Sharp Cheddar and Flax biscuit mix

Every so often I am asked how I make my holiday budget not only stretch...but expand?! I don't know about anyone else, but it seems like very few things give me more pleasure than giving away something I have put my thought and love into making. Case in point, most holidays I give away mixes. Not just for the convenience of letting someone else bake it...but for the convenience of time. I personally don't know any reason why I wouldn't give a gift to a busy person of some time back. Really. If all they have to do is add water and make biscuits to go with a gorgeous soup for dinner, I have given them back a good chunk of their evening. That's golden right there. Time is the one commodity we all get the same amount.

The real question is...do I give away homemade Fudge mix? Do I tuck a biscuit mix in a cozy basket with homemade jam and marmalade?
Do I give away condensed soup mix and some fresh ingredients? Or do I just wait until next week when I put up the cookie mix recipes? Hmmm. The biggest question of all is do I use these dang jalapenos I've been hording all year. Pickled and luscious. I think we use them.

For the biscuit mix you will need:
baking mix I use homemade. This makes 5 mixes (2 cups each). Do the math. It's going to save a lot of money, especially if you give it to those folks at the office or church or whatever. You know the ones I mean...the ones you love, but the ones who aren't opening gifts at your house Christmas morning. Or Hanukkah for 8 nights.

Baking Mix (my version of "Bisquick")
9 cups all purpose flour (organic whole wheat, use pastry wheat flour, and replace one cup of wheat flour with cornmeal or barley flour)
1 cup butter, cold (or I have used extra virgin coconut oil*, 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup baking powder
4tsp salt
1 cup fat free powdered milk (optional)

Put all ingredients in a kitchen-aid mixer and blend with the paddle attachment until consistency of Bisquick. If you use butter, store the mix in the fridge to avoid getting unwanted bacteria growth...away from the onions too (to avoid unwanted bad flavor growth).

For biscuits: 2 cups mix, 1/2 -3/4 cup cup cold water (depending on the flour*), Mix just until blended then roll out onto a lightly floured counter top or board about 1 inch thick. Cut into 12 little circles and bake 425 10-12 minutes on a heavy pan or stone.

For the Sharp Cheddar and Flax biscuit mix, I put 2 cups mix in a medium size mixing bowl.
Add 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar and 1/4 cup toasted flax seed, 1 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp garlic. Or you can add 1 tsp Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning to make it extra insanely gorgeous.

Place in a tightly sealed Ziploc freezer sandwich bag. I keep them in the freezer until I give them away. At that point I will put the ziploc bag in a cute paper holiday bag, or a cloth bag I sew. Tie with a cute bow and attach cooking directions as follows:

Directions:

In a medium bowl add 1/2 -3/4 cup cup cold water or buttermilk. For jalapeno cheese biscuits, add 2 T chopped jalapeno with the liquid.

Mix just until blended then roll out onto a lightly floured counter top or board about 1 inch thick. Cut into 12 little circles and bake 425 10-12 minutes on a heavy pan or stone.

Serve with warm soup.

There you go.