I knew this recipe for Cream Biscuits was a hit when my daughter kept saying to me, “Why are these so good?” You gotta love a win like that in the kitchen! And not only are they good, but they are SO incredibly easy to make – even easier than my original biscuit recipe on my blog and in my cookbook. Now if only I could just keep these on hand for more than a few hours, we’d be in good shape.
My New Obsession
I think part of the reason these are SO good is because of my new baking obsession – Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour! Okay, I’m probably super late getting on this bandwagon, but it sure was convenient to just use one kind of flour for everything (regular whole-wheat flour). And that flour totally works for everything, but then I realized how amazing the texture and taste of pastry flour can be in some recipes! Long story short – it’s worth the extra effort in some cases.
So, after making this discovery, I’ve been super excited to remake all my old favorites with pastry flour. As I mentioned, it’s amazing in biscuits and also waffles, pie crust (including quiche crust), pancakes, and cakes in general. But, I did take things a little too far when I used it to make flour tortillas. They were just flaking apart into pieces and this was, of course, on a night when we were having dinner guests over – oops! Anyway, we survived. :) Have you tried experimenting with pastry flour yet? If so, please share your discoveries with me in the comments!
Melt-in-your-Mouth Cream Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, plus extra for patting out the dough
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- milk, for brushing the tops (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
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In a large bowl, use a fork to whisk together the pastry flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour in the cream and stir to combine just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
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Pick up the dough with your hands and pat it down into one big square about 1/2 inch thick on a large baking sheet. Use extra flour if necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands.
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Cut the dough into 16 equal squares, and then spread them out on the baking sheet so they are all at least a couple inches apart. Brush the tops with milk if desired (for browner tops).
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Bake until a deep golden brown on the bottom, about 10 - 12 minutes. Serve warm with butter and jam or store at room temp in an air-tight container.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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These look good! I recently make rolls with a recipe that had cottage cheese in them, amazing what a difference tweaking a few ingredients can do for your recipe. I will definitely try these, thanks!
Is the salt necessary? Thinking of these for my mom who is on a strict low sodium diet.
What?! No butter?!!! :-) Seriously, I have been making your original biscuit recipe since you first posted it, and my family LOVES it. However, I usually double the recipe and freeze most of the biscuits because cutting up the butter into small pieces is so tedious. I even perfected my method. I would freeze the butter and then use a cheese grater to get little tiny pieces. I cannot wait to try this method without butter! p.s. Where do you find whole wheat pastry flour? Do you have to buy it online? I don’t think they carry it anywhere near me, or I probably would have tried it before now!
Hi Kelly! I’m able to get wwpf at my local grocery stores. At one store it’s in the “natural foods” aisle; at the other, it’s with the baking ingredients :-)
after searching my local Harris Teeter, Target, Farm Fresh, etc. I finally found it yesterday at Kroger in the natural foods section. good luck :)
My source for Bob’s WW pastry flour is Big Lots!!
I know this is a very old comment but I wanted to share a tip about “cutting up” butter. I just use a cheese shredder….
The discovery of whole what pastry flour is what helped me through a few “100 days” challenges. I’ve gone from Hodgen’s whole wheat (bleh) to King Arthur Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (much better) and have now got my own obsession with Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (try typing that into your recipe at MyFitnessPal ten times fast).
It is simply the best and had mad the biscuits, scones, graham crackers and pie crust something that has people who don’t know they’re eating “healthfully” ask for my recipe :)
I can only find it at sprouts so far. Glad you found this delightful option!
Yesss! Whole wheat pastry flour! I’m newly obsessed, too. I didn’t do much baking for my husband and I before my son came along. But now– I use it all the time. Muffins, pancakes, waffles. I also have an obsession with spelt flour…love the subtly nutty flavor,
I’m with you on whole spelt flour! I use it in all my muffin recipes. Love the lower gluten content. I have whole wheat pastry flour on hand for crepes, pancakes, waffles, scones. and biscuits. I LOVE Bob’s Red Mill, but unfortunately it is produced in a facility that also produces nuts. So I use Trader Joe’s white whole wheat for any baked goods I send in to my kids school, as well as anything that needs more protein, such as yeast breads, pizza crust, roux, etc.
I have used pastry flour in pie crust. Nice and light and flakey.
I make the same recipe with freshly milled soft wheat flour also. The cream really makes great biscuit!
I am wondering if this recipe has been tried with half and half. I don’t always have heavy cream but I always keep half and half in my fridge. Wonder if it would still be just as good. hmmm….
I tried this with half and half, they taste very good. The only difference (maybe ingredients, maybe technique?) is that the dough was about the consistency of oatmeal, so impossible to cut into squares. Ended up making them more like drop biscuits.
Thanks for your comment on using half and half instead of cream- like Vicki, I usually have half and half on hand, not cream (I also usually have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, so I’m glad that Lisa has discovered this flour!). After reading your comment, I tried the biscuits with the half and half, doing them “drop biscuit” style like you mentioned, and they were so tasty! This will be my new favorite biscuit recipe- so easy and quick and, of course, super tasty!
I have been using Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry flour in everything, except tortillas, for years, Love it. This recipe sounds good, and looks easier than regular biscuit recipes, that have you cut in butter. The only issue is I usually have milk and butter on hand to whip up a batch whenever I want, not so with heavy cream. Would have to get it especially for this.
How did I not know Whole Wheat Pastry Flour existed! I feel like this is a game changer. Going to have to try these!
That is so funny….I have been asking myself ever since I started reading the blog over a year ago, “Why doesn’t Lisa use WW pastry flour???” I should have commented so maybe you could have discovered it sooner! We love to make your pumpkin muffins and the cinnamon-raisin bread with WW pastry flour. I’ve also had success in making the WW flour tortillas with pastry flour! Hope this inspires you to create lots of yummy new muffin/quick bread recipes!
Would white whole wheat flour work as well I wonder? I use it when a recipe calls for whole wheat and it works well.
I say no. I have white whole wheat for making bread but I use my ww pastry flour for making muffins, waffles, pancakes etc & it makes a world of difference, Way softer in texture than white or reg whole wheat. Try it & you;ll see the difference! I use Bobs red mill.
I discovered Bob’s MIll WW pastry flour a few months ago and LOVE it! I use it in everything…pancakes, waffles, muffins, and now I’m excited to try this recipe. One bummer though-I tried 2 major grocery stores and both said that whipping cream IS the same as heavy cream, although I told them it’s not. Do you think it’ll work with whipping cream? I so want to try these tonight!
There’s “whipping cream” and “heavy whipping cream” in our stores, and I prefer the “whipping cream” for most things (although it is harder to find for some reason). I would think either would work for a biscuit.
Is there a lower calorie substitute for the heavy cream?
I am curious why we flour is on your list of real foods….wheat is now genetically modified to the point where it is very unhealthy.
Lisa, where is the butter in this? In your other biscuit recipes you use butter. In this recipe what takes the place of the butter. I was thinking it was the heavy cream, but the other recipes have milk or butter milk in addition to the butter so I am just a little confused. Don’t want to waste a lot of ingredients and time. Thanks.
Julie
Sorry Cindy, did that reply wrong. I was looking at your post and typing to Lisa at the same time. I was thinking about your post because most wheat is still not GMO at this point. I use to think that as well and found out I was wrong. But you’re right, it is probably going that way. Most wheat is cross pollinized with other wheat varieties, but their DNA is not genetically modified. They cross different strains of wheat to create a shorter wheat stalk that can stand up in bad winds and other weather damage. Sometimes this happens unintentionally on farms when pastures of different varieties of plants are planted in neighboring fields.
Thank you for your reply Julie! May I ask where you have this information from? I try so hard to stay healthy and i read a lot about wheat. It is so hard to know the truth. I have several books from Dr. William Davis on the issues with wheat. Any recommendations on good, accurate articles? I’ve been killing myself trying to keep my family away from wheat. .ugh… for nothing?
http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-smoke-and-mirrors-behind-wheat-belly-and-grain-brain/
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/nutrition/article/should-you-worry-about-wheat
http://www.cbc.ca/news/wheat-belly-arguments-are-based-on-shaky-science-critics-say-1.2974214
http://www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2012/opendocuments/cfw-57-4-0177.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/115359242/WheatBelly-Diet-Dr-William-Davis-Ruled-a-Quack-Weight-Loss-Doctor-Lowcarb-Book-Author-now-considered-Health-Kook#scribd
http://www.cimmyt.org/en/what-we-do/wheat-research/item/no-scientific-basis-for-criticism-of-wheat-as-a-food-staple-nutritionist-says
http://wholegrainalice.com/2013/10/grain-brain-book-review/
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/grain
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/23/weight_loss_shocker_diet_books_are_lying_to_you/
“Genetically modified wheat is wheat that has been genetically engineered by the direct manipulation of its genome using biotechnology. As of 2015, no GM wheat is grown commercially, although many field tests have been conducted.”
Lisa, where is the butter in this? In your other biscuit recipes you use butter. In this recipe what takes the place of the butter. I was thinking it was the heavy cream, but the other recipes have milk or butter milk in addition to the butter so I am just a little confused. Don’t want to waste a lot of ingredients and time. Thanks.
Hi. The heavy cream makes up for it.
Ever since I discovered WW Pastry Flour, that’s all I use when anything calls for WW. It’s great!
I just made these this morning. They are quite tasty but mine turned out very crumbly. They don’t want to hold together when you spread butter on them. Did I do something wrong? I’ve been making biscuits for years and years but never tried them without butter or shortening (bad!). I figured the fat in the cream would replace the butter.
Hi there. Did you use heavy cream?
I used whipping cream, which seems to be all I can find in my town in Nova Scotia.
I tried these and my family of 7 devoured them! Next time I’ll make them thicker than 1/2 inch because we like to split them. Yummy!
Whole wheat pastry flour? Check! Added it to my shopping list. Can’t wait to try these! So few ingredients!
I was thinking that this recipe could be tweeked to make shortcakes as well by adding a little sweetener. I’ll give it a try.
We used these as shortcakes for strawberries and whipped cream. I didn’t change the recipe at all. The strawberries were sweet enough to compensate for the “plain” biscuit. Plus, I added a little maple syrup to the whipped cream. It was good!
We used ww pastry flour all the time – LOVE it! Good for you to make the discovery :)!
How fattening are these??
Hi. We aren’t really calorie counters and do not provide nutrition details. This post helps explain: This post helps explain why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
Per MFP, they are 118 calories each. Not bad. :)
This post came at the perfect time! I made your Whole Wheat biscuits last week for the first time and loved them fresh out of the oven. Unfortunately my family didn’t love them reheated later. So today I was at Whole Foods and picked up some Arrowhead Mills’ Pastry Flour. It didn’t call itself whole wheat but then the only ingredient listed is “Organic Whole Grain Soft Wheat Flour” (Please let me know if you think this might NOT be whole wheat! I will be sad but informed). Anyway, my reason for buying it was that I felt I might get a better result with biscuits, waffles, etc. I can’t wait to try this!
I have been subbing wwpf for all purpose flour in just about everything…no one even notices, but I know and feel better using it. Good stuff! And it does make delicious biscuits, for sure.
These were pretty good. My one daughter ate probably 4 of them. The dough was a little dry. I may have been heavy handed with the flour but I think next time I’ll add a bit more cream. I also don’t see why one couldn’t cut a bit of cold butter into the dough first?! Anyways, anytime I make muffins or waffles I use WW flour now because of you, it’s delicious!
I had to add more cream to my dough as well (maybe a couple of extra tablespoons), but I find I have to add a little extra milk to the regular 100 Days biscuit recipe as well.
I use wwpf all the time in most baked dessert recipes/ waffles/ muffins etc. Didn’t work so well for bread recipe. I discovered bobs red mill ivory wheat and that makes amazing ww bread! Give that a try.
Look forward to trying these cream biscuits anything with cream is good
Used wwpf in pancakes!! Turned out fabulous!! Can’t wait to try more!
These look absolutely delicious! I bet the whole wheat pastry flour gives them a much lighter and fluffier texture. Can’t wait to bake them and try out the pastry flour! Any recommendations on brand? Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Mara. King Arthur is a good choice.
very nice recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
A very delightful recipe with easy solution.. I will definitely try at home..
Haha! Yes whole wheat pastry flour is amazing, I think I use it more than regular whole wheat for its lightness! This sound wonderful :)
How do these compare to the whole wheat biscuits in your book? I’ve made those with whole wheat pastry flour and they are a huge hit — just curious about the difference in terms of consistency etc. THANKS!
Hi there. When using pastry flour for both, the texture is very similar.
No butter in the recipe? I wonder if this works…
No butter. The cream makes up for it. ;)
Butter is made from heavy cream and salt, the ingredients are equal.
As another commenter did, I used organic half and half instead of cream, plus scooped the batter right onto the cookie sheet “drop biscuit” style instead of patting out the dough. These biscuits were so quick and easy, plus delicious! My whole family ate them right up and I love how they are by far the fastest biscuit recipe I have seen. I get my whole wheat pastry flour in the bulk bins at Whole Foods for 99 cents per pound.
Is pastry flour the same as cake flour? Nothing in my stores is called pastry flour.
Hi. It is not quite the same. Pastry flour, I believe is higher in protein and gluten.
Pastry flour is low in protein and gluten. I don’t know about cake flour though. This is why you cannot make yeast breads with pastry flour… it doesn’t have the gluten structure to rise. It’s also why it makes such tender biscuits. If you overwork biscuit dough that has regular flour, the gluten develops too much and makes the biscuits tough.
Mine didn’t rise very much but they taste fantastic. What could I do to make them rise a little more? Also, I couldn’t find pastry flour so I used whole wheat flour.
Hi there. You will find they rise more with pastry flour.
I read this post just before heading out to shop at Sprouts; I decided to take a look while I was there, and not only did they have the Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, it was on sale for $4.99 per 5 lb bag!! (That’s $3 off the regular price at my store. The same bag on Amazon is $13-14 right now, yikes.) I was so excited, I bought two bags on the spot. :-) Looking forward to even fluffier biscuits, muffins, and scones!
Hi Lisa,
I tried to make these biscuits, and I’m not sure where I went wrong! I used heavy cream and wwpf, but they were incredibly sticky. I ended up doing them like drop biscuits, but I would love for them to look as pretty as yours. Any suggestions? I am at high altitude, but that shouldn’t affect the dough consistency, should it?
Hi Nikki. Mine were a little sticky, too but I used a bit of butter on my hands when shaping them. Worked like a charm. :) I wouldn’t worry too much about the shape, though, as long as you love the taste.
Hi Nikky,
I’m also at high altitude (6000 feet). Did you make any adjustments making these?
Wow! Just wow!
Have you tried freezing these biscuits? Would they freeze well?
Sure, they should freeze well.
I like this one more in comparative to last some post.. Really Good and easy recipe..
Thanks for sharing such a great post with us.
These biscuits are AMAZING and amazingly simple to make! I love your biscuits from your cookbook, but these are even more simple (no cutting butter into small chunks) and taste great even just plain by themselves! Love them!
I haven’t been able to find while wheat pastry flour- who makes it?
Thanks!!
There are several brands but King Arthur is the one I see most often. You can also purchase it online.
I found Sprouts brand whole wheat pastry flour at Sprouts.
Sorry, it’s actually Bob’s Red Mill brand, but I did buy it at Sprout’s.
In the bulk bins at winco aka windixie I found whole wheat pastry flour for ~0.76 a pound
Could the pastry flour be used in all of your muffin recipes?
It can. :)
These were not a hit at my house. My husband referred to them as dog biscuits. :( I think I should have added more cream. I didn’t think they were bad, but not good either.
Could I use white whole wheat flour?
You can but your texture will be different/not as light.
I keep whole-wheat pastry flour in the pantry instead of regular whole-wheat flour. I find it works as a better substitute for all-purpose flour in most recipes, and it makes wonderful cookies, brownies, and pancakes. I get mine from the bulk bins at my local co-op (New Orleans Food Co-op) because it is more perishable and I can buy just enough for a couple of weeks.
I’m going to try this recipe soon. Has anyone had luck using the soaking method with these biscuits?
Any vegan milk alternative? Coconut cream?
Yeah, give it a try and let us know. The flavor will somewhat be different, of course.
I’ve been experimenting with making whole wheat sourdough from scratch (fermenting a starter). I use whole wheat pastry flour alot instead of regular whole wheat but haven’t tried it with bread. Any thoughts on how it might help or hurt a sourdough starter?
Pastry flour will not work for a sourdough. It lacks the gluten needed to raise bread.
13 kids & 2 adults LOVED them ! Had them on the pan before the oven was preheated! Forgot to brush the tops, used goats milk (because I didn’t have enough heavy cream) doubled the recipe, greased the pan. Served with a dollop of peanut butter & honey. Cut in half beautifully !!!
Question – I’ve made these before and they were amazing! But just made them tonight and the had a very “tinny,” iron, salty taste to them. I double checked that I had the right amount of ingredients, and I confirmed that all my ingredients were still within expectation dates. (Only thing I couldn’t double check was my flour – It wasn’t in original bag). Any thoughts what could have gone wrong? Thanks!
A metalic taste is often rancid flour.
It could be that the kind of baking powder you use contains aluminum. Rumford specifically says “aluminum free”, and I make sure to use it in all of my whole wheat recipes because whole wheat typically calls for more leavening.
Followed the recipe exact and they were neither fluffy or any more moist than other biscuits. They were flat tasting and in shape.
I love your recipes and We (Alda and me) use organic vegetables and fruits. Google the (Dirty 12) All about food that is bad
How do you prepare the baking sheet for cooking? Butter and flour? Cooking spray?
I lightly grease with butter.
Has anyone used gluten free flour for this recipe and if so did it work?
Sorry. We have not tried this one with gluten free flour.
Hi, any ideas for dairy free substitute for heavy cream?
Do you mean non-dairy?
yep :)
My go-to is coconut cream but it does alter the flavor.
So freaking good! Woke my teenage son up to try one and expected a one word response. I got “can I have three more with jelly?” :):)
I have so far loved all your recipes, but this one didn’t work for me. For being so heavy, I expected it to taste better. It was kind of bland and the texture was mealy. I wonder if I did something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly. I’ll keep looking for a biscuit recipe. Thanks anyway, love all other recipes so far and your cook book :-)
These tasted great although I found the dough to be very wet and had a difficult time separating the squares. I used half and half instead of the heavy cream, would that make the difference? They were a hit in our house so the next time I make them I’d prefer the dough to be less wet and have them rise a bit more. Keep the great whole food recipes coming!
Hi. Half and half is thinner. Next time reserve a bit of the liquid until you have the consistency you desire.
Hi,
Once cooked and cooled down, can these be frozen, defrosted then eaten?
They can.
Hi, I’ve never made biscuits before. Should I use a non-stick baking sheet? Thanks!
I do not but I do lightly grease the baking sheet.
Just made these and they were amazing! I did nothing different. I’m definitely going to save these as my go-to biscuit recipe. These are a million times more delicious and just as flaky as Pillsbury Grands. Thank you!
It’s amazing and my son loved it… Thank you for the tasty recipe