Pioneer Low Fat Baking Mix

By: Lizabeth Burnett | Sep 24, 2008

I've always been the kind of person who looks at biscuit mixes with utter disdain. Coming from a Southern lineage, I've always practiced the mantra that nothing from a box can compare to the flavor of homemade biscuits. Still, the nutrition claim and ease of preparation lured me into buying a tin of Pioneer Brand Low fat Baking Mix.

I followed the instructions to make a batch of plain biscuits. I simply added skim milk to the mix, kneaded the mixture on a floured surface, cut out biscuits, and baked. The resulting biscuits puffed up and browned nicely. However, one bite into these showed me the problem with the lack of fat. While the biscuits had a delicious slightly buttery flavor, the texture was like a muffin or cake. It wasn't the light, flaky biscuit of my mother or grandmother, and to me, the texture is really what makes a biscuit a ... well - a biscuit.

One serving (1/4 cup, which will make a 2 inch biscuit) contains 150 calories, a mere 0.5 grams of fat, a shocking 510 mg sodium which is 21% of the RDA, no fiber, and 3 grams of protein.

A tin cost only $1.95, which was quite reasonable and for biscuits, you really aren't going to get much lower in fat. But the odd texture, and the fact that you're still going to get 150 calories from one biscuit, means that I probably won't be buying this again. If you can't give up biscuits totally, then I suggest have the real thing once in a while.
[Photo Credit: Avoir Chaud]

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