Cracked Black Pepper Cream Biscuits Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease cake pans or baking dish with 1 Tbsp. melted butter.
• Combine all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, pepper, kosher salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add shortening and 1/2 pound softened butter. Using your hands or a fork, mix just until mixture is coarse and mealy. Stir in buttermilk just until a shaggy dough forms.
• Divide dough into 16 heaping 1/3-cup portions. Place 7 around the perimeter and 1 in the center of each cake pan (or nestle all 16 into baking dish). Brush biscuits with remaining 3 Tbsp. melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt, and bake until puffed and golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack, then reinvert. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475°F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add thyme and cracked black pepper. Sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer thyme mixture to small bowl. Whisk in milk, then egg. Cover and chill until mixture is cold.
• Blend flour, baking powder and salt in processor. Add 3/4 cup butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk mixture. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps begin to form. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead until dough holds together, about 6 turns. Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using 2-inch-diameter biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Reroll dough scraps and cut out additional biscuits, making 16 biscuits total. Transfer biscuits to large baking sheet.
• Bake biscuits until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve biscuits warm. (Biscuits can be prepared ahead. Cool. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature 8 hours or freeze up to 2 weeks. Rewarm biscuits in 350°F oven just until heated through, about 8 minutes.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425° F. and lightly grease a large baking sheet.
• Into a bowl sift together flour and baking powder. With a fork stir in sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons pepper, and table salt. Add cream and stir to form a soft dough. On a lightly floured surface with floured hands knead dough gently 8 times.
• Melt butter and cool.
• Pat out dough into a 9-inch square (about 1/2 inch thick). With a rectangular cutter (about 2 3/4 by 1 3/4 inches) dipped in flour or with a sharp knife cut out as many rectangles as possible. Dip tops of biscuits in butter and arrange, buttered sides up, 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet. Gather scraps into a ball. Pat out dough and make more biscuits in same manner. Sprinkle biscuits with coarse salt and remaining 1/2 tablespoon pepper.
• Bake biscuits in middle of oven until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Biscuits may be made 6 hours ahead and cooled completely before being kept, wrapped well, at room temperature. Just before serving, reheat biscuits in a 350° F. oven until just warm, about 5 minutes.