My favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning is bake. I think of it as a gift to my family that they wake up to the smell of an egg bake for fresh muffins. Sometimes though there just isn’t time to plan ahead.
That’s when I pull out the yellow box of Bisquick and the small Bisquick recipe book I bought back in 1994. The pages are stained with blueberry juice and smashed bananas. Tell-tale signs of the sweet muffin recipe on page 82. A family favorite is banana chocolate chip muffins. My friend Shelly just gave me six mini loaf pans. These are now my go-to instead of muffin pans. So cute and so yummy! I always add a little of the DemeraraSugar on top before baking as a special touch. [Fun fact: Did you know that there are 11 different kinds of sugar? See how many you can name, and I will give you the full list at the bottom of the column.]
Of course, I grew up with Bisquick. My mom would pull out the box whenever she made dumplings to go with her chicken soup. I loved dumplings! Soft on the outside, fluffy on the inside. When I make mine I like to add dried parsley to the mix to give it a gourmet feel and add extra flavor. If you need a comfort food fast you can combine a can of chicken noodle soup with a can of cream of chicken soup with one can of water. Bring this to a gentle boil and drop tiny Bisquick dumplings in the broth. Reduce heat and cook uncovered 10 minutes and then cover for 10 minutes on low heat. This tastes so good for a recipe made with only canned soup! I like to make this when I am in need of something warm and delicious. It only takes 20 minutes.
I never really thought about how Bisquick came about until now so I did a little research. It seems a General Mills executive was traveling by train. He complimented the chef on his fresh baked biscuits. The chef told the executive about a shortcut he had come up with by combining flour, baking powder and salt ahead of time, so all you needed to do was add lard and make the perfect biscuits every time.
The executive swiped the idea. He went back to General Mills and within a year was selling it under the name of Bisquick. That was in 1931. Think of the millions of biscuits made after all these years. Such a simple idea and yet most of us don’t remember a time without it.
Now, how many sugars did you name? I came up with white sugar, extra fine baking sugar, powdered sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar and demerara sugar. Not too bad at six. I missed pearl sugar, sanding sugar, cane sugar, turbinado sugar and muscovado sugar. I think I will have to find some of these.
“Civilization was built around wheat, around people settling down and not being nomadic. Baking is one of the oldest professions. If baking is any labor at all, it’s a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation.”
Unknown
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
Leave a Reply