Because the word UP in Chinese sounds like the word for HAPPINESS, 7 Up is considered to be a lucky drink for weddings and other celebrations—a little piece of trivia Marc and I discovered while researching our 11th Coffeehouse Mystery, A Brew to a Kill, which features some fun (and tasty) sleuthing in New York's Chinatown.
With the Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar New Year) coming up in a few weeks, I thought it would be fun to share my version of the classic 7 Up Biscuits recipe. I don’t know how much luck these biscuits will bring you, but they will likely bring happiness to your taste buds. May you…
Eat with joy!
~ Cleo
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Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
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Why "7 Up" Biscuits?
I know what some of you may be thinking:
Why use 7 Up (or any lemon-lime soda)
in a baking-powder biscuit recipe?
in a baking-powder biscuit recipe?
In my view, there are two reasons...
1 - Carbonation: The soda boosts the lightness and fluffiness of your biscuits' interiors, and...
2 - Flavor: No, the flavor of lemon-lime is not something you will taste in the final product. (I promise, I mean, who wants a lemon-lime baking powder biscuit?) What the 7 Up does is boost the overall flavor by subtly underlining the slight tang of the sour cream. Together these flavors provide complexity, helping your quickly-made boxed-mix biscuits taste more like granny's old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits.
My version of this recipe tweaks the classic ingredients, but my biggest change to the common approach is saving you time and mess. I don't turn the dough out onto a board and knead it with my hands, for example, and I don't pre-cut every biscuit and lay each out in the pan. If you're also looking for the best results from the fastest method, you might like this version, too...
What I do is bake the biscuits as a single, square slab, which allows the interiors to bake up all the more higher and fluffier. Then I cut the big slab with a pizza cutter, making heavenly squares. My husband loves these biscuits. I hope you do to, too.
Now let's get cookin'...
👇
To download this recipe in
a free PDF document that
you can print, save,
or share, click here.
a free PDF document that
you can print, save,
or share, click here.
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Click here for the recipe PDF. |
Cleo's 7 Up Biscuits
My version of the classic recipe
Makes 9 square biscuits using an 8 x 8 baking pan
INGREDIENTS:
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (unsalted butter is fresher than salted, but you can certainly use salted butter for this recipe, simply reduce the salt by half)
2 cups Bisquick** baking mix (lightly pack it into the cup and level it off)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt (again, if using salted butter, reduce by half)
1/2 cup full fat sour cream
1/2 cup 7 Up freshly opened, not diet*
2 NOTES:
*Although Sprite or another lemon-lime soda will work for this recipe, the Chinese consider 7 Up good luck!
**Bisquick also makes a "Heart Smart" version of their regular product with zero trans fat. I have not tested this version of their product with this recipe, so I cannot tell you if it gives the same results, but I plan to try it in the near future.
DIRECTIONS:
STEP 2: Into a medium size mixing bowl, measure out the Bisquick as described in the ingredients (by lightly packing it into the cup and leveling it off). Get out a butter knife and stir in the salt (use half the amount if using salted butter).
STEP 3: Open a new 7 Up for the best carbonation. Pour the 1/2 cup of soda into the bowl and stir it, as shown, using the butter knife until everything is combined.
When is it ready? When you pull your spoon or rubber spatula away the dough should come with it, feeling elastic like bread or pizza dough (see my photo below). If your dough does not do this, keep vigorously stirring until it does.
STEP 4: For best results, pop your 8 x 8 pan with melted butter back in the oven for one minute (no more) to really warm it up. This will give you the very best rise for your biscuits. Be careful now, the pan will be hot. Pour the stiff dough into the melted butter of your hot pan. Be sure to use all the dough, scraping the bowl well with a rubber spatula.
(Use an oven mitt to hold the pan and...) Quickly flatten out the dough with your spoon or spatula, stretching it to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. The dough does not have to touch the four sides of the pan, but it should be fairly close to them, as shown in my photos.
STEP 5: Immediately place the pan in your well preheated oven. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes. The edges will be golden brown and crusty, and the top should show touches of light golden browning. The top will also show some cracking.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and
5 minutes out of the pan
before cutting...
before cutting...
Can you see the *heart* in my biscuits? Yes, folks, I really do cook with love! |
COOL IN THE PAN for at least 5 full minutes. Why? The insides are still baking in the hot pan so this is an important step.
DE-PANNING: Because of the melted butter base, the biscuit square will slip right out. Remove it like you would a layer of cake by placing a plate over the top of the pan and flipping it. Yes, the bottom of the baked biscuit square will appear golden brown and crusty. But trust me, the inside will be amazingly light and fluffy.
COOL OUT OF THE PAN: Allow the big square to cool for another 5 minutes before cutting. Trust me, those fluffy insides are retaining a lot of heat and will still be hot when you eat them, even after 10 total minutes of cooling.
CUTTING TIPS: For best results, flip the big biscuit right side up again, and you will have an easier time cutting your individual biscuits. Use a pizza cutter for the cleanest, best-looking slices. Then slather on butter, honey, or jam; dip into hot gravy; or split and fill for an amazing biscuit sandwich.
CUTTING TIPS: For best results, flip the big biscuit right side up again, and you will have an easier time cutting your individual biscuits. Use a pizza cutter for the cleanest, best-looking slices. Then slather on butter, honey, or jam; dip into hot gravy; or split and fill for an amazing biscuit sandwich.
Presentation Note
If you're serving these to guests or your family, you can keep the biscuit slab whole and slice it up right at the table (as shown above). This makes a fun, somewhat more theatrical presentation of your beautiful biscuits. This method also has the advantage of staying hot much longer than individual biscuits so you have time to get the rest of the meal on the table.
Golden and crusty on the outside.
Fluffy and light on the inside.
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Click here to download this recipe as a PDF. |

Stay cozy!
☕
Eat (and read) with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle
~ Cleo Coyle
"A magnificent cold case
mystery." ~ Fresh Fiction
*