Cleaned-Up Joanna Gaines Biscuits

If you love Joanna Gaines’ new recipe book, Magnolia Table, but you also noticed (like I did) that most of the dishes in there aren’t the most health-conscious, I’m here to tell you…you can have it both ways!  You can have good ol’ southern, stick-to-your-ribs cuisine and still be healthy(ish), you just have to clean it up a bit.  Not quite sure what I’m talking about?  Let’s take the “Jojo’s Biscuits” recipe.  Because when it’s almost summer, who doesn’t like strawberry shortcake?

According to Joanna, it took her a year to perfect her recipe–to strike just the right balance between flakiness, moisture, lightness, etc.  I took this “just right” recipe, made it a little less guilt-inducing, and a little more wholesome.  Still the awesome, buttery flavor you’d expect from a well-made biscuit, but with way more fiber and nutrients.

Now, biscuits are biscuits.  You can’t take a biscuit and turn it into a celery stalk.  It’s still going to have a bit of fat, calories and carbohydrates, so if you’re on that crazy Keto diet, forget it.  But biscuits aren’t necessarily made to be eaten all of the time anyway.  So if you just happen to need a summer dessert like strawberry shortcake and you want it made with pure, whole, nutritious foods, this is definitely worth trying.

Joanna uses four cups of flour in this recipe, and I substituted in two cups of whole wheat flour and two cups of organic oat flour (I used Arrowhead Mills).  For the butter, you have a couple of options.  You can either use a lower-fat butter, or you can use a top-of-the-line, natural butter made from grass-fed cows and just cream, milk and salt, foregoing flavorings and preservatives. (The latter is what I did.  I’d rather have a smaller portion of real, whole food–even if it contains more calories–than one laden with chemicals and additives.)  Grass-fed butter actually has substantial health benefits when eaten in proper portions.  You can also try using a little less butter than the recipe calls for, which I plan on trying next time.

Making these two tweaks resulted in golden-brown, delicious, tender, flaky biscuits.  Perfect with breakfast, fruit, chicken, jam…you get the picture!  My kids loved them, and I loved serving them knowing they were made with nutrient-rich ingredients, the best kind for our bodies.  And because they are filled with fiber from the oats and whole grain, you don’t need a huge portion.  See the full “cleaner” biscuit recipe below.

Stay tuned for more Joanna “cleaned up” recipes as I make my way through this book.  Happy summer!

“Cleaner” Joanna Gaines Biscuits:

2 cups oat flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 pound (3 sticks) reduced-fat or pure grass-fed salted butter, cold, cut in to 1/2 inch pieces or grated

2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg for brushing

1 1/2 cups buttermilk, or as needed, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing

How to Make It

butter and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are even and about the size of peas.

Step 2

Stir in the beaten eggs with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in 1½ cups buttermilk until the dough comes together into a sticky mass. If it is too dry, add more buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition, until it reaches the correct consistency. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface. Use your floured hands to press it into a round roughly 14 inches across and about ½ inch thick.

Use a floured 2¾- inch round cutter to cut out about 20 biscuits. If necessary, collect and pat out the scraps to cut more biscuits.

Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet, arranging them so that they all are touching.

In a small dish, beat together the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon buttermilk. Brush the mixture on the top of the biscuits.

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan on a rack.