rosemary & pepper drop biscuits

Just because you haven't gotten the hang of yeast breads doesn't mean that you can't have a hot, fresh piece of bread with your dinner. There are always "quick" breads!

Biscuits are the most common type of savory quick bread and these drop biscuits are even easier than most biscuits because you don't have to even roll them out. Just scoop out a dollup of the batter and bake it as is. They come out crispy on the outside and perfectly flakey on the inside. Absolutely delightful... if not slightly addicting.

I made my drop biscuits rosemary and pepper flavored just because I wanted to take advantage of the fresh herbs that I've been growing. I've priced it out for dried herbs for those of you who don't have fresh. You could make these biscuits plain or any other flavor you'd like. They're very flexible.

And lastly, I know using a whole stick of butter is frightening (well, it is to me anyway...), but if you do the math it ends up being one tablespoon of butter per biscuit. As long as you have the will power to limit yourself to one and serve it along side something light and healthy (I served them with my kale and chickpea soup), it's not nearly as scary. Here's to justification! *clink of wine glasses*

Rosemary and Pepper Drop Biscuits

Total Recipe cost: $1.92
Servings Per Recipe: 8 (1 biscuit each)
Cost per serving: $0.24
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 cups	all-purpose flour	$0.29
1/2 cup (1 stick)	butter	$0.80
2 tsp	baking powder	$0.06
3/4 tsp	salt	$0.03
1 tsp	dried rosemary	$0.05
1/2 tsp	freshly cracked pepper	$0.05
1 tsp	sugar	$0.02
approx. 1 cup	milk	$0.62
TOTAL		$1.92

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roughly chop the rosemary to prevent large, sharp pieces. Combine the dry ingredients (rosemary, pepper, flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder) in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

STEP 2: Take the butter out of the refrigerator just prior to using it. Slice the butter into pieces. Add the pieces of cold butter to the dry ingredients and work it in until the mixture takes on a sandy texture. I use my hands to "smoosh" the butter in, but you can also use a pastry cutter.

STEP 3: Starting with 3/4 cup, add just enough milk to moisten the mixture into a thick, paste-like texture (see photos below). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop 8 dollups of the biscuit dough onto the paper (about 2/3 cup each).

STEP 4: Bake the biscuits in the fully preheated 400 degree oven for 18-22 minutes or until they are golden brown on the surface. Serve warm.

Step By Step Photos

I used some fresh rosemary (a few sprigs) because I'm growing it, but if you're using dry you can use about one teaspoon. Make sure to chop it up so that you don't have any large pieces poking at your mouth.


Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, chopped rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper). Stir them well to make sure everything is evenly combined.


Keep the butter cold until you're ready to use it. Slice the butter up into pieces and then add it to the flour. Work the butter in until it resembles sand in texture.


I use my hands and just kind of smoosh the butter into the flour mixture, but they actually make a tool for this task and it's called a pastry cutter. Before they made this handy-dandy tool, people used two knives to "cut" the butter into the flour... but I think using my hands is a lot easier than both.


Starting with 3/4 cup of milk, add just enough to make the mixture come together into a thick, paste-like mixture. If you end up adding a little too much milk, they'll still work (I speak from experience), they'll just be more flat.


Stir the batter as little as possible to prevent the mixture from having a "gummy" texture after baking. It only took me maybe 5-10 "turns" of the bowl to stir the milk in. Just make sure everything has gotten wet. It's very quick.


Drop eight scoops of the batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake fro 18-22 minutes or until golden brown on top.


Once they're golden brown on top, they're ready to enjoy!


It might seem strange because rosemary and black pepper are savory herbs, but these biscuits are absolutely TO DIE FOR with honey drizzled on top. Seriously.