Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy Recipe

Christmas preparations in our house are way behind schedule. So far I’ve put the Christmas music in the stereo and ordered gifts. That’s it! I’m still holding out hope that I’ll get a Christmas tree up and make a batch of Sugar Cookies on Christmas Eve. (Maybe we’ll celebrate the twelve days of Christmas this year, so that I’ll feel better about not having done anything yet!).

Regardless of what gets done between now and then, we will be having Christmas brunch. It’s one of my favorite parts of Christmas and has been since I was little. Every Christmas morning, my mom used to make a special breakfast for us after we opened presents. Breakfast casserole was usually on the menu and there was always freshly squeezed orange juice. Afterwards we would get dressed and head over to another family’s house and have a 2nd brunch of homemade biscuits, sausage and grits.

There will just be the three of us here for Christmas Day this year, and Christmas Brunch may be the only true meal that we eat all day because I am planning on going all out. Freshly-squeezed orange juice, Spinach and Grits Pie, Fruit Salad, Black Bean Sausages, Light & Fluffy Gluten Free Biscuits, and Sawmill Gravy.

Instructions

If you’re not familiar with Sawmill Gravy, it is a white gravy that it traditionally served with Sausage Biscuits or over Chicken Fried Steak. John had been requesting it for awhile, and when I finally made it we both gorged ourselves. It is so good!

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. brown rice flour
• 1 pint Half & Half
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Mix the flour into the butter and let it cook for a minute or so.
3. Gradually add the Half & Half, stirring each addition in and letting the gravy thicken before adding more.
4. After all of the Half & Half is incorporated, season to taste with some salt and a lot of freshly ground black pepper.

Cook’s Notes

If you’re frying sausage or bacon for breakfast, you can use the grease from that instead of butter.  If you eat meat, you might like to add some crumbled breakfast sausage to the gravy towards the end.  If you don’t do dairy, try a plain, unsweetened milk substitute instead. You probably won’t need as much liquid since milk substitutes are thinner than Half & Half.