These vegan pumpkin biscuits are lightly sweetened and filled with raisins and spices. It’s hard to believe they’re fat-free!
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 fat-free 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
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.
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Peggie
October 26, 2015 at 2:46 pmHas anyone tried to make these Gluten free?? I would love a recipe!!
Laura
November 14, 2022 at 6:53 amI have celiac, and my body can’t process fat. So this is my go-to blog for all things baking. I have successfully made a bunch of these recipes Gluten Free. The trick with GF baking though, is that you will always need more moisture than the recipe calls for. AND each GF flour blend is a little different, so you will need to adjust every recipe, every time, a little differently. Usually at the point I’m adding the liquid, I’ll add it, then let it sit for about 10 minutes and check then consistency (Because GF flour need a bit of time to soak in the liquid). Just add a little more liquid at a time until the consistency feels right for what you are making. (And FF/GF dough will ALWAYS be more wet then what is called for,)
My other trick: use sparkling water (Or for sweet things, ginger ale). for some of the liquid. The CO2 helps lighten things up.
So for this recipe, I used a good splash if ginger ale after it was mixed up until it was the correct consistency. The dough is too wet to roll, but I did drop biscuits (I’ve also cooked in a pie plate and just cut out slices). And they were AMAZING.
Hope that helps!
Jo Gardner
October 28, 2016 at 9:30 amWhen I first saw this I thought yeehaw finally a scone I can have. going to enjoy this one. thanks for post it. 🙂
Susan
November 16, 2017 at 5:25 pmI’ve been making Susan’s pumpkin biscuits for years. This was one of the first recipes I tried when I switched to a more healthy, vegan lifestyle. They are super-easy and delicious! A wonderful fall treat!
Alex
November 21, 2017 at 7:43 pmhi there! these look fantastic! was wondering if i could use coconut milk instead of soy milk? thanks in advance!
Susan Voisin
November 21, 2017 at 7:59 pmI haven’t tried them with coconut milk, but it probably will work.
Sue W
November 11, 2019 at 4:07 pmI have made these a couple of times and they are very dry.
Any idea what I am doing wrong?
Susan Voisin
November 11, 2019 at 6:09 pmTry adding a bit more pumpkin and be sure to stir as little as possible. But unfortunately, fat-free biscuits will be drier than regular.
April
November 16, 2019 at 11:48 amCan they be frozen? And pulled out for Holiday mornings?
Susan Voisin
November 16, 2019 at 12:08 pmI think they would freeze fine.
Shar
April 13, 2022 at 3:32 pmI’ve loved your recipe (I call Scones) for so long! (Love ALL of your recipes!) My daughter is visiting and I can’t wait to make them for her and for the rest of the family when we get together for Easter dinner! My daughter doesn’t use soy so I’m planning on using Almond milk. Will this still be fabulous?
Thanks for everything!!
Susan Voisin
April 15, 2022 at 2:10 pmAlmond milk is not as rich, but I think they’ll still be good. Happy Easter!