Makes 12

These blueberry breakfast biscuits are loaded with blueberries. I’m talking jammed packed full of blueberries. The dough is basically just holding the blueberries together. These biscuits are less sweet than most biscuits because as a cookbook author I wanted the flavour of the blueberries to sing out, not the sugar.  Think of these as an ode to blueberries.

Using one of my favourite fibre rich flours, barley flour, these blueberry babies have 4.4 gm of fibre in each one. I’m just letting you know before you jump in and eat all 12….

And as a sidebar these are a perfect for a weekend brunch.

Recipe:

3 cups fresh local blueberries, I use cultivated not wild, but this is your call

2 cups whole grain barley flour – I buy barley flour at the Bulk Barn

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 Tbsp orange zest or lemon zest, whatever you have in your fridge

½ cup skim milk or whatever kind of milk you have in your fridge

1 – omega-3 egg

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp sanding or coarse white sugar

 

1. Rinse blueberries, place on paper towels or a clean tea towel and let air dry. You don’t want to use wet berries for this recipe. Don’t even preheat the oven until you know the berries are dry. You can speed up this step by gently patting them dry.
2. When the blueberries pass the dry test, make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350°F. Line a rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl: whisk together flour, sugar and baking powder.
4. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives cut in the butter so it’s the same size as teeny tiny green peas. Using a fork, stir in orange zest until it is well distributed. You don’t want just one of these biscuits to have all the zest.
5. Add dry blueberries (did I emphasize that too much??) and gently toss until well coated with flour.
6. In a small bowl or a 1 cup glass measuring cup (using the measuring cup will save you on dishes, you do all the measuring and stirring in the same vessel) whisk together the milk, egg and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula gently stir until the mixture doesn’t have any dry flour visible.
7. Using two tablespoons, the ones in your cutlery drawer, spoon out 12 equal portions, approximately about a ½ cup each, onto the prepared pan. Sprinkle each one with a bit of the sanding sugar. This adds a crunch and the pretty factor if you decide to post a picture on Instagram please tag me @MairlynSmith with your fabulous comment.
8. Bake for 34-36 minutes, they will be a rich golden brown with blueberry juice oozing out; basically, it’s blueberry porn. Cool on wire rack until warm and serve. And you will probably want two. Because of all those blueberries, these are best eaten the day of or slightly warmed up the next day.

 

Makes 12

One serving = 1 biscuit

Per serving = 178 Calories, 6.9 g Total Fat, 2.8 g Sat Fat, 0 Trans Fat, 27 mg Cholesterol, 75 mg Sodium, 26 g Carbs, 4.4 g Fibre, 8.6 g Sugars, 4.2 g Added Sugars, 3.2 g Protein, 133 mg Potassium

Carbohydrate Choice = 1.5 choices

 

Professional home economist tip:

Make sure your blueberries are dry before you add them, see Step 1. – did I say that enough?

Nutritionally speaking blueberries are super stars. They are loaded with fibre, and enough vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to make any health seeker an avid follower. But, there’s always a but,  remember that no one food has super powers, a healthy lifestyle that includes foods that make you feel good and enough exercise to make your body happy are key elements to living your best life. Through in some good sleep, a coping strategy for stress and you are making the right choices to feeling fabulous.

To watch me dem this recipe check out my Facebook Fan page mairlyn.smith

Photo credit: Mike McColl from photoswithsauce