Since Mike and I became “empty nesters” we’ve almost stopped making biscuits. The two of us couldn’t (and shouldn’t!) eat a whole batch ourselves, so whenever I made them a large number went to the chickens. However, I recently discovered that you can freeze uncooked biscuits and scones. I’m not sure why I didn’t realize you could do this, but then again, until recently there was no such thing as “too many biscuits.”
Inspired by our son Aric – a big fan of biscuits and an excellent cook – I have been making drop biscuits and scones, and then freezing them in zip lock bags. This way Mike and I can pop just a few in our convection toaster oven whenever we want. Drop biscuits and scones are super easy to make, and they seem to cook better in the toaster oven than regular rolled-out biscuits.
Cinnamon-Almond Drop Scones 
Makes 6 – 8 scones. These can be frozen (uncooked) and cooked as needed in a convection toaster oven. I freeze them on a small tray and then store them in zip lock freezer bags.
- 1.5 cups unbleached white flour
- .25 cup almond meal (can substitute flour)
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- .5 tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- .5 cup cinnamon chips
- 1 egg
- .3 to .5 cup sour milk*
- 1 egg
- .5 tsp almond extract
- .25 cup melted butter (half a stick)
- flaked or chopped almonds for topping
- 2 Tbsp sugar for topping
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon for topping
*If you don’t happen to have sour milk just sitting around, you can add a tsp of lemon juice or vinegar to your milk to “sour” it. Let it sit for a few minutes to clabber.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (including cinnamon chips), combine sour milk, egg, and butter in another bowl and beat up, then add the wet to the dry ingredients. Don’t stir or beat too much – you do not want to develop the gluten in a quick bread like biscuits. I use a fork and it only takes about 5 seconds.
Drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Carefully place almonds on top, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes.
Peach-ginger scones: Use the same recipe above, except leave out the cinnamon chips and ground cinnamon. Add 2 Tbsp minced candied ginger and 1/2 cup chopped fresh peach.
Cheddar & herb drop biscuits: Adapt recipe above by leaving out the almonds, cinnamon, and sweet stuff, and instead add 1/4 cup cornmeal, 2 tsp crushed dried herbs, 1 tsp minced garlic, and 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
More scone and biscuit variations
- Lemon & poppy seed
- Green chili & bacon
- Coconut, date, & sesame
- Orange & walnut
- “Everything” biscuit
Garden & Grub 