Savory Herb Biscuits Sage And Caraway With Garlic Butter Recipes

SAVORY CHEESE AND HERB BISCUITS

Steps:

• Notes on how to make STELLAR biscuits:.
• 1) Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level off with the straight edge of a metal knife. DON'T use a liquid measuring cup or you'll end up with too much flour and rock hard biscuits!
• 2) I find it easier to incorporate room-temperature butter into my dry ingredients but then put the bowl with flour/butter back into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to chill the mixture. The colder your butter is, the higher your biscuits will end up. If you want to work with cold butter, this step is NOT necessary.
• 3) Shake the carton of buttermilk before measuring and make sure the buttermilk is COLD! It keeps the butter cold, and you have a lighter, fluffier biscuit.
• 4) Dust the work surface with All-Purpose flour when rolling and shaping the dough. (Leavening in Self-Rising flour leaves a bitter taste on the outside of the biscuit.).
• 5) Cut STRAIGHT DOWN with a sharp biscuit cutter! Do NOT twist the cutter or you'll be sealing the edges of the biscuits and reduce the rise of them. Ditto on using a glass to cut out biscuits: both sides of the cutter need to be open to allow air to exit as you press down. The glass ends up sealing the edges of the biscuit.
• Directions:.
• Preheat oven to 450-degrees F.
• In a very large bowl combine all the dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, Salt, Black Pepper and Cayenne Pepper. Stir well to evenly distribute the ingredients.
• Drop the cut tablespoons of butter all around the flour mixture. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter until mixture is about the size of peas or very crumbly. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to allow the butter to become hard; this will aid in having a very flaky biscuit.
• Add the cheese chunks and chives to the chilled butter/flour mixture. Stir to coat them well with the flour.
• Stir in buttermilk only until dough holds together very slightly, about 30 seconds. DO NOT OVER STIR! THIS IS THE SECRET TO INCREDIBLY FLUFFY AND LIGHT BISCUITS! The dough should "hold together" but still be very lofty and NOT packed down!
• Turn dough out onto a floured board, kneading dough a few times (about 3-4 times) and then pat into a 5-inch x 9-inch rectangle; Sprinkle top of dough with a small amount of additional flour and fold into thirds like a letter. Repeat entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4" inch-thick dough rectangle again.
• Press or pat dough into a 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; Dip edges of 2.5-inch biscuit cutter into flour and cut out a biscuit.DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER! JUST PRESS FIRMLY DOWN, ONCE. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing biscuits side by side so they touch. Continue with existing dough. With the scraps, very lightly press dough together to form another rectangle and continue cutting out the biscuits. Caution! The MORE you work the dough and manhandle it, the tougher your biscuits will become so work with a very light hand when pushing the dough back together.
• Brush tops of biscuits lightly with cream.
• Bake for 14-16 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned. Take out of oven by sliding the parchment paper with biscuits attached, onto table or counter top. Allow to sit for ONLY 1 minute, and transfer to a wire rack to cool for only a couple of minutes before serving. Caution! Moisture really builds up on the bottom of these biscuits, which is why they only sit on the parchment paper for 1 minute. Cooling on the rack for 2-3 minutes allows the cheese to set enough that it does NOT burn a person's mouth when eating it!
• VARIATIONS ON BISCUITS:.
• 1) Feta-Oregano or Marjoram: Stir 4-8 ounces of crumbled feta cheese and 1 teaspoon of either oregano or marjoram into the chilled butter/flour mixture before adding the buttermilk. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 2) Bacon-Cheddar: Stir 6 cooked, drained, cooled and crumbled slices of bacon into the chilled butter/flour mixture along with 1/2 a cup of cubed Cheddar Cheese. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 3) Gruyere-Rosemary: Stir in 1 cup of cubed Gruyere cheese and 1/2 tablespoon of fresh, snipped rosemary into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Use 1/4 cup of snipped chives and 1/2 tablespoon of freshly ground black peper. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 4) Havarti-Dill: Stir in 1 cup of cubed Havarti cheese with 1 tablespoon of freshly snipped dill into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 5) Pimento Cheese: Stir in 1 cup cubed Sharp Cheddar Cheese with 1-4 ounce jar of DRAINED and patted dry Pimento into the chilled butter/flour mixture. Omit chives. Proceed with recipe as directed.
• 6) The ONE failure that I had was with Pepperjack Cheese. The actual cheese is too mild to taste in the end results and the remaining hot peppers were too much for the biscuit. Avoid this combination!

SAVORY 7UP HERB BISCUITS FROM SCRATCH (NO BISQUIK)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and herbs.
• Slowly mix in butter, then yogurt, then lemon-lime soda. Dough will be smooshy and sticky!
• Using a wooden spoon or a large serving spoon, drop balls of dough onto parchment-papered baking sheet. There should be enough dough for about 6 medium-sized biscuits.
• Bake in 425˚F oven for about 15 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.

SAVORY MEDITERRANEAN BISCUITS

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the first five ingredients (flour through salt). Using a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Next, stir in the cheese, chopped olives, and tomatoes.
• Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and quickly pour 3/4 cup light cream or half and half over it. Stir with a fork until just moistened.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead by gently folding and pressing the dough until it's almost smooth. This should take about 10-12 strokes. Be careful not to over-knead as the biscuits will get tough. The dough will still be pretty soft.
• Lightly roll out dough into a 10-inch by 8-inch rectangle, about half an inch in thickness. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares.
• Arrange biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with the tablespoon of light cream or half and half, then brush the top of each biscuit with this mixture.
• Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden. Remove from baking sheet and serve warm with whole Kalamata olives, if you like.

GARLIC-HERB BUTTER DROP BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
• Sift flour, baking powder, white sugar, cream of tartar, 1/3 teaspoon garlic powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Mash unsalted butter cubes into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or large fork until coarsely blended. Mix Cheddar cheese and Italian seasoning into the flour mixture.
• Pour milk over the flour mixture while stirring until you get a tough and sticky dough. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Stir melted salted butter, parsley flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder together in a bowl; brush over biscuits immediately upon removing from the oven.

SAVORY CHEESE & HERB BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.
• Lightly grease an oven baking sheet with olive oil.
• In a large mixing bowl, add both flours, baking powder, Italian herb seasoning mix, salt, baking soda and pepper.
• Stir with a fork until well mixed.
• Cut in butter using a pastry blender or a fork until pastry resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir in Parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese.
• Gently fold in buttermilk until well blended.
• Gather dough into a ball.
• On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough 8 to 10 times.
• Dough will be slightly sticky.
• Roll out dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick.
• Using a 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter, punch out dough.
• Place on greased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart.
• Gather up scraps of dough and re-roll and cut out remaining biscuits.
• Place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated 425 F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve biscuits hot with butter.
• If you prefer bite-size biscuits, then use a 1 1/4 inch cutter or make your own using the top of a spray can, there are many varieties of sprays to choose from. Just cut part of the top off so that you can clean easier.
• When cutting, dip the cutter into flour each time.

SAVORY HERB BISCUITS (SAGE AND CARAWAY) WITH GARLIC BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, caraway seed, sage, mustard, baking powder, and salt; mix well with a fork.
• Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a fork until dough resembles coarse meal.
• Gently stir in most of the milk until well blended (if dough is not soft & easy to roll, add just enough milk to make it pliable; too much milk will make dough sticky, but the biscuits will be dry if you don't add enough).
• Gather dough into a ball, and knead gently for about 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface.
• Roll out dough into a circle about 1/2" thick.
• Cut using a floured 1 1/2" biscuit cutter or cookie cutter.
• Gather up scraps of dough and re-roll and cut out remaining biscuits.
• Place on greased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes (until golden brown).
• Mix garlic powder in butter.
• Serve biscuits hot with garlic butter.