Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (2024)

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Elizabeth Yetter

Elizabeth Yetter

Bread expert Elizabeth Yetter has been baking bread for more than 20 years, bringing her Pennsylvania Dutch Country experiences to life through recipes.

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Updated on 01/24/24

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Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (1)

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 12 mins

Total: 17 mins

Servings: 6 servings

Yield: 12 biscuits

152 ratings

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The rich culinary heritage of the Pennsylvania Dutch means their classic cooking methods and ingredients are still used on a daily basis. In their parts of the eastern United States, traditions seem to remain unaltered despite the rapid changes in the world around them. Baking is an essential part of this culture and many recipes honor the German heritage of the first immigrants to the area. Despite common belief, the current occupants of the area are descendants of Germans, and not Dutch people, but they're referred to as Dutch from the term deutsch, which means German in that language.

Delicious pretzels, sweet rolls, soups, stews, savory pies, scrapple, and canned and pickled products reflect farmers' need for hearty and caloric foods. Some still use wood ovens to cook, and old-fashioned animal fats like lard to enrich their dough. Our savory biscuit recipe using lard is a testament to the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition.

When it comes to biscuits, lard gives them the perfect texture. Easy to make, these savory biscuits can be on your table in less than 20 minutes. Ideal to accompany soups and stews, the biscuits are also great with eggs and sausage, and any leftover biscuits can be reheated on a skillet. Serve them with bread and butter for a quick and satisfying snack.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 4 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3 tablespoons lard

  • 3/4 cup milk, cold or room temperature

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Grease onebaking sheet, or line it with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (3)

  3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (4)

  4. Cut the lard into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (5)

  5. Add the milk all at once and mix it until the flour is completely wet.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (6)

  6. Quickly knead the dough in the bowl to incorporate. It doesn't have to be completely smooth.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (7)

  7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it to 1/2-inch thickness.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (8)

  8. Cut the biscuits with a 2 to 2 1/2 inch biscuit or cookie cutter. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (9)

  9. Bake the biscuits for 12 minutes or until they are of a light golden brown color.

    Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (10)

What Is Lard?

This soft fat comes from all the fatty parts of a pig and is obtained via a process called rendering in which the solid fatty parts are cooked, and the liquid fat is retrieved. The obtained fat is of darker off-white color when solid, but becomes clear when melted. Because lard doesn't contain hydrogenated fats, it's coming back into use by many cooks. They also like it due to other qualities, such as its neutral flavor. Because lard has a high smoking point of 370 F, it's a great fat for frying.

Leaf lard is a type of lard that is found around the pig's kidneys; this type is creamier than other lard and is most commonly used in baking. Lard-containing pastries and pie shells are lighter and fluffier.

How to Substitute for Lard

If finding lard its difficult, you can still make these tasty biscuits using other types of fat:

  • The classic substitute for lard is vegetable shortening. They are both 100 percent fat, odorless and have almost no identifiable flavor. These biscuits when made with shortening still have a great texture.
  • If you'd rather use butter, use 3 1/2 tablespoons. Keep an eye on the oven because butter has water (it's only 80 percent fat) and liquid activates gluten, creating a denser dough, but also a dough that steams and browns a little faster than when made with lard.

Flaky Sour Cream Biscuits

  • Breakfast Breads
  • Dinner
  • Breads
  • American Food
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
226Calories
7g Fat
34g Carbs
5g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories226
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g10%
Saturated Fat 3g15%
Cholesterol 9mg3%
Sodium 516mg22%
Total Carbohydrate 34g12%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 223mg17%
Iron 2mg13%
Potassium 88mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • Breakfast bread
  • breakfast
  • american
  • back to school

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Craving Hearty Biscuits Without the Trans Fat? Try This Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is there such a thing as healthy biscuits? ›

For this reason, the best biscuit for weight loss is a whole wheat biscuit, since they have enhanced nutritional value. Whole wheat biscuits are typically lower in saturated fats and higher in protein and fiber.

What is a substitute for lard in biscuits? ›

Yes, vegetable oil can be used as a substitute for lard in pie crusts and biscuits. The substitution ratio is generally 1:1, which means you can use the same amount of vegetable oil as you would use lard in your recipe.

What fat is best for biscuits? ›

Biscuits made with butter also rise higher and offer a flakier crumb; consider the effect of butter in famously flakey croissants and other pastry dough desserts. To optimize flavor and texture, you can use two different fats, like lard and butter.

What type of fat must be used to result in flaky biscuits? ›

The key to flaky biscuits is in the fat. Fat—butter and shortening in this recipe—creates the tender texture of biscuits and helps form the flaky layers. Butter delivers rich flavor. But because shortening contains no water, it creates more-distinct layers, which is why our Test Kitchen uses a combination of the two.

What are the healthiest biscuits to eat? ›

Digestive biscuits: They use whole wheat flour and have less sugar than ordinary biscuits, making them a healthier alternative. Multigrain biscuits: These biscuits are a wonderful source of fibre and other nutrients because they are prepared from a variety of whole grains, including wheat, oats, and millets.

Is it better to use butter or lard in biscuits? ›

Lard has a higher melting point than butter, which means that you'll likely end up with lighter, flakier biscuits (or cookies that spread less - not sure what kind of biscuits you mean). However, the upside with butter will always be flavor. Your biscuits won't taste like butter if you don't make them with butter.

Does Cracker Barrel use lard in their biscuits? ›

Yep! as a child, I worked at cracker barrel all the time, and I used to mix the lard into the biscuit mix.

What biscuits have the lowest fat content? ›

Results for “low fat biscuits”
  • Nestlé Shreddies Original Cereal 1.1kg. ...
  • Weetabix Cereal 12 Pack. ...
  • Rakusens Traditional Matzos 200G. ...
  • Cocon Assorted Fruit Jelly Pudding 6 X 80G. ...
  • Tesco Finest 4 Caramelised Biscuit & White Chocolate Cookies. ...
  • Weetabix Protein Cereal 24 Pack. ...
  • Peter's Yard Original Sourdough crackers 90g.

Can you get low fat biscuits? ›

McVitie's Rich Tea Lights

Granted these aren't the most satisfying of biscuits out there – but if you're looking for a healthy biscuit they are one of the lowest calorie offerings on the market with 30% less fat than an ordinary Rich Tea at just 36 calories each. Dunk them in your cuppa and you'll be none the wiser.

Which biscuit has the least saturated fat? ›

A good old-fashioned rich tea is a healthier choice as they're low in sugar and saturated fat. This is because, unlike most biscuits, they are made with vegetable oils rather than butter. Nairn's biscuits are low in saturated fat and sugar, and are a source of fibre thanks to the oat base.

What can I use in biscuits instead of butter? ›

WHAT ARE BUTTER ALTERNATIVES FOR BAKING?
  • MARGARINE. Margarine is a fat that is made mostly from vegetable oil that's flavored to taste like butter. ...
  • SHORTENING. Shortening is 100% fat, made from hydrogenated vegetable oils. ...
  • OLIVE OIL & VEGETABLE OIL. ...
  • COCONUT OIL. ...
  • PUMPKIN PURÉE. ...
  • APPLESAUCE. ...
  • GREEK YOGURT. ...
  • BANANAS.

What happens if you put too much butter in your biscuits? ›

in this case, it appears that the biscuit structure is just a lot more stable (structurally speaking) when there's less butter. When you get a lot of butter, you're kind of filling your biscuit with holes, which makes it unable to bear its own weight to rise very far.

What happens when you add more butter to biscuits? ›

Increasing the amount of butter definitely makes the biscuit "taste" softer, more crumbly, and more flaky.

Which biscuits are lowest in sugar? ›

Results for “low sugar biscuits”
  • Rakusens Traditional Matzos 200G. ...
  • Jacobs Cream Cracker Snackpack 8Pk. ...
  • Jacob High Fibre Cream Crackers 200G. ...
  • Tesco Finest 4 Caramelised Biscuit & White Chocolate Cookies. ...
  • Weetabix Protein Cereal 24 Pack. ...
  • Tesco Rosemary Crackers 185g. ...
  • Arden & Amici Italian Crackers 250g.

Are homemade biscuits healthier than shop bought? ›

Freshly baked biscuits made with whole wheat flour, natural sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup, and healthy fats like olive oil, are likely to be more nutritious than commercially-made biscuits, which often contain refined flour, added sugars, and unhealthy fats.

Are digestive biscuits healthier than normal biscuits? ›

These biscuits are made with saturated fats and may contain around 3-5 grams of fat per biscuit, which may not be a healthy choice. Lastly, the addition of sodium as well as other preservatives to enhance the taste and shelf life are synthetic in nature. Thus, digestive biscuits are not as healthy as they sound!

What biscuits can diabetics eat? ›

10 honestly delicious biscuits that actually meet the low sugar guidelines
  • Malted milk biscuits. ...
  • Jacobs Mini Cheddars. ...
  • Rich Tea biscuits. ...
  • McVitie's Digestives. ...
  • Fruit Shortcake biscuits. ...
  • Belvita Soft Bakes Chocolate Chip. ...
  • Nice biscuits. ...
  • Shortbread fingers.
Mar 30, 2017

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