Maple Swirl Biscuits

Golden, sweet and delicious maple swirl biscuits. They have the consistency of a scone and the swirl of a cinnamon bun !

With fall fast approaching my eagerness to bake fall goodies has taken over. With that comes my love of apples, pears, gingerbread, and fluffy biscuits fresh from the oven. Maple syrup is a wonderful sweetener and a great way to liven up your typical biscuit. These ones have maple syrup both in the batter as well as in the glaze. Swirled to resemble that of a cinnamon bun, these biscuits are a refreshing change !

I was initially worried that rolling out the dough and then rolling it up into a log would be a challenge but on the contrary, the dough was amazing to work with. It wasn't crumbly and after a bit of kneading it was smooth and very easy to work with.

The filling is nothing more than butter, apple pie spice and raisins. I have always been a scone and biscuit fan but these really raised the bar. Light, flaky and perfectly sweetened - try them, you won't be disappointed.

LET'S GET BAKING !

Sliced and ready for the baking sheet

Drizzled with butter


Fresh from the oven

RECIPE:
*altered source: Maple Swirl Biscuits, Fall Baking, Better Homes and Gardens

WHAT YOU NEED

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, grated
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup maple sugar or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon apple pie spice (or sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter, melted

GLAZE
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon maple extract
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon milk or more to reach desired drizzle consistency

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 375F
LINE a cookie sheet with parchment paper ensuring an overhang of paper on both short sides
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 4 ingredients
ADD grated butter and blend in with fingers until resembles coarse crumbs
MAKE well in center and add milk and maple syrup
COMBINE with a fork until ball of dough forms
TRANSFER dough to a floured work surface
KNEAD gently 12 times
ROLL OUT to 14 x 10 inch rectangle
SPREAD softened butter over top of rolled dough
SPRINKLE with sugar, spices and scatter with raisins
ROLL out starting at a long side
CUT into 12 equal slices
ARRANGE on cookie sheet
DRIZZLE with melted butter
BAKE 18-22 minutes or until golden
GRASPING edges of parchment paper, transfer biscuits to cooling rack

MAKE DRIZZLE

COMBINE all glaze ingredient until smooth
DRIZZLE with spoon over warm biscuits

This are fantastic warm. To reheat, just pop in the microwave for 15 seconds on HIGH power.

ENJOY !

Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Cupcakes

No need to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy pecan pie. This pecan pie is in the form of a delicious cupcake topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting. One bite and you will be hooked. They are moist, delicious and full of incredible rich, sweet flavor. Let's face it - these are perfect for winter, summer, spring or fall!

I recently purchased my first e-book and wouldn't you know it, it is a cupcake cookbook. But better still, it is a gluten-free cupcake cookbook and it is filled with incredible and easy to make heavenly sweet recipes.

This recipe is perfect for you if you love the taste of pecan pie but prefer something less gooey and not as tooth-achingly sweet. And if you are like me, a cupcake addict, that it is a perfect way to feed that addiction.

My new fave cookbook is Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Elena Amsterdam.

I have her original cookbook too, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and love it to bits but I think this one may top it! So many wonderful recipes to choose from. I decided to test out the pecan pie cupcake recipe even though it listed one ingredient I simply didn't have on hand: Yacon Syrup. So instead I substituted molasses and maple syrup. The combination worked!

Yesterday I made her Strawberry Cupcakes, or rather used it as a base recipe and then really changed things around resulting in Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting. That recipe used solely coconut as its GF flour. This one though uses mostly almond flour with a couple of tablespoons of coconut flour. Luckily I did have almond flour on hand. I always do.

A few other changes: I halved her cream cheese frosting recipe because her 11 cupcakes ended up being 8 for me. I figured less cupcakes = less frosting and I was right. I also added Whip It to the whipped cream part of the frosting to ensure it stabilized properly and didn't separate after piping. Sure enough, it stood up to the test of time.

LET'S GET STARTED!

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe: Pecan Pie Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Gluten Free Cupcakes by Elena Amsterdam

WHAT YOU NEED

CUPCAKE

1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped

FROSTING

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon Whip It! whipping cream stabilizer
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey (feel free to add an extra tablespoon if you like a sweeter frosting)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 350F
LINE 8 muffin cups with paper liners

IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together first 4 cupcake dry ingredients
IN MEDIUM BOWL, whisk together remaining ingredients except pecans
POUR WET ingredients into dry ingredients and mix on MED speed with handheld electric beater until thoroughly combined
FOLD in chopped pecans
WITH ICE CREAM SCOOP fill each liner 3/4 full with batter
BAKE 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few moist crumbs
REMOVE immediately from pan
LET COOL completely at room temperature
FROSTING

IN MEDIUM BOWL, combine cream and Whip It!
WITH HAND HELD ELECTRIC BEATER, whip until stiff peaks form
IN SEPARATE BOWL, beat cream cheese and honey until smooth and no lumps are remaining
ADD whipped cream into cream cheese mix and fold gently until combined
PIPE onto cupcakes

SPRINKLE frosted cupcakes with chopped pecans or cinnamon

Elana sprinkles the finished tops with chopped pecans.
I liked the look and flavor of sprinkled cinnamon instead.
So there you have it - Pecan Pie Cupcakes!

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