I used to love biscuits. I was raised on my mom’s Bisquick biscuits and sometime during college graduated to baking and devouring Southern-style biscuits made with White Lily flour and lots of butter or margarine. Living alone in my tiny student apartment, I would bake up batches of huge, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits on the weekend and eat them all by myself, and it didn’t take long before I developed huge, fluffy thighs to match.
Fast forward x-number of years (I don’t want to think about how fast that time went!) Today I firmly believe that all that white flour and fat isn’t good for me, my thighs, or my arteries. So I rarely make biscuits. I could indulge in a biscuit or two for an occasional treat, but the truth is, I don’t want to re-develop a taste for them. And since it’s the fat that gives biscuits their light, flaky texture, fat-free biscuits just don’t have the same texture, no matter what you do.
But if you’re not expecting them to be lighter than air, it is possible to make biscuits that are a new type of comfort food, tasty and filling without fat or white flour. For these biscuits, I’ve replaced the fat with pumpkin puree, and though they they’re not going to float off the plate, you definitely won’t break a tooth biting into them. In keeping with my goal of making them as healthy as possible, I didn’t use any sugar at all; raisins provide the only sweetening, so if you want to sweeten them up, you can top them with icing, as in the photos (that’s the orange icing from Chocolate-Orange Cake). But D, who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, preferred them plain, and E and I liked them spread with apple butter or drizzled with agave nectar for a sweet yet more natural taste.
Fat-Free Pumpkin and Raisin Biscuits
If you want to make the dough itself a little sweeter, substitute agave nectar for a couple tablespoons of the soy milk. Or, if you want sweetness without calories, try adding a little stevia or your favorite sweetener to the batter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup pumpkin (canned or cooked, pureed, and drained)
- 1/2 cup plain soy milk (plus additional, as needed)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and lightly oil a non-stick baking sheet. Mix the dry ingredients together well (flour through raisins). Add the pumpkin and mix until crumbly (do not overmix). Combine the soymilk and lemon juice and add it, stirring until a soft dough forms. If all flour is not moistened, add additional soymilk a teaspoon at at time until dough forms a ball.
- Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and sprinkle the top lightly with flour. Roll out about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 1 1/2-2-inch wide biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour, press straight down without twisting to cut into 12-15 biscuits.
- Place the biscuits, sides lightly touching, on the oiled sheet. Bake until tops are lightly browned, 9-11 minutes. Serve hot.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 14
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 75 calories, 5 calories from fat, less than 1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 203.7mg sodium, 123.2mg potassium, 16.1g carbohydrates, 2.8g fiber, 2.2g sugar, 2.9g protein, 1 points.
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{ 74 comments… read them below or add one }
These look absolutely divine! Definitely a starred recipe.
These look great! I love raisins in my baked goods.
This is a very exciting recipe! I love this alternative to buttery biscuits (my thighs will thank me as well!) Can't wait to try this.
Yum! I love anything that has pumpkin in it. These will be a nice change from the many batches of pumpkin muffins I will make this winter.
These sound delicious. I love all things biscuit and pumpkin. Since I recently tried the ropes of fresh pumpkin cooking, I'm pretty confident that these will soon be baked up for dinner. Yummy!
These biscuits sound wonderful, and as usual, lovely photographs as well!
Just out of curiosity? How did you prepare the icing?
Can't wait to try these. they seem more like scones.
But my son doesn't like raisins. How do you think these would be with dried cranberries?
mmmmm i already know i'll love them!
Might almond milk be used in place of soy milk?
Sarita, the (easy)icing comes from my Chocolate-Orange Cake recipe; there's a link in the post.
MamaDog, if you like dried cranberries, then give them a try.
Janell, sure! Use whatever kind of non-dairy milk you prefer.
these look wonderful! just might have to surprise the family with some biscuits tonight. My favorite part about this recipe — I have all the ingredients handy!
Gorgeous, Susan!
They look like the perfect texture to me! And I love that photo of pouring the glaze–stunning.
These look YUM & delicious.can't wait to try this.
AH YES!!! These look amazing!! I shall try these tomorrow!! Sorry if this is a stupid question I'm new to baking, what did you use for the icing? Like what recipe or did you buy it??
Ooh oops you already mentioned the icing haha I skimmed through the blog in excitement and didn't take the time to actually read it lol!!
One word comes to mind- YUM! Thank you for this recipe. I may make it and feature it in my blog next week… it depends on how mine turn out.
I need to adjust for elevation issues, but I am excited to try these, especially because my husband grew up in the south and has been missing biscuits since we made the lifestyle switch.
Hi Susan,
These look delicious–and thanks so much, too, for the gluten-free link, too, for those of us who need it. Cindalou's recipe looks good, too!! I'll put these on my "to try" list. .
moonwatcher
In the recipe file. I think I just ate my comptuer screen.
These sound great. Would whole wheat pastry flour work as well as the white whole wheat flour?
Mark, I don't like whole wheat pastry flour quite as much as the white whole wheat, but it's the next best thing.
I feel like I've just stumbled upon a goldmine with this recipe!! I MUST have it! I'm thinking about subbing dried cranberries for the raisins, since I have some, but they sounds so good either way! I could even do some sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin…the possiblities are endless! Great job with this one, Susan V!!
Those sound really nice!! Some agave with them sounds perfect
Wow, that looks delicious! And I love the orange icing you are pouring over it, that would take this treat to the next level I am sure!
these look incredidble, and the addition of raisins is such a sweet, surprise!!
It look amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Oh my! Those look yummy! I never thought of putting pumpkin in a biscuit recipe. Brilliant! (Pumpkin is one of my all-time fav foods)
Just made these… Very nice! I used regular whole wheat flour + rice milk and it turned out fine
Yum! Awesomely seasonal with the Pumpkin
Oh Susan these look wonderful! Now I know what I want to bake for the family Christmas morning =)
Honestly, I'm not sure if I can wait that long! I might just have to take advantage of a lazy morning and give these a shot!
I can't seem to find white whole wheat flour. Can I blend wheat and white? Perhaps a 50/50 mix? If not what other substitute can I use?
I am totally making these!! Pumpkin is my favorite and so nice that these are low fat!!! They look absolutely amazing (except the raisins…I've never been a fan of raisins)
check out my blog!! I am giving a way an autographed Paula Deen Cookbook!!!
Cookteen.blogspot.com
with love and cupcakes,
CookTeen
Hi Susan
Thank you for this simple recipe which won't have shortening. But did it have a pumpkin flavor? I might not add raisins since I would like to eat it with a spicy curry.
Thank you
They have only a very light pumpkin flavor, and I think they would be terrific with a spicy curry.
I love your posts! GOOD food indeed. i'm now making a list of healthy meals to prepare for my kids. thanks for sharing your recipes.
My biscuits were never "lighter than air" anyway so I'm sure a heavier biscuit will not be a probelm for me! Thanks so much for this recipe. I have all the ingredients and will give them a try.
These are perfect! Made them yesterday, and I'm already jonesing for more. Thank you!
Hi Susan,
I have a question for you. Kinda not related to the biscuits…but also kinda related.
Lately when I make a vegan/gluten free loaf, muffin or other baked good…it tastes great for 2 days and then gets funky tasting. Almost rancid. Doesn't matter what type…pumpkin, apple, ginger etc.
I use gluten free flour, xantham gum and paneriso egg replacer in each of these. Could it be onoe of these things that makes it go bad?
I'm getting REALLY frustrated.
Help!
The pumpkin flavor is very light, as you said. Is it possible to add more pumpkin without increasing the amount of flour?
Also, can I use black chocolate chips in lieu of the raisins?
Thanks a lot!
Azahara, for the pumpkin, try substituting some of the soymilk with additional pumpkin. ANd since everything tastes better with chocolate, I say go for it!
I confess, with each new FFV post I invariably want to step right into your photos, snarf up all the food, steal most of your dishes, raid your garden, and just basically be adopted by you. Would that be a problem?
Happy Halloween!
Delish!
Congrats on your win with VegNews.
Stefania (formerly The Veg Next Door)
I love this healthier version of biscuits you've created!
Do you think this would work substituting pumpkin for carrot or apple purrée? I've had the unfortunate experience of letting my pumpkin purrée rot in the fridge during my flu days.
CharlieBean, I know apple puree will work, and carrot puree might work, but I can't make any promises. Hope you're feeling better!
Great recipe! I made these biscuits only omitting the raisins. They were simply devine and guilt free! I used pumpkin puree that was chilled in the refrigerator, and I felt that it gave the dough a more of a "biscuit" moistness.
I've been stalking your blog for a long time (and making many of your recipes), but this one is so fantastic I actually had to post. Thank you a hundred times over for creating such delicious and sin-free fare.
I just made my second batch, substituting chopped candied ginger for the raisins. Absolutely delicious.
These biscuits are truly divine when they are warm straight out of the oven. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I made these last night, and WOW!
I cut them in half and served them with apple and pear fruit spread and a blob of soya yogurt – like an English cream tea, but none of the guilt!
Thanks for the recipe!
I made these tonight. They are very good!
I am trying to find diffrent things to feed my kids for breakfast. We don’t eat any premade boxed cereal and they don’t want oatmeal every day. I am hoping they will like these.
I used 100% organic whole wheat flour instead or the white wheat flour and I used 1tsp of cinnimon instead of the 1 1/4 tsp.
And I didn’t add the sauce.
I just made these as a post-thanksgiving breakfast treat. I ended up needing quite a lot of extra soymilk (I’d estimate just shy of 3 tbsp) but otherwise, the recipe worked great for me. I also made “drop biscuits” as I’m too lazy to bother will rolling out any sort of dough. My family definitely needed the sugar icing to go with them (perhaps we are all just sugar addicts) but agreat recipe for leftover pumpkin.
Yum. Came across this recipe today and decided to use up some leftover vegan pumpkin pie filling. Doubled the recipe since I had a cup and used a mix of dried cranberries and dried apples. Mine were very spicy, since the pie filling had spices plus I added the ones in the recipe. Topped them with a bit of demera sugar. Still not super sweet but very tasty. Thanks!
Oh, my dear goodness! I’m going to be making these today!!!!
I’m definitely going to be trying these! They sound like a super treat for us (a trying-to-be-former-fatty and a diabetic)! Thanks!
Soooo yummy! I subbed cherry Craisins for the raisins and topped them before baking with coarse sugar and pumpkin pie spice. I left off the icing since I was feeling lazy. They got so crispy (but not burnt) on the bottom, and so floofy in the middle. Delicious!
My boyfriend (who claims he can’t bake) made these last night to use up some leftover canned pumpkin we had in the fridge. We had them with earth balance and blackberry preserves. Yum and thank you!
I am SO going to make these!! I have already made several batches of your recent recipe: Banana Walnut Date Muffins, and I’m ADDICTED to them!! In fact, I decided that those shouldn’t really be called muffins. So I crossed out the word ‘muffin’, and wrote Banana Walnut Date Mini Bread Loaves! Cut in half, spread on a little Earth Balance, only because there’s no fat in the recipe, so I indulged in the fat
and it tastes like the old fashioned banana bread my neighbor used to make and bring to church potlucks!! I need to buy some dairy-free cream cheese to spread on it, then I’ll really be in heaven!! I also plan on using a mini muffin tin to make another batch of them, and call them Banana Walnut Date Mini Bread Bites!!
Can’t wait to do the same for this Pumpkin recipe….ohhhh I’m taking a trip to the neighbor’s farm stand and gettin’ me some pie pumpkins today!!!
Thanks so much for the recipes!!!!
Just made these for Canadian Thanksgiving. Love them!
We were wondering if we made them bigger – say for instance to get 6 total from the dought – any idea how long we’d have to bake them?
Thanks for everything! Love your blog.
I’ve never tried making them that big. You’d have to experiment to see how big you could make them and not have them burn on the outside before they cook on the inside.
I just made these. They smell fantastic. But I wonder whether I did something wrong. They are flat, and the color is not at all the same–very light. The tops did not seem to want to brown. They are a bit hard, too. The only thing I did differently was use allspice in place of the ground cloves. They still taste good though!! Any feedback about what might have gone wrong would be so greatly appreciated, as I have lots more pumpkin and would like to try the recipe again. Alyssa
I’m sorry they didn’t come out right. I really don’t know why they didn’t brown or rise or why they’re hard. The rising is controlled by the baking powder and soda, so is it possible that one of them was old or something? Mine were brownish just because of the pumpkin, so im not sure what was up with yours. I hope they were edible, though!
hey! just an fyi, i made them with wholewheat spelt flour, and they worked great! for anyone out there who is wheat-free its a great substitute.
MMMMMM,…these vegan pumpkin & raisin biscuits were ooh so delightful!
I already have made them like your original recipe & the 2nd time I used dried cranberries instead of the raisins!
You have a very cool foodblog!
Many greetings from a foodie from Belgium!
I made these with the drop biscuit method and patted them to the desired thickness with my finger tips. This makes for a more tender biscuit than rolling them out. Also, I used non-stick liners to avoid oiling the pans.
Hi there, just made these this morning but replaced pumpkin with zucchini & the soy milk with my home made oat milk.
Turned out wonderfully; more like, what we call in England, a scone.
I totally agree with you Neil, i tried it with zuchinni. Having just recently discovered the world of vegan fat free cooking I’m totally inspired by this website and all the additional comments really help! Would love to learn how to make oat milk it sounds delicious please share?
These are way too good. Made a batch this morning and have already eaten three of them. This is definitely not something I will be able to make often if I want to watch my waisteline. Thank you for a wonderful tasting, healthy recipe. My house smells wonderful from all the spices.
I made these today with sweet potato and they are amazing!! Thank you so much for making the low fat vegan lifestyle easy and delicious!
I can’t seem to find the “print” button for this recipe though I’ve found it easily on others. Thanks
Trish, for some reason, it’s missing. Give me a few minutes and ill add it for you. Thanks for letting me know!
When you click the link to Cindalou’s Kitchen recipe in this article you are sent to her website but her site contains malware (a virus) that will infect your computer. Google stopped me from going to the site before my computer got infected. You may want to let Cindalou know about this.
Thanks. I’ve removed that link.
I made these for breakfast and they were amazing, i topped them with lots of sucanet/earth balance caramel and they were delicious! I’m thinking of substuting other mashed foods in for pumpkin like sweet potato… mmm
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