combined.
5. Rub a little gluten-free flour on your hands and form the dough into biscuit shapes. (You could also roll out the dough and cut out the biscuits, but I don’t like to get another spot dirty.)
6. Place the biscuits on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through and slightly browned.
7. Allow biscuits to cool, then top with peaches and cream.

For dairy-free buttermilk:

1. Measure out 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (rice, soy, hemp, almond, etc.)
2. Add 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar to measuring cup and stir.
3. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, until curdled, before adding to recipe.  (Mind never curdled very well, but I used it anyway.)

For peaches:

1. Peel peaches. If skins do not come off easily, you can drop them into boiling water for about 20 seconds or longer if needed.  The skin should peel off easily.
2. Slice each peach into about 8 slices and place in bowl.
3. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of white sugar and refrigerate until biscuits are ready.

For cream:

1. If dairy is allowed, you can use real whipped cream.  If not…
2. You can make whipped cream by refrigerating a full fat can of coconut milk over night.  Scoop the fat only from the can and whip with sugar like you would a dairy version.
3. We served our ginger biscuits with ice cream.  I made homemade dairy-free ice cream, topped on the biscuits and peaches just like regular whipped cream.  It was delicious!

To freeze biscuits:

1. Cook according to recipe directions.
2. Place in a freezer bag in a single layer and lay flat in the freezer.
3. When ready to use, you have a few options: 1) thaw on counter-top for 1 hour and heat in microwave for 15 seconds; 2) thaw on counter-top for 1 hour and reheat in 400 degree oven for about 3 minutes; or 3) heat in microwave for 1 minute straight from freezer.
4. While the flavor of the biscuit is just as good fresh as frozen, the texture does change slightly. The biscuits were nice and crispy straight out of the oven, but lost their crispiness when thawed and reheated in the microwave. For a crispy biscuit, the oven may do the trick (although I did not test it).  Regardless, this issue will not keep me from making future freezer batches of these biscuits.

Ingredient Substitutions:

You can add back in any “regular” ingredients for the allergy-friendly ingredients in this recipe.

Wheat: Use 2 cups whole wheat flour (in place of the gluten-free flours).

Chia Seed: Really helps with the binding of the gluten-free flours, so it can be left out of whole wheat flour. However, Chia Seeds add a great fiber and protein boost, so I’d leave them in. Corn: Use 2 teaspoon baking powder & 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (in place of cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp taking soda).

Oil: Use 8 Tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, butter, or coconut oil (in place of palm shortening).

Dairy: Use dairy buttermilk (in place of non-dairy buttermilk).