I’ve taken a slightly different approach to my usual biscuit and pimento cheese recipes here, making tiny bite-sized biscuits that are amped up with cracked black pepper, then changing my traditional pimento cheese recipe to include a very sharp white Cheddar and substituting a generous amount of ground piment d’espelette — a mildly hot French red pepper — for the roasted red pepper that I normally use. You can pipe the cheese mixture onto the split biscuits, or let your guests slather it on themselves.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | about twenty 1-inch biscuits and about 1 cup French pimento cheese |
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for shaping the dough
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon, melted
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the work surface
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup crumbled or grated very sharp white Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup sriracha mayonnaise or 1/4 cup mayonnaise mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon piment d’espelette (you can also try this with smoked or traditional paprika)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Fresh parsley, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- For the one-bite black pepper biscuits: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper and baking soda. Add the shortening and use your fingertips to pinch it into the flour mixture to form small, pea-sized pieces. Drop the cold butter half-stick into the flour mixture and toss until coated. Grate the butter into the flour mixture and chill the mixture in the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Reserve 1 teaspoon of the buttermilk, then mix the remaining buttermilk with the flour mixture until there are no bits of dry flour left; the dough will be slightly sticky.
- Coat a work surface with the cooking spray and then flour (the spray helps keep the flour in place). Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust lightly with flour, then press the dough lightly with the heels of your hands to form a smooth square. Fold the square into thirds by folding each side in and then pat down and turn 90 degrees. Repeat folding over and turning 3 times to create layers in the dough. Pat the dough down to about 1/2 inch thick and flip over so the smooth side is facing up. Cut out biscuits with a 1-inch round cutter pressing straight down, not twisting. Squeeze the scraps gently together, gently re-fold and turn to cut out more biscuits. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for 15 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Just before baking, mix the melted butter with the reserved buttermilk and brush onto the tops of the chilled biscuits. Bake, checking on them occasionally to make sure they don’t overbake, until the tops are golden brown and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- For the French pimento cheese: Put the cream cheese, Cheddar, sriracha mayonnaise, piment d’espelette, salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until well blended and mostly smooth. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe directly onto the slightly warm split biscuits. Garnish each dollop with a parsley leaf. Or, serve the cheese mixture in a bowl to be spread individually by your guests. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 211 |
| Total Fat | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 35 mg |
| Sodium | 390 mg |
Reviews
Just made these. They are fabulous. My biscuits did not rise as much as the photo. When I make them again, I will leave them thicker. With the cheese, be sure to use a smaller sized garlic. Also, I used smoked paprika.