May 7, 2013
updated
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I like to bake and test my recipes on the weekends… So I have to give it to my family, they’ve eaten a lot of scones and biscuits lately. Some scones were more biscuit like, while some biscuits were complete flops.
Not all biscuits are created equal; and when it comes to biscuits my family likes them big and soft, like the Homestyle Grands! Honey Wheat in the blue tube.
I suppose popping one of those familiar blue tubes is an easy task… but I’m telling you to trust me on this one. If you can measure flour, you can make these delicious honey wheat biscuits in about 5-7 minutes – the oven does the rest.
Ok, maybe you are already saying… “I don’t have a biscuit cutter” and.. Ok ok. stop it. Stop talking yourself out of making something from scratch because it might be a little challenging at first. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter use a drinking cup or glass to cut these. They are supposed to be BIG, remember? Now, where were we. Oh yes. Will you just look at them up close?
My husband introduced me to the blue tube years ago. In his single days, he used to scramble eggs and make biscuit, bacon and cheese breakfast sandwiches. The big homestyle honey wheat biscuits were our favorite. They were hugely delicious and they provided a filling weekend breakfast.
This was, of course, before I began focusing on eating foods with only real ingredients. For the longest time, I didn’t bake that much. But now, we have freshly ground wheat and 3 kids who love baked goods… so I’ve come to love baking on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
It’s a good thing that I have the cutest taste testers in the world, don’t you think?
Making biscuits, waffles, amazing pancakes or scones is how I slow down from a week filled with deadlines, meal planning and projects. I am pretty sure my husband and kids appreciate me doing so, even if they don’t often say it.
During the week, I sometimes feel like I am rushing through the days and my mind can’t unplug from work-mode. This is partially my fault, I have a lot of projects on my plate and way too many deadlines in my calendar. I often remind myself that being an entrepreneur isn’t easy; add motherhood to that and it can be exhausting.
I’ve gotten better about asking for help. I finally feel like I have a great team of contributors over at MOMables that I can count on and delegate some things to. My husband has finally taken over our personal and my company’s finances and that’s another thing off my long to-do list. Note: he would like me to say that I have finally surrendered and admitted that I needed his help. Ok, fine. You could say that…considering I accidentally forgot to pay every house bill during the month of February–oh yes, I did.
So, when I tell you that I’ve embraced the kitchen and baking… it’s the truth. I need it! Plus, once I get the ingredients out of the pantry it’s just a matter of minutes since my stand mixer does the heavy work. Check out how easy they are to make in this quick video:
Go ahead, whip a batch -or two- of these biscuits, spread some butter and honey on them, and come back and thank me later.
Oh, and in case you were wondering… they are totally Superhero approved.
I caught Alex licking his lips telling his sister: these look delicious Sofia! Poor kid. If he only knew his mom was snapping away…
Pillsbury Grands Honey Wheat Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons very cold salted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt, ONLY if using unsalted butter
- ¾ cups of milk
- 2 tablespoons honey, optional
- Additional milk for brushing the tops
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour and baking powder. Stir together.
- Using a cheese grater, shred the butter and add the shreds into the bowl. For this reason, I always store a few sticks of butter in the freezer.
- Using your hands, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it’s crumbly and evenly combined.
- Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the milk and honey. Stir the flour mixture into the milk until a dough forms. Don’t over-mix.
- Sprinkle some flour on your counter and hand knead the dough. Add additional flour until the dough is no longer “sticky”.
- Roll dough with a rolling pin to about an inch thick. Cut the dough with 2-inch biscuit cutter (or the top of a large glass). After the 4th biscuit you might need to re-shape and roll your dough; but this recipe will yield 6 large biscuits.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Line up the six biscuits evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
- Brush the tops with milk and bake 13-15 minutes until a light golden brown.
Notes
For Gluten Free: I use Cup4Cup all purpose or Better Batter Baking Mix. I replace it 1:1 with the flour ratio in the recipe and add about 1 tablespoon additional.
Kaylee
Absolutely delicious!! Using this recipe for breakfast, or soup!!!
This is a keeper, writing it into my recipe box 🙂 also SUPER quick and easy!
Chanel
Is it possible to make a shelf stable rolled biscuit dough like the store-bought version?
Laura Fuentes
No, but you can freeze these before baking and then bake them when needed.
Susan
Decided to make these at 8:30 pm after coming across the recipe. Hubby was a bit dubious. I don’t consider myself much of a baker but did find this easy. I grated my frozen stick of butter which made hubby even more dubious. Once I pulled them out of the oven he demanded to try a warm biscuit and was dubious no more. He already had plans for breakfast using them. Great recipe and for once I actually watched the video attached which showed the grating of the butter. I know it has white flour in it, but liked that the recipe also used whole wheat flour. Delish.
Laura Fuentes
I am so glad these made your husband a convert, Susan! Thank you for trusting me to make them.
Nancy
can i make them a day ahead? How to serve them on the day?
Thanks.
Laura Fuentes
yes, you can make them the day before. I would toast them or warm them the next day. Enjoy!
Joyce Hodge
I have searched for and purchased the Grands Whole Wheat Biscuits (tube) for years – and as time passed, found them harder to find. Finally I wrote to Pillsbury and asked their customer service area, why I could not find them any longer. Their reply was, they are not making them anymore. So, when I searched online and found your recipe (as a substitute) – I jumped on it and today, gave your recipe a try.
The result is positive – they taste great and outside of a little imperfection of my size/shape, etc. – yours tastes exactly the same. I ended up making a few alterations to your processes. Halfway through shredding the frozen butter, I decided to just cut the butter into small pieces then use my pastry cutter. It took a little longer – but next time I will use just refrigerated butter with the pastry cutter. The temp and baking time was okay. I didn’t use parchment paper, but rather a baking sheet. Next time I will use a non-stick foil under them. When the butter melts it does make them stick to the baking sheet. Also, I discovered I was out of honey, so I used clear Karo Syrup instead. With honey, they will surely taste even better.
So, thank you so much for your recipe. Next time, I will make them a little thicker and a little bigger. Now that I know the taste is there – I will make these frequently. Thanks for all your time and effort duplicating the tube biscuits. You get 10 stars from me!!!
Laura Fuentes
thanks so much Joyce! Yes, I made these because they became harder to find but also because they are really easy! I do recommend lining your baking pan/sheet with parchment paper. And the reason I shred the frozen/cold butter is because it’s faster than using the pastry cutter but you can totally use that. I am so glad you found a substitute you love. 🙂
chown7734
Please forgive me for being inappropriate…but why not put the business end ( the recipe) at the very top of the page?
Recipe sites nowdays are so exhausting just to get a recipe without all the tiring, distractions and filler content that appears above it
Laura Fuentes
excuse my inappropriate reply… but in my website I feel that the stories behind many of the recipes I personally develop need to be told. If all you want is the recipe, please visit websites like recipes.com.
Rafia
Is it possible for me to add some vegetables to this; grated carrots, broccoli and cheese and bake in a muffin pan? If so, what do I need to take into consideration?
Laura Fuentes
you mean use the biscuit as a base to stuff them with veggies? I don’t see why not. make sure you grease your pan.
Chelsi
This recipe was a lifesaver when I lived overseas with no access to the blue cans! Thank you so much!
Laura Fuentes
Glad you liked it Chelsi!
Amber Mae
These turned out perfect! I used this when I needed canned biscuits for another recipe. These rolled out perfectly and no one knew the difference, except my husband who said it was better 🙂 thanks for a great recipe, I’ll definitely be back again and again for this one.
Laura Fuentes
thank you Amber!
Mena
Thanks so much for your response. I look forward to making these from now on!
Mena
Instead of using a rolling pin…can I just scoop and drop portions of the batter onto a baking sheet? They will be lumpy looking, but still moist and good flavor inside…right?
Laura Fuentes
Mena, just make sure they are of even size and height. You can use your hands to shape them. otherwise, some will be undercooked while others done.
Jennifer
I am deathly afraid of making any kind of bread, but tried it since you said it was easy. These were WONDERFUL!! Not quite as easy as popping a can open but much better and less chemicals!
Any suggestions for making them ahead of time and freezing biscuits?
Laura Fuentes
Jennifer, I’m so glad you loved these!!!
Here is how I freeze ahead so that they are convenient. Make the dough, shape the biscuits and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and store up to 3 months. Add 2-3 minutes to your cooking time.
nicole
These are so yummy! Thanks for the great recipe. Do you think after cutting out the biscuits you could put them on a baking sheet and freeze them, then put them in a ziplock bag for later use? Or do you think you would have to par bake them first? I would love to be able to make a few batches of these and have them in the freezer for those days when even an easy quick recipe like this doesn’t fit into the evening schedule. Thanks so much for all the work you do to offer other mothers like me such great recipes to share with our families.
Mona
Great! Thanks.
Mona
I’d like to eliminate the all purpose flour and make these 100% whole grain. Suggestions?
Laura Fuentes
Mona, you can make these with 100% whole-wheat pastry flour. If you use regular whole wheat flour they come out too dense.
Rai
I’m an expectant first-time mom, newly-wed, and recent “home-maker” who has fallen in love with the kitchen. I’ve been experimenting with wholesome foods and tried a biscuit recipe last month – it was an epic fail 🙁 THIS on the other hand was such a success and SOOOOO delicious! Thank you for sharing, you made my morning and helped boost my breakfast-baked-goods confidence 🙂 I’m loving your blog (just discovered it yesterday) and am now an avid follower. Keep up the wonderful work “Super Glue Mom” 🙂
Jill
They turned out perfect! No more store bought biscuits.! Thanks so much.!!
Laura Fuentes
so glad you liked them Jill! 🙂
Dana from CT
I’m going to give this a whirl with earth balance (dairy free) sticks to replace butter and almond milk to replace the milk. I will let you know if those substitutes work!! They look so yummy!! Time to pull out my circa 1973 Kitchen-aid Stand Mixer that weighs a ton 🙂
Laura Fuentes
those substitutes will work! here is what i would do: freeze the earth balance amount you need so you can grate it. almond milk will work just fine !
Jill B
Making these now for our 4 kids.. Hope it turns out! Thanks.!
Kristina
Can you make these gluten free? If so what would I use? My son was just diagnosed with a wheat allergy so I’m trying to learn how to convert recipes. Also, do you have any bread machine gluten free recipes? I would love to make bread instead of buying a loaf of the gluten free bread as its very expensive for such a small loaf. Thanks so much!!!
Laura Fuentes
Kristina, I have not tried making this gluten free. If you decide to make them gf, get a good all purpose gf flour like King Arthur. it has enough baking soda that it will probably work.
charis
I don’t think the original recipe has enough baking powder in it. I think it should have at least 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder, it will make the biscuits much better. You can tell by looking at the biscuits they need more baking powder and the recipe confirms it. Recipes for homemade self rising flour calls for at least 2 1/2 tsp for every two cups of flour. Just a thought… 🙂
charis
Hah! I misread the recipe! I looked closer and it says tablespoons not tsp! Sorry! 🙂
Laura Fuentes
no problem!
Tori
Do you think the biscuit dough would freeze well? I love the thought of making a bunch & then being able to bake them “fresh” anytime.
Laura Fuentes
I haven’t frozen the dough yet. I’m traveling all week but I will try it when I return. If you try it before I leave a comment, can you let me know? Otherwise, ill experiment for you.
kara `
i would also like to know how they freeze, i just had another baby and try to cook or prep all my meals on the weekend, when my husband is home to help with the little one.
Laura Fuentes
You can premake the batter and freeze the biscuit dough prior to baking, or you can bake, split in half, and freeze. Either way will work! Congratulations on the new bundle of joy coming!
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes
My husband is our biscuit maker … he loves it. I’m going to share this one with him.
Laura Fuentes
Let me know how you guys like it!
Isra {TheFrugalette}
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for so long! I finally got around to pinning it..now to make them, they look so so good!