Parmesan Biscuits

I have never been a biscuit fan, but after making these I was oddly surprised about how much I loved them. They were really light and fluffy and a lot easier to make than I expected. I also made this recipe with my club and we doubled the batch thinking that was going to be enough biscuits... but it wasn't! We had no leftovers and everyone kept going back for more. When my parents asked me where all the biscuits went, hoping they could have one, they were shocked that between nine girls they were all gone. These biscuits were very delicious, easy to make, and definitely shareable. I made these to go with the squash soup my club made that day and the combination was very good. I would give this recipe a shot even if you aren't sure how much you like biscuits, you won't regret it.

Yield: 16 2-inch (tiny) biscuits

What you need:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced 1 1/4 cups (2 7/8 ounces) finely grated aged pecorino or parmesan cheese* 2 slim scallions, minced (optional) 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped small plus 16 extra leaves for garnish 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water for wash

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bottom of a large bowl, then use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work the butter into the dry mixture, until the largest chunks are the size of tiny peas. Stir in cheese, scallions and chopped parsley, then buttermilk, stirring just until combined. Knead once or twice right inside the bowl to form into a rough dough.

the dough should hold in a ball like this

Pat or roll it out to a 1/2-inch thickness on a floured counter. Cut into 2-inch rounds, pressing straight down and not twisting the cutter. Place on an parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with egg wash, then place one leaf at the center of each biscuit top. Use brush to dab leaf with egg wash.

use a 2-inch cutter to cut the dough into circles

Bake biscuits for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden brown. Eat right away, or at least before the day is out.

Because biscuits are best on the first day, if planning ahead, I like to make the dough, cut in into rounds and freeze it until needed. Biscuits can be baked right from the freezer and will only require about 2 minutes extra. Brush egg wash and leaf on right before baking.