I am, and always will be, vehemently a “we eat breakfast on Thanksgiving” person. Enter scene: Cranberry Nut Biscuits with Butternut Squash Butter. It’s a day of eating! A holiday of food! Why would you skip the part where you wake up, there’s fresh coffee, the Thanksgiving Day Parade is playing on TV, and there are warm biscuits right out of the oven? You simply cannot. That’s where this holiday biscuit recipe comes in!
While the cooks in the family are getting all ready for the big hosting day, I prefer to be in my coziest socks, pulling my biscuits out of the oven, slathering them with butternut squash butter (you heard me right!) and settling in to binge-read a good book until it’s time to… yet again… eat. As you can tell, I love Thanksgiving, but I love it for the relaxation part. You won’t find me sweating in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, and sometimes, a calm, cozy breakfast is the most special part.
These are Cranberry Nut Biscuits designed for that lazy Thanksgiving feeling. They are soft and pillowy, delightfully golden from a cinnamon honey glaze, and with a smear of butternut squash butter, they can’t be beat. I love whipping them up on the Thanksgiving holiday (or let’s be honest, the night before), but they truly are a dream for any cozy, lazy, winter morning.
Table of contents
What ingredients do you need for Cranberry Nut Biscuits?
I like to put the ingredients in grams for the actually baking ingredients, but for the nuts and cranberries, feel free to go crazy. The more, the merrier! 🙂
FOR THE BISCUITS
- 2 tablespoons each of walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds
- 226 grams salted butter, 1 cup
- 420 grams all-purpose flour, 3 cups
- 50 grams granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 scant tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 300 grams buttermilk, chilled, plus extra for brushing, 1 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
FOR THE SQUASH BUTTER
- 1/4 cup softened salted butter
- 1/4 cup roasted butternut or honeynut squash
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
How to make Cranberry Nut Biscuits AND Butternut Squash Butter
This recipe is about timing, you toast the nuts, make the dough and then make the butternut butter while the biscuits are baking. I don’t give you instructions on how to cook the butternut, because it could be leftovers you have on hand, or it could even be microwaved frozen chunks! As long as your squash is mashable, you’re in business.
First, finely chop the nuts and seeds. Place a small pan over medium heat and toast the nuts until fragrant and a shade darker, 4-5 minutes. Set aside. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
Either grate or chop the butter into 1 cm square cubes. Place them in the freezer while you prep the other ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the nuts, seeds and cranberries.
Remove the butter from the freezer and add it in. Toss to coat the butter fully in flour, mashing up the pieces so they all lay flat. Add half the buttermilk and mix it in with a fork. Add the second half and mix again. The dough should be crumbly, but beginning to get sticky.
Transfer the crumbly dough onto a clean (and preferably cold) work surface. Using your hands, gently press the crumbs together. Fold the dough over, press and shape again, then rotate 90 degrees and repeat the process. The dough will stay crumbly but will start to form together. Pat it down until it is 2 inches tall. Form this into a big rectangle.
Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into eight biscuits. Transfer these to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill them in the fridge for a few minutes. Whisk together the honey, olive oil, nutmeg and cinnamon and season with a pinch of salt.
Take the biscuits out of the fridge and brush them with the honey mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until deeply golden on top.
Can you make these biscuits the night before?
Absolutely! And honestly, the longer you let biscuits chill, the more beautiful *puff* you might see in the oven!
I recommend making the biscuits up to the step where you prepare the honey glaze. Pop the biscuits in the fridge and loosely cover them with seran wrap. They can chill there for up to 24 hours before baking.
If you want to prep the honey glaze beforehand, you can, but store it at room temperature. The butter can also be made beforehand and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just let it come to room temperature again before serving. I recommend setting it near the oven while the biscuits bake, so all that good oven heat will encourage the butter to soften to a spreadable texture.
And that’s everything for these Cranberry Nut Biscuits with Butternut Squash Butter!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Cranberry Nut Biscuits with Butternut Squash Butter
Equipment
- 1 small sauté pan
- 1 bench scraper
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 2 tablespoons each of walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds
- 226 grams salted butter 1 cup
- 420 grams all-purpose flour 3 cups
- 50 grams granulated sugar 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 scant tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 300 grams buttermilk, chilled plus extra for brushing, 1 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
For the squash butter
- 1/4 cup softened salted butter
- 1/4 cup roasted butternut or honeynut squash
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- Finely chop the nuts and seeds. Place a small pan over medium heat and toast the nuts until fragrant and a shade darker, 4-5 minutes. Set aside
- Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
- Either grate or chop the butter into 1 cm square cubes. Place them in the freezer while you prep the other ingredients.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the nuts, seeds and cranberries.
- Remove the butter from the freezer and add it in. Toss to coat the butter fully in flour, mashing up the pieces so they all lay flat.
- Add half the buttermilk and mix it in with a fork. Add the second half and mix again. The dough should be crumbly, but beginning to get sticky.
- Transfer the crumbly dough onto a clean (and preferably cold) work surface. Using your hands, gently press the crumbs together. Fold the dough over, press and shape again, then rotate 90 degrees and repeat the process. The dough will stay crumbly, but will start to form together. Pat it down until it is 2 inches tall. Form this into a big rectangle.
- Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into eight biscuits. Transfer these to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill them in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Whisk together the honey, olive oil, nutmeg and cinnamon and season with a pinch of salt.
- Take the biscuits out of the fridge and brush them with the honey mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until deeply golden on top.
- While the biscuits are baking, prepare the squash butter. Mash together the softened butter, cooked squash, turbinado sugar and salt. Get it as smooth as possible. It will still have some texture from the squash, but in a nice way.
- When the biscuits are finished, serve alongside the butter. Spread, and enjoy!
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