Easy Soft, & Flaky Pimento Cheese Biscuits
I’m a biscuit connoisseur. There is rarely a week that goes by that I don’t have a craving for a buttery, flaky biscuit to sink my teeth into. I want it to be soft, just the right level of salty, and when it has that lightly crisp base for you to bite through – my gosh. The best biscuits need nothing else, though there is rarely an occasion where butter doesn’t make something better. I’ll leave the choice up to you.
I’ve tried and tested so many biscuit recipes, both classic (one of my favorites being the buttermilk biscuits from Salt Fat Acid Heat, which gave me a few handy tips) and slightly unconventional, like these rosemary goat cheese biscuits.
I grew up in North Carolina, but it might surprise some of my southern peers that I didn’t try pimento cheese for the first time until I was in college. I was working at a boutique when one of my co-workers (who was stunned I’d never heard of it) gave me a bite of her snack. Let’s just say, I gorged on pimento cheese for a while after that. The balance of creamy to cheesy to a little bit spicy, man oh man is it good.
When thinking through this recipe I figured, I love a savory biscuit, I love pimento cheese, why not bring those two flavors home in one buttery, delectable bite?
I promise, this is going to be your new favorite biscuit recipe.
If you love these as much as I do, please rate and review below and tag @accentgolden in your posts on social!
PIMENTO CHEESE BISCUITS
Picture your absolute favorite biscuit recipe, and make it better, and you’ll have these biscuits. You’ll take a buttermilk biscuit base and fold in just a little bit of homemade pimento cheese – quickly made, in one bowl – before rolling, stacking, and cutting to make the flakiest biscuits. I like to brush the top of mine with a little butter for that golden finish and top with extra shredded cheddar cheese, to sell home that cheese biscuit vibe.
What is pimento cheese? A southern food staple with northern roots. It originated in New York, funnily enough, but is widely popular across the south where you’ll find it as a dip, in sandwiches, topping burgers, and more. Traditionally, it’s made from two base ingredients: pimentos and cream cheese – but has been adapted to include shredded cheddar cheese, mayo (or if you’re a mayo hater like me, Greek yogurt), and a variety of spices.
INGREDIENTS
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Balances out the cream of the pimento cheese with a sharp cheesy bite
- Cream Cheese: Adds both flavor and softness to the pimento cheese
- Greek Yogurt: My preference over mayo for a creamy binding ingredient
- Diced Pimento Peppers: Key ingredient that adds a delicious flavor
- Spices (garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper): Make for the perfect savory with a hint of spice balance
- Flour: Binds your biscuit dough together for the best structure
- Baking Powder: Your rising agent for biscuits that shoot straight up
- Unsalted Butter: Adds flavor, color, and steam to make those delicious layers
- Buttermilk: Creates both a tender texture and uses its acidity to work with the baking powder for even fluffier biscuits
How do you make biscuits with flaky layers? Here are a few tips for getting those soft, pillowy layers that you can literally peel off one by one. First, your butter needs to be very cold, which will ensure that it doesn’t melt as soon as it hits the oven, but makes those nice pockets of steam to form your layers. Secondly, you’ll notice we stack the dough after patting it down and cutting it, to get even more delicious layers. Third, when cutting your biscuits, make sure your cutter is floured before cutting straight down and lifting straight back up to keep those layers in tact and help your biscuits rise straight up as they bake.
HOW TO MAKE PIMENTO CHEESE BISCUITS
Making pimento cheese is first on our short list, and it’s done easily, all in one bowl. Simply add everything to a small mixing bowl – grated cheddar, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, pimentos, and all of your spices, stir and set aside.
Making your biscuit dough is very similar to making pie crust or dough for scones, so the technique threads through! You’ll start by whisking together your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, and salt – before adding in your cold, cubed butter. Your butter must stay cold, so if it seems like it’s softening, don’t hesitate to pop your dough into the fridge for a few minutes to let it firm back up. Use your fingers to rub your butter into your mixture until it’s roughly the size of peas. Pour in your buttermilk (see tips below for making your own if you don’t have any) and stir with a spatula until just a few streaks of flour remain. Then add in a ¼ cup of your pimento cheese, saving the rest for a little snack later or to smear onto your biscuits, and fold it into your dough.
Sprinkle a little bit of flour on your countertop and place your dough on it. Pat it with your hands into a ¾”-inch thick circle – this is where I use my ruler! – before cutting into four equal wedges, stacking one on top of the other, and pressing down again into a ¾”-inch thick circle. This technique will give you all of those delicious, flaky layers. From here, flour your biscuit cutter and cut straight down and back up, placing your cut biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with some extra grated cheddar. Then pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make sure that the butter is nice and cold before it hits the oven.
Preheat your oven to 450°F and bake your tray of biscuits for 12 minutes, rotating your pan at the 6-minute mark. They will be beautifully puffed and golden. Remove to cool on a wire rack, serve warm, and enjoy!
3 reasons you’ll love these biscuits
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Freshly grate your cheddar cheese for your pimento cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it to preserve it, but this also makes it not melt as nicely. Cheese is a big flavor here, so I’d highly recommend shredding your own!
- If you prefer mayo in your pimento cheese, feel free to swap it in for the Greek yogurt (I just hate the taste of mayo, though it works beautifully to make moist cakes)
- You will have a little pimento cheese leftover (just a few tablespoons) to spread on your biscuit or eat later for a snack with crackers. I love a little pimento cheese on some rosemary crackers!
- Make sure your butter stays cold as you work it into your dough. If at any point it seems like it’s softening, throw your dough into the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm it back up. The cold temperature of your butter is key before it hits the oven for those flaky soft layers.
- Before cutting your dough, make sure your biscuit cutter is floured and that you cut straight down and straight back up. I learned this tip from Samin Nosrat’s cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat, where she emphasizes the importance of this biscuit cutting technique to ensure your biscuits rise straight up as they bake!
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, quickly make your own by adding one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring cup and filling it up to the one cup line with milk. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes before using! You’ll have a little more than you need, so just store the rest in the fridge for another recipe.
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
Once you cut out your biscuits from your dough, you can bake them straight away or freeze them. To freeze, wrap each biscuit airtight and store in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. When ready to bake, bake from frozen, but plan to add a few more minutes to the baking time.
The baked biscuits are best as soon as they are made, but if you have leftovers, store them airtight at room temperature for up to two days. I would recommend re-heating them in the microwave or toaster oven before eating your leftover biscuits.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES
For a single-serve biscuit, this Drop Biscuit with Cinnamon Plum Compote makes for the perfect cozy bite for one. These Rosemary & White Chocolate Scones make a delicious batch to impress a brunch crowd. Try this crustless Easy Mediterranean Quiche filled with feta, goat cheese, spinach, and more for something more savory!
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Spatula
- Ruler
- 2 ½” round biscuit cutter
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese finely shredded
- 1 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon diced pimentos drained
- ⅛ teaspoon pinch of garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon pinch of onion powder
- Dash of cayenne pepper
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- 1/16 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted for brushing on top
Instructions
- First, make your pimento cheese. Combine all of your ingredients into a bowl – shredded cheddar cheese, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, pimentos, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir together until fully combined and set aside
- For your biscuit dough, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl
- Add the ½ cup of cold cubed butter and rub it into your flour mixture until you have pea-sized pieces of butter
- Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with a wooden spoon or a spatula until the dough just begins to come together.
- When you still have a few streaks of flour left to stir in, fold in ¼ cup of the pimento cheese. Be careful not to overmix.
- Lightly flour your counter and turn your dough onto it before patting into a ¾-inch thick circle. Cut into four equal sections and stack one on top of the other, then gently pat down into a ¾-inch thick circle again. This will give you those flaky layers!
- Flour a 2 ½” biscuit cutter to cut out your biscuits, wiping and re-flouring between each cut. Re-roll your dough as needed to use it up; you should end up with 7 biscuits and then a slightly smaller “half” biscuit with what’s left of the dough
- Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart and brush the tops lightly with melted butter before topping with a little extra shredded cheddar. Pop in the fridge for 10 minutes to make sure your butter is extra cold
- Preheat your oven to 450°F
- Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, or until golden brown on top
- Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm and enjoy!
