They’ll never know! Since the shortening has been replaced with beans, these biscuits have all of the comfort and none of the guilt! Why would I do such a thing?! Two reasons. First, although shortening is shelf stable, it only lasts about 2 years from the date of manufacture (according to the Crisco website). Dry beans last 30+ years! Second, shortening is horrible health-wise. Using beans eliminates nearly 50 calories and 5 grams of fat per biscuit, while dumping the hydrogenated fat and boosting calcium, potassium, iron and fiber.

For more info about my bean “experiments,” be sure to read Bonkers for Beans!

– Mellyn 

I would describe the texture of these biscuits as a cross between a traditional baking powder biscuit and a roll –they’re a little less flaky and a little more spongy.

Yield: 18 biscuits

• 2 Tbsp white bean flour**
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 ½ cups flour
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• ¼ cup milk powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups water

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Whisk bean powder into 1/2 cup water and microwave for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times for a total of 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t overflow!) You should now have a thick bean mixture – similar to what you’d get by blending a can of beans.
3. Put flour, baking powder, milk powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
4. Add additional water to bean mixture (no need to mix) and dump over dry ingredients.
5. Stir until mixture begins to form a ball. Knead a few times and roll out about ½-inch thick on a piece of lightly-floured wax paper. The less you handle the dough, the better. If it’s still a bit sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour over the top.
6. Cut into biscuits (I use a drinking glass for this).  If you want taller biscuits, pick up the biscuit after cutting it out and squeeze the sides together (like in the photo below). This will make a smaller, taller biscuit.

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