Layered Cinnamon Biscuits

My family LOVES cinnamon rolls. What's not to love, right? Chewy, sweet, spicy, and decadent. You really just can't be sad when eating one. Who else remembers gravitating toward the cinnamon roll counter at the mall and drooling over the freshly baked rolls? Hell, I still gravitate there, on the rare occasions we ever get to a mall. They're a treat I have always associated with Fall or special occasions, or trips to the mall for a new school wardrobe.

Cinnamon rolls are a very commonly requested treat around here. And, though I do love them, I don't always have time to make them and I really don't like the ones in the tubes at the store. So, I devised a cheat and created a flaky layered biscuit with just the right amount of spicy cinnamon sweetness. My husband and kids refer to them as "Cinnabiscuits". They're really just a sweet take on a traditional buttermilk biscuit and are smothered with a salty-sweet vanilla glaze that will just make your mouth water.

Here's my method:

**For the biscuits**

2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs lard or shortening
2 Tbs unsalted butter, cold
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tbs cinnamon sugar**

**For the glaze**

2 Tbs salted butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbs whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Crack the egg into the buttermilk, whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Cut in the lard and the butter until you get a texture of fine crumbs. Using a fork, stir in the buttermilk mixture until you get a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Pat it down into a rectangle about a 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the top with half the cinnamon sugar and fold into the thirds. Pat it flat again to about 1/2-3/4 inch thick and sprinkle with the remaining half of the cinnamon sugar. Fold into thirds and pat it out to about 3/4 inch thick. Cut as many as you can and line them up on your baking sheet so they're close, but not quite touching. Bake about 15-18 minutes. When they're done, spread on a bit of glaze and devour.

Ranch Dressing

I have always been a "Ranch Dressing" girl. It was my mother's favorite and copious amounts were kept in our house for a multitude of applications. Salads, veggie dip, spread on a burger, dip for fries, hot wings, you name it, I've probably at least thought about putting ranch on it. It is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Creamy, rich, with just the right amount of bite. I could bathe in it. No, seriously, I could.

Because I love this stuff so very much, I'm insanely picky. If we're out to eat, I always ask for a ranch salad, because restaurants always have the best tasting ranch dressing. Why? Because they make it from scratch, people! Ditch the bottle and try this, just once and you'll never buy a bottle again!

Here is my method:

2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup parsley**, chopped
1/3 cup chives**, chopped
salt
pepper

Take just a moment to sprinkle a bit of salt on the garlic clove and use a fork to mash it to a paste. Combine the sour cream, mayo, garlic paste, parsley, and chives in a bowl and mix well. Add in buttermilk until you get the consistency you want. If it seems a bit thick, just add more buttermilk. Add salt and pepper to taste and then tuck it in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors really come together.

**Use fresh herbs, they really do make the difference. You can buy both at the store, already cut and washed and ready to use. I prefer to grow my own, making this a far more economical choice than buying bottles of pre-made dressing.