How to Make Fluffy Gluten-Free Biscuits

Flaky, buttery, sky-high biscuits are one of life’s simple joys. When I learned that I would need to be gluten-free for rest of my life, biscuits were one of those simple joys that I was not willing to give up. So, I set to working on gluten-free biscuit recipes!

Over the years, I’ve made some truly awesome gluten-free biscuits, but of all those biscuits, these may be my favorite.

In developing this recipe, I used every trick in the book to make my gluten-free biscuits just as good as the gluten-y ones I remember. All those tricks came with a big payoff!

3 Tips for Mile-High Gluten-Free Biscuits

• Replace the buttermilk with sour cream and a touch of heavy cream. This results in a light texture, a very tender crumb, and a lovely flavor.
• Treat the biscuit dough like a pie crust. Work with very cold butter and cold hands. Also, turn and fold the dough to create distinct flaky layers.
• Bake the gluten-free biscuits in a cast iron skillet with very little room in between each biscuit. The biscuits have almost no room to expand sideways and must puff up high instead. I like using a 9-inch cast iron skillet.

Since this recipe is made entirely by hand, if your hands tend to run warm, soak them in cold water for a minute, then dry them thoroughly before mixing.

Speaking of mixing, I find the best way is to rub the butter and flour between your fingers making a motion that mimics snapping.

Also, don’t skimp on the resting time when making these biscuits. Gluten-free flours benefit greatly from resting since they can take longer to hydrate than wheat flour. Also, working with very cold, well-chilled dough makes those biscuits even flakier.

This combination of techniques and ingredients produces a biscuit that is flaky, buttery, and slightly tangy. They are a complete pleasure to eat on their own, drizzled with honey, or topped with strawberries and whipped cream, shortcake-style.

If you’d like to use this biscuit for a savory recipe, like biscuits and gravy or a pot pie, just reduce the sugar to 2 teaspoons.

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What is the Difference Between Tiramisu and Cheesecake?

While both desserts are dairy-based, decadent, and a total thrill to find on any menu, cheesecake and tiramisu are very different. Both desserts are easy to customize; you can make a number of substitutions and variations (like the addition of fruit, changing the cookie base, etc.) to the master recipe to suit your taste. But some basic differences remain.

Tiramisu, an Italian standby, usually contains very few ingredients: ladyfinger biscuits, egg yolks, sugar, coffee, mascarpone, and cocoa powder (and often a liqueur for flavoring, like brandy, cognac, or coffee-flavored liqueurs like Kahlua). There are now many varieties of tiramisu and lots of different takes—but the traditional Italian tiramisu consists of briefly dipping the ladyfingers in the coffee mixture, placing them in a single layer and spreading the mascarpone cream over them, and repeating the process until you sprinkle the top layer with cocoa powder. Served chilled and cut into wedges or small squares, tiramisu is an incredibly rich dessert, but the light and airy texture is what makes it so special.

Cheesecake, on the other hand, has a much denser texture, and has a base of crushed cookies (often graham crackers) with a thick layer that’s made from cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and any flavoring you want to add in on top. There are many schools of thought when it comes to making the best cheesecake—New York Style cheesecake incorporates cream, other cheesecakes contain ricotta, and many recipes recommend using cream cheese or even Neufchatel cheese. The Cheesecake Factory has over 30 different types of cheesecake, so the sky’s the limit when it comes to thinking up new additions to or variations on the classic recipe.

Check out our 7 recipes for tiramisu and cheesecake and you’ll have no excuse not to serve dessert tonight.

1. Classic Cheesecake

Chowhound

Our basic cheesecake recipe is a no-frills win every time. Try and make it the day ahead so you have time to leave it in the refrigerator overnight. And don’t use any low-fat cream cheese! Get our Classic Cheesecake recipe.

2. Tiramisu

Chowhound

The classic Italian dessert, our recipe for tiramisu is only as good as the ingredients you use—be sure to get crisp ladyfingers so that they’ll hold up to the quick dunk in hot coffee. Also, make sure to refrigerate for several hours before serving, so that the flavors have time to meld. Get our Tiramisu recipe.

3. Orange-Vanilla Ricotta Cheesecake

Chowhound

This is an adult rendition of the classic summertime treat, the Creamsicle, with a glaze made from orange marmalade and vodka. Use the best quality ricotta cheese you can find, and you can substitute your favorite type of cookie for the pecan shortbread in the crust. Get our Orange-Vanilla Ricotta Cheesecake recipe.

4. Tiramisu Crepe Cake

Butter And Brioche

The flavors of a traditional tiramisu are reinvented here with an elegant, layered set of French crepes that are doused in espresso syrup, and smothered in tiramisu-flavored mascarpone (with Kahlua and cocoa). Get the recipe.

5. Lemon Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Bars

Kristine’s Kitchen

A great pick if you’re looking for a light and summery dessert, these cheesecake bars are made from full fat Greek yogurt, with fresh lemon zest, and topped with seasonal fresh berries. Get the recipe.

6. Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Chowhound

A portable and easy-to-make dessert, these chocolate cheesecake bars are great served in small squares in a packed lunch or at a picnic. You can use semisweet chocolate chips or substitute your favorite chocolate. Get our Chocolate Cheesecake Bars recipe.

7. Tiramisu Layer Cake with Ombré Mascarpone Frosting

Eat Love Eat

If you love the flavors of tiramisu but are looking for a more impressive end to a big meal, this tiramisu layer cake with ombré mascarpone frosting is the way to go. Each layer is a different cake flavor—chocolate, vanilla, coffee—and the homemade coffee syrup really takes it to the next level. Get the recipe.

— Head photo illustration by Chowhound, using: Alice Bakes a Cake/Kitchen Joy.

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Your Most Hated Kitchen Tools

Open your kitchen drawer. Glare at that [insert useless piece of crap here] tool. Grab it. Toss it. Belt out a victory scream and pump your fist in the air. Try to high-five your cat. Give up on that too. Woo-hoo!

What freedom, what space … now what will you do with all that room in your kitchen drawer? Please don’t buy more junk — especially this banana slicer:

Amazon

True, there are so many times you’ve been slicing your banana with a plain ol’ knife, and bemoaned the drudgery, the time, the struggle it takes to slog through the dauntless task. You’ve prayed to the heavens for an answer, and while online shopping at 1 a.m., you see this glorious piece of crap in all its yellow, banana-shaped glory, and it looks like the solution to your life’s biggest problem.

Sure, that’s what happens.

Or your friends/family give you this junk as a joke or because they know you love to cook. There’s a statute of limitations on how long you have to keep gifts you don’t like. If they never come over,

In the world of pointless kitchen gadgets, single-food-specific slicers comprise a huge share. Many non-banana foods that have slicers (other than knives) crafted specifically for them:

• Strawberries
• Eggs
• Mangoes
• Pineapples
• Apples
• Meat
• Cheese
• Corn
• Avocadoes
• Tomatoes
• Kiwi

AliExpress

Just use a knife, people. Take a knife skills class if it’s so hard, or watch an instructional video like the rest of us. Mango-slicing techniques aren’t intuitive. We get it.

This brings home another rule: Avoid tools that have one use only. Joseph Joseph, Fred, and Chef’d are guilty of many of these gadgets. Some of them are funny. But efficient? Often, no. More helpful than the traditional way? Nada.

An informal survey reveals though, that this cliché of one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Our survey showed that of these items had both lovers and haters: egg slicer, cherry pitter, apple slicer, garlic smasher, corn cutter, corn-on-the-cob skewer handles, and yes, that mango slicer.

Amazon

Eggs get the most votes for stupid gadgets. You’ve got your egg slicer, cooker, sheller, poacher, and separator for starters.

Other hated items: Pickle forks, avocado storage containers, spiralizers, citrus zesters that aren’t made by Microplane, Delonghi espresso makers, silicone baking forms, turkey basters, pizza stones, Foreman grills, Keurig coffee makers, cast iron grill pans, and baby spoons.

Then again, some people think their any utensils, smoke alarms, and ovens (it’s not just for shoe storage, you know) are useless. We love our friends.

— Head image: LiveByDesigns.

Amy Sowder is the assistant editor at Chowhound in New York City. She loves cheesy things, especially toasties and puns. She’s trying to like mushrooms. Her running habit is the excuse for her gelato passion. Or is it the other way around? Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and her blog, What Do I Eat Now. Learn more at AmySowder.com.

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