Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Biscuit Baking Mix Day

My mother always baked from scratch.

And did she ever love to bake: cakes, pies, cobblers, fruit dumplings, drop biscuits, rolled biscuits, shortbread, gingerbread. You name it, she could, and did, bake it.

From scratch. Uless it was pancakes.

There always seemed to be a box of Bisquick in the cupboard as I was growing up and so far as I can remember, she always made pancakes with it. I haven't a clue why. Maybe my sisters can shed some light on the mystery.

At any rate, so did I, make pancakes from Bisquick, until, somewhere in my twenties, I found a recipe for scratch pancakes in a very old Better Homes and Gardens cook book and learned that they didn't have to be salty.

Since that light-bulb day, I've not used Bisquick or any pre-mixed biscuit mix. Ever. Not only because of the high salt content of the mix, but especially because of the load of trans-fats it packs.

So I've been faced with a bit of a dilemma: I wanted to participate in my blogger friend Mimi's Biscuit Baking Mix Day to show my support for her event and the reason behind it, but I HATE biscuit mixes, salty Bisquick in particular.

Well wouldn't you know, while shopping yesterday, with no intention whatsoever of picking up a box biscuit mix, I spied Bisquick Heart Smart Baking Mix. Intrigued, I found that no trans-fats lurk within this mix and the sodium content seems to be within reasonable limits.

You got it - into my cart, home to my kitchen and now, into what I think is a quite respectable (for having come out of a box) and tasty down home berry cobbler.

Whodathunk?

Going through my old yellow recipe box, I found a recipe card that my mother must have clipped from the back of a box of Bisquick (more mystery). So not only have I used Bisquick in my recipe, I adapted one of their own recipes to do it. What a hoot.

Now before you go thinking I'm going to start baking with biscuit mixes, think again. This is a one-time deal.
Wel l l l l, maybe I'll try some pancakes. Mr. CC would like that.

Mimi, my friend, this one's for you.


Blackberry Cobbler
Adapted by Christine from a General Mills Peach Cobble-up recipe
Ingredients:
For the batter:
2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick baking mix
2/3 cups milk
1 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 2 tablespoons brown sugar)
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


For the fruit:
3 1/2 cups blackberries, frozen (Mine were from last Fall's harvest)
2 tablespoons Pomegranates au Merlot sauce
1/4 cup Splenda granular (or 1/4 cup regular sugar)
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice


Preparation:
Fruit:
Place the berries in a large saucepan over medium low heat.
Stir in the pomegranate-merlot sauce, Splenda and lemon juice until fully blended.
Keep over low heat until the berries soften and juice forms in the pan. (I ended up with 2/3 cup of juice, 1 cup would be better.)
Remove from heat and set aside.

Batter:
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until fully mixed. The batter will be a bit on the stiff side.
Place batter in a buttered 8x8-inch dish.

Using a slotted spoon, place the berries on top of the batter.
Slowly pour the berry juice mixture over the top of it all and place the pan in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed with your finger. (The recipe said to bake it in a 400-degree oven for 40 minutes, but that was too long.)

When done, remove to a wire rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature. A scoop of good vanilla ice cream would be nice.



Did I like it?

Yup.










Copyright 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved. No content from this site, including text and photos, may be copied, re-located or otherwise reproduced, in part or in full, for personal or monetary gain, without the express permission of the administrator/owner.

10 comments:

  1. I am so happy to hear you found Heart Smart in your area, Christine, so you could participate. Your photos are stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The old is new again. Wonderful cobbler!
    Even your mom's recipe - absolutely perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks really scrumptious Christine.
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Does that look good.
    I have been know to pass up chocolate for berries!
    I didn't know you could make pancakes without Bisquick!
    (My mother was a baker, too. Made pies at the drop of a hat!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Mimi. And thanks for having this event.

    Tanna,
    One of these days I'll post my mother's peach cobbler. Made from scratch.

    Thanks Anne! I see your comments popping up on many another blog these days. Good for you! When are you going to start your own?

    Katie,
    Why pass up chocolate when you can eat it with berries!
    And I'll bet those pie crusts were made with Crisco. Lord, I cringe when I think of all the pies I made following my mother's pie crust recipe, until I learned about trans-fats. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a delicious looking cobbler!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, I've just read several postings at a stretch, including the About Me profile written a year ago, and I just have to say that my sister is amazing! The composition of her writing and her photos is just wonderfully balanced and pleasing. And I can tell you that her cooking tastes as good as it looks in those beautiful photos! I am so glad that she takes the time to write this blog, and that I've taken the time to read it. I actually feel like I've gotten to know her better, and appreciate her more than ever! Yay Fris!!! Love, Cyn
    PS: a big Yay! for Mr. CC too; the kitchen looks wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. In answer to your question Christine I don't think I could think of enough to talk about!!!? Or what subject? You never know when I retire I might think about it.
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, Cynthia! Thank you so much for those accolades. You make me smile all over. :))
    I'll tell Mr. CC "Yay" from you.

    Anne,
    I'll bet you'll think of something!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by! I will do my best to respond to your comments and questions so feel free to write to me here. Sorry for the comment moderation but it helps to keep the spammers at bay.