Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

 

-Sugar Ray Robinson
1921-1989, Professional Boxer

So I love biscuits. I even made biscuits and gravy (and eggs) on vacation in Oregon recently in our room that had a small kitchen. That's sounds crazy to some people to cook on vacation, but our room was right on the river with a porch to sit outside. So who wants to leave and drive 15 minutes each way to a mediocre breakfast, (I did some research about restaurants in the area, and it was slim pickins) when I'm perfectly capable of making something yummy myself in the room?

Mix the flour and sugar

 

To make biscuits and gravy on vacation, you just need a few things: Bisquick, milk, sausage, butter for buttering them if you wish, (and to cook the eggs), and eggs on the side. If you grew up with your mom using Bisquick, then you know you can make drop biscuits by only adding milk to the mix. Mix together milk and Bisquick, and drop them on a baking sheet and voila! You have biscuits. To make sausage gravy, you cook up your sausage, add a few tablespoons of Bisquick, and add milk and you have sausage gravy. (By the way, both of those recipes are right on the back of the box.)

 

The biscuits, are decent, they are good, not bad. The gravy is fantastic.

 

Add the cream and mix (Seriously it's that easy)

 

But here's the point. (Finally.) Instead of buying Bisquick for vacation biscuits, you can buy self rising flour, and cream instead of milk, and have these Cream Biscuits!!! Which are fabulous!! They are light as a feather, and delicate, and really delicious. With the exact same amount of work.

 

Isn't that amazing?

 

Form a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick, (I just wanted to get this done, so it's not perfect.)

There is also a tablespoon of sugar in these, but you should have packets of sugar in the room for your coffee.

You don't even need a biscuit cutter because you can just cut them into squares. And seriously, you can have biscuits in the oven in just a few minutes, I'm not kidding you.

Put them on a Silpat, or parchment, and bake (yeah, not really perfect squares, but who cares.)

When I made these, I was craving bread and sugar, it was that kind of day. But I didn't want to work for it. So I made these and I didn't, (well hardly any work.)

 I had seen over the years Southern people posting recipes about chocolate gravy and biscuits, and how their grandmother would make it for them. How it's something they grew up eating. Whenever I read these stories I wish I was from the South.



While they are cooking (10 minutes ish) make the chocolate gravy, it will be done by the time they come out of the oven.

If you've never eaten chocolate gravy, it's like a thinner version of chocolate pudding. I got my recipe from who else? The Southern queen herself, Paula Deen. I read in the comments, people so happy to have the recipe since they ate it as a child. They said, "You must put butter on the biscuit first before pouring on the gravy." Say no more. I not going to fight with tradition.

Right out of the oven

If you can't get your mind around chocolate gravy and biscuits, just think of it this way. Other cultures have eaten bread and chocolate for years. The French have chocolate croissants. I also read that a popular after school snack in France is slices of a baguette with some dark chocolate on top. A chocolate sandwich. The Southern and the French sure know how to eat.

 

Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

Both recipes adapted by ones from Paula Deen. Paula's Cream Biscuits, Paula's Chocolate Gravy.

Ingredients for Cream Biscuits

 2 cups (200 g.) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting (or if you only have regular flour, mix in 2 tsp. baking powder and 3/4 tsp. salt into the same amount of all purpose flour)

 

1 tablespoon sugar

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml.) heavy whipping cream - don't substitute. You need to fat from the cream since there is no other fat (butter or shortening) in this recipe

 

 

Directions for Biscuits

 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, 240 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 9.

 

Mix together the flour and the sugar with a whisk. Add the cream and stir with a spoon until the dough comes together. Pat out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 12 squares and place on the Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

 

While they are baking make the Chocolate Gravy, below.

 

Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes. Until they are done inside, and are slightly browned.

 

Serve with chocolate gravy if you wish, recipe below.

 

 

Chocolate Gravy Ingredients

 

3 Tablespoons butter

 

2/3 cup (115 g.) sugar

 

2-3 Tablespoons flour ( Paula's recipe calls for 2, but next time I make this I will use 3 because I want mine a little thicker.)

 

1/3 cup (28 g.) cocoa powder

 

2 cups (473 ml) whole milk

 

 

Directions for making chocolate gravy

 

In a saucepan on medium high heat, place butter. When butter melts, add sugar, flour and cocoa and stir. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to remove lumps. Stir constantly until it becomes thick. Be careful, (don't walk away) it can scorch easily. When it's thick remove it from the heat and serve by pouring it over buttered biscuits.