Family Favorites Friday: Pumpkin Biscuits and Lucy's Orange Cream Fruit Salad

After my How to Survive Holiday Cooking post last week, my friend Kathy from 9Peas requested the recipe for Pumpkin Biscuits.  Not wanting to disappoint her, I am posting that recipe as well as Lucy's Orange Cream Fruit Salad that I mentioned in that post.

 I am happy to report that I must have intended to post these recipes when I made them to freeze last month because I found the pictures that I took in anticipation of the post.

Both of these recipes can be made ahead and frozen.  I have included instructions below.

The fleck of red you see is a little fresh cranberry I added

I found this Pumpkin Biscuit recipe in the Farm Journal's Country Cookbook that I inherited from husband's maternal grandmother.  This is the same cookbook that my  Oven Caramel Corn is from.

I usually double the recipe to use a whole can of pumpkin.

PUMPKIN BISCUITS 

2 cups flour
3 TBSP sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted)
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup light cream or evaporated milk
2/3 cup canned pumpkin

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in pecans.

Combine cream and pumpkin; stir into flour mixture just enough to moisten dry ingredients.   Turn dough onto a heavily floured  board and knead gently a few times.  I find the dough to be sticky, not stiff like the recipes says, so I work in a little extra flour until it is easier to handle.

Pat dough out to 1/2" thickness; Cut with 2" biscuit cutter. Place 1" apart on greased baking sheet.  Bake in pre-heated 425 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes about 20 biscuits. 

 To freeze the pumpkin biscuits, I make the dough and cut it out.  Then I place the biscuits on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer.  Once they are frozen, I put the biscuits into a freezer bag.  When ready to bake, I put them in the oven while it is pre-heating and bake about 20 minutes. 

I also have this in my freezer:

 This makes a big batch.  It is named after the lady that lived across the street from my in-laws.  She always brought a batch of this to holiday dinners.

If you freeze the recipe, you can completely thaw it or partially thaw before eating.  We like it partially thawed.

LUCY'S ORANGE CREAM FRUIT SALAD

1 can fruit cocktail
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks
1 (15 oz) can peach slices
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges
2 apples, cored and chunked
3 medium bananas
1 pkg (3 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
8 oz. yogurt, any flavor or plain
small jar Maraschino cherries, Miss Lucy always added these, I do not

Slice bananas into large bowl, add apples and can of pineapple, including juice.  Drain other cans of fruit (save juice) and add fruit to bowl with bananas.  In separate bowl, mix together pudding mix, milk, orange juice, and yogurt until fluffy.  Fold yogurt mixture into fruit mixture.  If mixture is too thick, add a little of the reserved juice. Chill and serve.

To freeze:  Put in freezer safe container or two.  I used 2 for quicker thawing.  When ready to use, thaw in refrigerator overnight.

What is your favorite recipe to make ahead and freeze?