Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger
Flaky and savory, these Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger are the fall side dish that you didn’t know you needed. Served with soft butter and honey, these biscuits are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner!
Easy Homemade Pumpkin Biscuits
If there was ever a biscuit that screamed “autumn”, this would be it. Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger!
These gorgeous pumpkin biscuits are tender and flaky thanks to butter and buttermilk. Flecked with cinnamon, just barely sweetened by honey, and a bit zingy with a candied ginger topping, they are a welcome addition to any fall table. Your Thanksgiving dinner is practically begging for them!
Candied ginger is such a fun ingredient to snack on and include in recipes. It’s spicy, sweet, and chewy…pretty much irresistible! I included it in this Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger and White Chocolate, so fun!
In case you don’t know about candied ginger (affiliate link), it’s sometimes called crystallized ginger. It is simply ginger that has been sliced thin and cooked in a sugar syrup until its raw toughness is broken down, tenderized, and sweetened. Then it can be dipped in sugar to add a thin crisp coating and another layer of sweetness. This process leaves the wonderful ginger pungency, but its bite is much softer. Quite beautiful. And perfect for adding a little zip in your baking – just like I did with these biscuits!
What You’ll Need
Grab some pumpkin puree and let’s make some biscuits! Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder – Gives these biscuits their rise.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg – Adds that warm spice flavor to the biscuits.
- Kosher salt
- Butter – The butter should be cold and cut into 1/2″ pieces. Cold butter helps create pockets of flakiness in the biscuits.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk creates a tender crumb in biscuits.
- Pumpkin puree – Be sure to grab a can of pumpkin puree, not pre-spiced pumpkin pie filling.
- Honey – Just a little bit in this recipe. If you want more sweetness, drizzle a bit more honey over your warmed biscuit!
- Candied ginger – The star of this recipe that takes it to a whole new level. Find it at your grocery store, on Amazon, or Trader Joe’s (where I buy mine).
How to Make Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger
These easy biscuits come together quickly, with only 10 minutes required for chilling the dough.
- Make the flour mixture. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Add the wet ingredients. Whisk buttermilk, pumpkin, and honey together. Add to the chilled flour mixture.
- Knead and fold the dough. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle then fold crosswise into thirds. Roll the dough into a triangle and repeat. Once the dough has been folded in on itself the second time, gently roll to a 3/4″ thickness.
- Cut biscuits & add ginger. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out rounds of dough. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly press some candied ginger on top of each biscuit.
- Bake. Bake for 14 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm!
Tips for Success
These homemade biscuits are easy to make but there are a few things to note, for tall and flaky biscuits.
- Use cold ingredients. Be sure the butter is cold when you cut it into the dough, and keep the buttermilk cold as well. You want the butter to melt slowly during the baking process to create pockets of flaky texture.
- Don’t over knead or over mix the dough. Mix and knead the dough just enough to combine the ingredients. Overdoing it can lead to a less flaky biscuit.
- Take the time to fold the dough. Folding the dough in on itself is essential for a light, flaky texture that creates the pull-apart layers in the biscuits.
- Work quickly. Once you start working with the dough, it’s important to work quickly so that the dough stays chilled.
Serving Suggestions
These pumpkin biscuits would be a lovely alternative to your regular Thanksgiving dinner roll. Serve them warm with soft butter and honey. Or, for an extra special treat, whip up some sweet cinnamon honey butter to slather on. I promise you, the biscuits won’t last long!
How to Store & Reheat
- At room temperature. Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Just pop in the microwave for 30 seconds to reheat. Or to enliven the flaky texture, heat a baking stone in the oven to 325° F and warm leftover biscuits until heated through.
- In the freezer. Once the pumpkin biscuits have cooled completely, they can be transferred to a freezer baggie or container and frozen for up to 3 months. Pop in a preheated oven for a few minutes to reheat.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Easy Pumpkin Layer Cake
- Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Layered Pumpkin Pie in a Jar
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Pumpkin Biscuits with Candied Ginger
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and cut into 1/2” pieces
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree not pre-spiced pumpkin pie filling
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a rigid pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill for 10 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Combine buttermilk, pumpkin, and honey in a medium bowl. Whisk until well blended and then add to the chilled flour mixture. Stir just until moist.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly just a few times. Roll dough into a 10” x 6” rectangle and dust top of dough lightly with flour. Fold the dough crosswise into thirds, as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope. Roll the dough again into a 1/2” thick 10” x 6” rectangle and dust the top lightly with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds again and gently roll or pat to a 3/4” thickness. This process helps to make your biscuits tall, with a layered textured.
- Using a 2-1/2” diameter biscuit cutter, press cutter straight down into the dough and then lift straight up (do not twist the cutter), using up all the dough. You should have 10 rounds of dough. Place them 1” apart on your prepared baking sheet and then lightly press some candied ginger into the top of each round.
- Bake for 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack for a couple minutes. Serve warm with soft butter and honey, or with this fantastic Cinnamon Honey Butter!
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was first published in 2011, and then updated in 2021.
5 star