These are rich, buttery, savory black pepper cheese biscuits made with heavy cream.
These aren’t your average biscuits. These are far from basic. These are rich, buttery, savory black pepper cheese biscuits. Biscuits are normally made with milk or buttermilk. I may have gone a little overboard by using heavy cream. But, the resulting biscuits are creamy and dreamy. To top that off, the biscuits are loaded with freshly ground black pepper and a whole lot of shredded cheese.
These black pepper cheese biscuits were inspired by one of my favorite pasta dishes, cacio e pepe. Its literal translation means cheese and pepper. It’s my favorite pasta dish to make at home.
Traditionally, cacio e pepe uses a combination of Pecorino Romano cheese (hard sheep’s milk cheese) and Grana Padano (comparable to Parmigiano Reggiano, aka “parmesan”). F
or these biscuits I used Sartori’s Black Pepper BellaVitano. It’s a creamy cheese infused with sweet and zesty cracked black peppercorns. It melts beautifully in the biscuits. No worries if you can’t find that cheese. You can sub in a variety of cheese and still get delicious results. Try mozzarella (or smoked mozzarella!), gouda, or cheddar.
In my opinion, biscuits are by far THE BEST quick breads to make. They require little work yet reap big rewards.
The key to making great biscuits is working with cold ingredients.
I let the dry ingredients and cubed butter rest in the freezer for a few minutes before working. This way, the butter doesn’t melt during mixing. You want chunks of butter in the dough because that is what helps to create the nice flakey layers.
Eat these black pepper cheese biscuits on their own. They’re great warmed up for breakfast and filled with a fried egg and slice of bacon. Pack them with deli meats for little sandwiches. Or better yet, serve them with this buttermilk fried chicken!
Black Pepper Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Tablespoon (6 grams) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 Tablespoons (3 oz/85 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, cold
- 1/2 cup (45 grams) shredded cheese of choice*
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) heavy cream, chilled
- additional heavy cream, to brush tops
- additional black pepper and cheese, to top as desired
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and black pepper. Toss in cubed butter. Cover bowl and place in the freezer for 5-8 minutes until ingredients are cold.
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a pastry blender (or two forks or your fingers), cut in chilled butter into cold dry ingredients until mixture resembles crumbly, coarse sand. Add shredded cheese. Toss to combine. Pour in cold cream. Using a study spatula, fold together until dough begins to form.
- Dump shaggy dough mixture onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead together until dough is a cohesive mass. Pat dough to a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Slice into 6 equal parts. Alternatively, use a biscuit cutter to pound out rounds.
- Arrange biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush tops of biscuits with heavy cream. Top with shredded cheese and black pepper. Bake for 15-18 minutes until bottom of biscuit is a nice golden brown. Transfer to wire rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- I used Sartori Black Pepper BellaVitano cheese
- Suggested cheeses: mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, cheddar, gouda
Omgggg drooling non-stop over here! These delectable biscuits literally have everything in them that I love, which means there’s no excuse for me to not try making these! I also love your suggestions of adding a fried egg to these to make them into breakfast food or using them to make sandwiches with – brilliant! Cannot bookmark this recipe fast enough, and cannot wait to try in the very near future! :-D
Now this looks really interesting. What a gorgeous presentation. I appreciate your serving suggestions. I can imagine several dishes I’d like to pair these biscuits with.