Rosemary Pumpkin Biscuits & Smoky Mushroom Gravy

Instructions

For the Biscuits
Preheat oven to 425.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, salt and pepper.

Cut in the butter cubes into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives until pieces are no large than pea-sized. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes while you whisk the wet ingredients.

In smaller bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, honey and rosemary.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together just until incorporated and coming together into a ball. Don’t overwork it or you’ll have tough biscuits. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into rough 6×9-inch rectangle.  Cut that rectangle into thirds width-wise and stack them on top of each other. Roll out again into a 16×9-inch rectangle.

Using a 2 1/4 or 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut 8-10 biscuits out and place them on a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet.  Piece together the scraps and use up all the dough with the layering technique, without overworking the dough or melting the butter with your warm hands.  Place in the freezer for a few minutes if it’s starting to get too warm.

Bake the biscuits for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven or until golden brown on the top and bottom.

For the Gravy
In a large bowl, pour boiling water over the dried mushrooms and let sit for 30 minutes.

Set a large skillet over medium heat and add a few glugs of olive oil along with the onions and fresh mushrooms and let them cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes. Stir occasionally while they cook until starting to brown, 5 minutes.

Strain the wild mushrooms reserving the liquids for use in another recipe, see notes, diced the mushrooms up and add to the pan along with the sprig of thyme, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Let all the flavours cook together, mixing occasionally, for another 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and cook for another 2 minutes. Everything should be super fragrant and browned, almost dried out looking and starting to stick to the pan.

Add the milk, scraping up any stuck on bits and all the flavour from the bottom of the pan, and whisk it all together until it is thickened to desired consistency. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more pepper or salt if needed. It’s too thick, add more milk or some of the dried mushroom liquid to thin it out.

Serve biscuits warm from the oven, sliced in half and smothered in gravy.

Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week. I like to warm for a few minutes in the oven or 10 seconds in the microwave if you prefer.