Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

This is total comfort food. 

Bisquick. 

Sour Cream.

Old school recipe. 

After all that happened this month so far, I needed comfort food and these are the ticket.

My mom used to make these biscuits when I was little. My cousin makes them small and I think they are better that way (and you can eat more).

My cousin has an index card written by her mom. I'm sure you can make this all from scratch, but Bisquick has a special place in my memory and it's foolproof.

On Sunday, I went to my parent's house and made some little ham and egg biscuits.

This is super easy to make. Just some Bisquick, sour cream, a bit of sugar, baking soda and an egg.

I made mini biscuits with a one-inch (or so) circle because they are cute and you can eat a bunch. Sure, if you count the calories, it's all the same, but I'm always more satisfied if I can eat four small ones instead of only one big one.:)

By the way, I only had my cell phone camera to take these photos. Sorry about the quality. But the quality of the biscuits? Yummmmmmy.

Sour Cream Bisquick Biscuits

Mix together in one bowl:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix together in a small bowl:

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pour the wet mixture onto the Bisquick bowl. 

3. Stir until just combined. Don't overmix.

4. Knead dough 5-7 times on a flour or Bisquick covered surface.

5. Pat or roll out and cut into desired shape.

6. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown on top and bottom (depends on how big you make them - around 12-20 minutes)

Libby's Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt - Day #12 of I Like Big Bundts

Libby's Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt

Pumpkin is awesome!
Give me a P-U-M-P... Yay, I'm not a cheerleader and you get the idea. :)

It's Day #12 of I Like Big Bundts 2. The Food Librarian's 30 days of Bundts. I was crazy enough to do this last year, and I'm back again for more of my favorite dessert on the planet: the lovely Bundt cake. November 15th is National Bundt Day (and Katrina's of Baking and Boys' birthday!!). I do hope you bake along with me that day!

I love me the pumpkin. Since it is 80-something degrees today in Los Angeles, we need to get our "fall" via food. Pumpkin, persimmons (I'm talking to you @waffles and KClibrarygang!), and Trader Joe's Spiced Apple Cider. I read tweets about snow falling and flights delayed because of the weather, and we are going through our usual Santa Ana winds (fierce winds that take heat from dessert and blow 'em into Southern California. Watch out for fires. Allergies or asthma? Stay indoors. And your skin? Buy lotion at Costco and bathe in it).

Scoop half the batter into the prepared 12-cup Bundt pan and then spread the streusel (cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar and butter) on top. The topping isn't supposed to touch the walls of the Bundt pan, but I was tired and missed a few. Then the rest of the batter is placed on top.

I just got back from the Internet Librarian conference in Monterey, CA last night. Luckily, I was on the earlier flight and got back at a decent hour. My colleagues' 9 pm flight was delayed until 11:30 pm. Eeck. I came home, took the new doggie out for a walk (she is soooo much better from her illness - she is like a whole new excited doggie) and baked up this Bundt! It is really moist and I topped it with a powdered sugar and orange juice glaze.

My topping headed to the bottom of the pan (which becomes the top). Look at Libby's photo to see how it should be done! Maybe next time...

See you back here tomorrow for another Bundt! Whoo hoo! - mary the food librarian

Recipe:
Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt
Adapted from Libby's website

Streusel:
Cut butter into the sugar and spices until crumbly.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons butter

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I use Penzy's cinnamon)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 large eggs, room temp
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
8 oz or 1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prep 12-cup Bundt pan (I use Pam with Flour spray).
2. Make streusel and set aside.
3. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes with the paddle attachment).
5. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl.
6. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla.
7. With mixer on low, add in flour mixture until just combined.
8. Spoon half batter into pan.
9. Top with streusel mixture. Don't let streusel hit the sides of the pan.
10. Top with the rest of the batter.
11. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven) until toothpick or skewer comes out clean. Mine took 55 minutes.
12. Cool for 30 minutes in pan, then depan and cool completely.
13. Top with glaze of powdered sugar and orange juice (can also use milk or cream).

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Bundt

It has been so hot in Los Angeles that I can only bake at 4 am. Crazy, yeah. But look at the cute result! Of course, it's a Bundt. This is an old Nordic Ware Bundt...the Fiesta Party Pan. That is a strange name. I called it my "Tree Bundt".

Since my last post was all about Jury Duty, I wanted to update you. Whoo hoo! I'm free. Los Angeles has a one day or one trial system. If you make it through one day without being sent to a trial, you are home free. So I sat in a room with over 100 other citizens for hours. They started the day with five possible trials. At 11:45 am, they said they were down to two trials (never been so happy for a plea bargain or continuance). At 2:30 pm, they finally called about 20 jurors. My fingers were cramping because I was trying to use my iPod Touch and I was crossing my fingers all day! :)

Finally, at 3:00 pm, they were going to call 35 jurors, and if you weren't on the list, you were going home! Tension filled the room like the set of "American Idol" (only in reverse...don't pick me, Ryan Seacrest!) When she said, "Mary..." I gasped. But it was a different Mary. Whew. Then she said, "Mary..." again! And, would you believe it, there were at least three Mary's in that room? Lucky for me (and unlucky for them), it wasn't me!

Whew! This calls for a celebration...and the Bundt is perfect for that!

I saw this cake on Jessica's What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen? blog. Jessica found it on the back of the Bakers & Chefs brown sugar package from Sam's Club! Don't you just love those "back of the bag" recipes?! This recipe's technique is similar to the Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt and Texas Sheet Cake. Both of those recipes melt and boil ingredients, and this one melts the chocolate and butter in boiling water.

I placed 3 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (chopped up) and 1 stick of butter (cut into pieces) into a bowl. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the top. Stir until melted.

In my Kitchen Aid mixer, I placed 2 cups packed brown sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. I used the paddle and let it spin on low to mix the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly add the melted chocolate mixture. Once the batter is well blended, add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla. Then raise the speed to medium and beat for one minute. And that's it! Easy peasy, no?

Grease and flour the Bundt pan (or spray the heck out of it with Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour). I suggest a 10 or 12-cup Bundt. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Rest 10 minutes then depan and cool completely. I dusted mine with powdered sugar. Jessica added a chocolate ganache drizzle. Yum!

I used my Nordic Ware Fiesta Bundt (I don't see it on their website...I've had it for years). I believe it is about 9-cups and that why it is a little too full for this recipe.

Can you see a face profile in this slice?! See that little eye? Yeah...I've looked at too many Bundts and the heat has fried my little brain!

Have a great holiday weekend! Be safe and have fun!

Recipe:
Sour Cream Chocolate Cake from What's Cooking in the Orange Kitchen?
From back of the Bakers & Chefs brown sugar package from Sam's Club

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

When I saw this cake on Blue is Bleu's blog and instantly knew I had to make it! Audrie is so great! I've enjoyed her blog for a long time and you should definitely check it out! Audrie said she got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen's blog.

Not much to say...besides MAKE IT.
It's big. It's chocolate. It's cake. It's good. It's rich (1 stick of butter and 16 ounces of sour cream!) but not crazy, oozing rich. And my middle layer of cinnamon, sugar and chocolate chips didn't end up on the bottom! That's a good thing.

My co-workers really liked this when I brought it in last week. It an easy treat to make and really delicious. Definitely give it a try!

And thanks to everyone for your well wishes about my Dad and our lengthy Father's Day visit to Urgent Care! I so appreciate it! He tells me he is feeling a bit better now...it's such a pain (literally) to get old. Dad now uses a cane to help him around, and I've nicknamed him (with love): The Turtle. He has a backyard full of summer crops (I'll profile those soon), and luckily my mom is helping him out!

Recipe:
Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake
from Smitten Kitchen

National Library Week Begins! Day 1 with Double-Ginger Sour Cream and Bundt Cake

Double-Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake...with the Librarian Action Figure!

Let's celebrate National Library Week with some food, library facts, and giveaways!

The "Food" in the Food Librarian today is the Double-Ginger Sour Cream and Bundt Cake with Ginger-Infused Strawberries that appeared in the April 2009 issue of Bon Appétit. Be sure to visit your library to read a bunch of magazines - free!

This recipe uses 1 cup of crystallized ginger - serious yummy! Sugar in the Raw coats the pan...but most of my sugar baked into the cake (bummer). Look at Bon Appetit's photo - it is quite pretty and shiny.

Here's the recipe. The cake is quite delightful and rich. It gingerific with three types of ginger: ground, crystallized and fresh!

The "Librarian" in the Food Librarian is the Librarian Action Figure! [I'll wait while you giggle]. It's made by the same company that presents us with the Lunch Lady, Jesus and Deluxe Jesus action figures. She's modeled after librarian Nancy Pearl who you may have heard on NPR dispensing reading recommendations. There is a button that lifts her arm in a "Shushing" motion...oh, the stereotype! (But I doubt there are many other occupations that have their own action figure...so I'm not complaining!)

Each day this week, I'll have a giveaway! I want to celebrate libraries and thank the readers of my little blog.

Day 1 Giveaway:
One lucky winner will receive:
a. Cool 3-tier mini-cake set with tray. This is a 4", 3", and 2" pan made by Southern California family-owned company, Parrish/Magic Line (purchased at Surfas)
b. Beaded Bookmark - Mark your favorite cookbook or novel with this bookmark handmade by the Food Librarian and friends!
c. Book bag - Stroll into your library with this super light bag from the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland! The library is very environmental because it's the ultimate reuse center!

Just leave a comment below (one entry per person) and I'll pick the winner from a hat. Deadline for all the giveaways this week: Monday, April 20, 2009 at midnight PDT. If your comment isn't linked to a blog where I can find you, please leave your email or check back on Tuesday, April 21st to see if you won. Shipping to U.S. addresses only (sorry, I'm buying all this stuff myself and international postage is too expensive).

Librarian Action Figure is not included. I borrowed all these from my co-workers! ;)

To enter the drawing, leave a comment. You don't have to write anything special...but if you want to tell me about your library or a library story, that would be fantastic! Don't forget to visit and support your local library! See you tomorrow from some Tuesdays with Dorie yum and more giveaways! thanks for coming by - mary the food librarian

Third Anniversary Triple Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake from Sky High Cakes

Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

It's crazy good.

Today is my three year anniversary at public library job. After years of bean counting, I went back to UCLA and became a librarian!

To celebrate, I made a three layer cake. (Next year, the four-layer cake will be a monster! :)

And, of course, I turned to my favorite new book, Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman.

Smitten Kitchen has the recipe and a photo was on the Martha Stewart show (I'm soooo bummed I forgot to set my DVR for her show on bloggers!)

You know this cake is serious when you see how much batter it makes! I swear that could make 36 cupcakes...so be sure to slice this cake thin, thin! This makes three 8" layers.

The frosting is a delicious combination of cream cheese, butter, 5 cups of powdered sugar (I used 4 cups) and smooth peanut butter. After a chill, a ganache of chocolate, peanut butter and half and half is poured over the top of the cake.

The cake is seriously moist and decadent. Smitten Kitchen calls it intense and I completely agree!

Making this cake could actually make you lose weight! Really.
See, the cake is sooo heavy. Like 15 pounds of cake heavy. If you just carry it around with you, you'll totally burn calories. I practically worked up a sweat bringing it into work! (And if you are planning to travel with it, you might want to throw in some dowels to keep it all together).

Three for three!

So far, I've made the Chai cake and Strawberry shortcake from Alisa's book...next up, the Ginger Mango Lime Curd cake.

Have a great weekend!

Gold Medal Winning Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream in my new Crate and Barrel mini bowl...I forgot to remove the C&B sticker - can you see it?

I’m completely sleep deprived and it’s only day 4 of the Olympics. So many events, so little time. I’ve been enjoying the Olympics and luckily, I made this ice cream before the opening ceremonies and two weeks of athletic coverage (albeit 15 hour delayed on the West Coast).

I just wish there was a filter I could set on my web browser that blocks out the results! However, all the events are really exciting! I love the swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball makes me want to run to the beach!

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. (Recipe on her website and on page 434 of Dorie’s book). Great choice!

The night before…blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice are heated together for a few minutes (above).

The warm mixture is blended. I didn't put on the cover correctly and the "opening" triangle was next to the spout. I had lots of blueberry on the cabinets! Then heavy cream and sour cream are added. This recipe is easy because there are no eggs. After cooling overnight, the mixture was already a little thick. I poured it into the Krups machine that my friend Jessica loaned me (Thanks Jessica!)

Yippee! Poof! 12 minutes later and I had ice cream!! Like magic. This was my first time making ice cream...and won't be the last.

Yum!