Pumpkin Sage Biscuits

• Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup pumpkin or butternut squash purée
• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp cane sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp salt (I used 1/2 tsp because I'm trying to lower sodium in our diets)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, frozen
• 1 1/2 tsp dried sage (or go fresh!)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk (I used milk)
• For the egg wash:
• 1 small egg
• 1 Tbsp milk

How to:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Using a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture.  Place this mixture in the freezer, bowl and whisk, while you prepare the wet ingredients.
2. In another bowl, mix the chilled milk/cream, pumpkin/squash purée, and finely chopped sage. Whisk together until smooth. In a third bowl, make the egg wash by beating the egg and 1 Tbsp of milk together.
3. Remove the dry ingredients from the freezer.  With a pastry cutter or your hands, make sure the grated butter is fully incorporated into the flour (it should look like bread crumbs).  Gently add the pumpkin/squash mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dough starts to come together. Using your hands, lightly knead the dough in the bowl, until uniform, but avoiding overhandling it.
4. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and press the dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2 inch round or square cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits.  Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet.  Brush the tops with egg wash.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a 400F oven, until golden on top.  Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack and serve warm.

This should make about 12 biscuits.  Mine were a little thin and I got 15.  Make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh to get nice, tall biscuits.  Also -- handle the biscuit dough as little as possible -- the butter staying cold is also what makes great biscuits. 

I enjoyed these warm with turkey and white cheddar cheese as a sandwich, and also warm with butter and blackberry jam.  DIVINE.