Biscuits or Cinnamon Rolls? Both.

For as long as I can remember, our family has enjoyed several pans of ooey gooey caramel pecan rolls every Christmas morning.  My Dad wakes up early, starts the dough, and about 10:00, out of the oven come a great big pan or two of pure heaven.

We also tend to enjoy fresh, homemade buttermilk biscuits on a fairly regular basis.  Sometimes we eat them with chicken gravy, sometimes with honey, sometimes with homemade boysenberry jam.  Any of those choices are quite tasty.

If you have never made biscuits from scratch,--really from scratch, you know, using flour and butter and buttermilk-- you really ought to give it a try.  Once you give it a try, you might be hooked.

Anyway, what does all of this biscuit talk have to do with cinnamon rolls?  Well, I recently decided to combine the two (yes I MAY have been inspired by that ever famous giggling dough-boy found in the refrigerator section at the grocery store).  I have made these a few times, and they are quite yummy.  So, here goes:

First, make biscuit dough (this is my families favorite recipe, but if this totally overwhelms you, use a mix!):

mix:

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

cut in:

1/4 cup butter

add and mix until just combined:

3/4 cup buttermilk

Gather together:

1/3 cup butter melted (I know I know it's a lot of butter, I apologize to your cholesterol and notice I said I only make these occasionally)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 T and 1 T cinnamon

coarsely chopped nuts (pecans are best) if desired

Now here comes the fun part.  On a floured surface, roll out your biscuit dough into a rectangular shape about 1/4-1/3 inch thick.  

Brush the dough with a little bit of the butter.

Sprinkle the dough with a few tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 T of cinnamon.

Pour the remaining melted butter into a square glass, metal or stone baking dish (I actually use a small rectangular dish but it must be smaller than 9x13)  Sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar, the cinnamon and the nuts in the pan.

Roll the dough along the longest edge.

 

 

Cut the dough into pinwheels and arrange in the pan with space between.  This is biscuit dough, so it is rather delicate and soft. If you have any breakage just patch it together as best as you can.

Bake in a 450 degree preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.  Notice how the biscuits expands as they cook, so all the spaces are filled in.

Remove from oven, and immediately invert the pan onto foil lined cook sheet.

Serve!  I hope you enjoy.