Last updated on November 20th, 2018
I had fun this week!
The Germantown Garden Club stopped by for a guided tour…
The pantry received a thorough cleaning…
I purchased a black bracelet that counts my steps…
And just for fun, I baked some herbal biscuits!
These are not your run-of-the-mill biscuits. They are creamy with cottage cheese, flakey with butter, and perfectly-perfumed with parsley and basil. In other words, they are simply scrumptious. They are also easy to make. Here’s the step-by-step:
First, run out to the garden, and grab a bunch of parsley and a few leaves of basil.
Strip the leaves from their stems, and finely-mince the herbs. You’ll need enough to measure 3 tablespoons. Set the herbs aside for a moment.
Next, pour 2 cups of flour into a big blue bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon baking powder…
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt…
And 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
Whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup each of full-fat cottage cheese and full-fat milk.
Obviously, these biscuits are high in fat. And flavor. And everything else that makes life worth living.
Now scatter 6 tablespoons of cold, diced butter over the flour mixture…
And add the aforementioned 3 tablespoons of fresh, minced herbs. You can’t go wrong with a combination of parsley and basil.
Then use your fingers or a metal pastry-blending gadget to rub or cut the butter into the dry ingredients. For the flakiest biscuits, don’t over-do the job. The mixture should look extremely coarse, with lots of different-sized bits of butter.
Next, tip the cottage cheese-and-milk mixture into the flour…
And lightly mix everything together with a fork to achieve a soft dough.
Then dump the crumbly dough onto a lightly-floured surface, and gingerly form it into a ball. I say “gingerly,” because the less the dough is worked, the lighter and better it will be.
Pat or roll the dough into the shape of Iowa (or Montana, if you prefer), about 1/2-inch thick.
Then grab your 2 1/4-inch biscuit cutter, and use it to cut out rounds. Cut the rounds very closely together, so you can achieve as many rounds as possible from just the one rolling or patting of dough. Gather leftover dough, and pat or roll it out until all biscuits have been cut. I manage to cut 12 from mine.
Put the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart on all sides.
Ahead of time note: At this point, you can freeze the biscuits on their baking tray. When solidly frozen, transfer to a zip-lock bag. You will not have to thaw the pastries before baking them. Just bake as usual, but add 3 minutes extra baking-time.
When you are ready to bake, center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake until the biscuits puff, and their tops color slightly. (In my low-end gas oven, the biscuits were done at exactly 16 minutes.) Briefly cool them on a wire rack.
If you are like me, you’ll want to serve these babies warm…
And split and topped with this stuff.
Viewer discretion: These biscuits are dangerously delicious. You’ll probably want to eat them all by yourself. Brenda Johnson, my taste-tester, received two. The remaining 10 were cheerfully consumed by my imaginary friends.
Think you’ll give these tender, flaky, exquisitely-scented biscuits a try? You can let me know by leaving a comment. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing from you.
Meanwhile,here’s the printable:
Tender, flaky, and perfectly-perfumed. One bite and you'll want...more bites.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup full-fat cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 6 tablespoons cold, diced butter
- 3 tablespoon fresh, minced herbs, such as parsley and basil
Instructions
- Tip the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the cottage cheese and milk. Sprinkle the butter over the flour mixture, add the minced herbs, and cut the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Don't over mix! Tip the cottage cheese mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir with fork just until a soft dough is achieved.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly-floured surface, and gingerly form it into a ball. Pat or roll the ball into a rough shape, approximately 1/2-inch-thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/4-inch-diameter biscuit cutter. Cut the rounds closely together, to achieve as many rounds as possible from the first pressing of the dough. Then gather any scraps, roll or press them to the proper thickness, and continue cutting out biscuits.
- Transfer the biscuits to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them at 1 inch apart. At this point you can freeze them on their baking sheet. When solidly frozen, pack into a zip-lock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
- When you are ready to bake, center the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake until puffed and slightly golden -- 14-18 minutes. Cool briefly on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter. Delicious!
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Louise Brouillette says
Kevin, I think I speak for everyone when I say, “WE HATE BRENDA JOHNSON!!!” LOL, I’m green with envy that she gets to taste your fab creations! (I’m just teasing, Brenda…we don’t really hate you!)
Ann Manning says
Can’t wait to try these, and again thank you so much for adding the print feature.
Mary in Iowa says
Oh, I may not HATE Brenda Johnson, but let’s just say that if I were a judge and she ended up in my courtroom, I’d sentence her to a month of Wonder Bread and rusty well water.
Cottage cheese just went on my Chopinliszt. I almost licked the monitor screen when I saw that melting butter.
dELORES says
Can’t wait to try these—!!! Thank you
Brenda Johnson says
Oh Louise and Mary in Iowa…. I may have to be extra descriptive about these delightful biscuits as revenge for the lack of love I’m feeling!!!!! Let’s start with these were slathered in butter…. that was melting into the layers- because they were piping hot when Kevin popped over with them!!! (Fortuitous that I work across the street from his house!!!) Truly these are the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten… the basil was a brilliant addition and added such a wonderful flavor! The cottage cheese was more subtle than the usual cheddar, etc… and kept them so tender. Of course the top and bottom had a wonderful crunch to them…buttery flaky layers on the inside- good there were only 2!!! There’s no way I would have been able to stop munching on them!!! Thanks for sharing Kevin!!!
Mary in Iowa says
Touche, Brenda J! You’re a winner.
On the other hand, I logged right off, went downstairs, mixed up the basic Williams Sonoma recipe with a stick of butter, added cheddar, cayenne and onion, and this very minute am savoring them piping hot, oozing with Kerry Gold butter. Perfect for a chilly, windy, thundery, pouring rain day. 🙂
Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says
I’ve been waiting for this very thing, a reason to use my second crop of homegrown basil which has not yet bloomed. Thanks for this timely offer.
And it has nothing to do with the recipe, but the moment I saw the green dinosaur supervising your ingredients, I thought of the kindergarten boy I taught in the early 90’s who had a predilection for chewing up plastic dinosaurs from the toy bucket, masticating them into a plastic pulp. STRANGE BUT TRUE.
Back on topic, these biscuits look scrumptious and are right up to your usual standards. We need to see a photo of you with Brenda Johnson, the luckiest woman in your neighborhood.
Rita C says
I don’t have a pretty blue bowl – and, sadly, lack the fresh herbs, but I WILL try this (with dried herbs, yes, just half the amount) and I’m sure me and MY imaginary friends will gobble these all up before anyone else in the house realizes I’ve baked them! TY for sharing. Looks scrumptious. I’ve added this to my winter baking arsenal 😀
Louise Brouillette says
Well played, Brenda Johnson, well played! LOL, we can’t help being envious that you’re Kevin’s neighbor! Enjoy all his goodies AND his delightful company!
Tracy says
Criminy, Kevin! You are KILLING my weight loss efforts….!
Sandra Hutchison says
Oh, that looks yummy. Do you think, lacking cottage cheese but having full fat ricotta in my refrigerator, that I could make a substitution?
jean says
Hi Kevin,
Well I can almost smell those biscuits and the wonderful basil aroma and can’t wait to try the recipe! Thanks again for another winner. You will love your step counter. I got one in July and it is amazing how it keeps me accountable. If I am within 1,000 steps of my goal for the day and haven’t achieved it yet, silly me walks through the house until I meet my goal because it kills me to be that close and not make my goal. So in the long run, that means you can eat more wonderful biscuits because you will be walking off he calories. Enjoy and happy fall to you. It is in the 40’s here in Indiana this morning and such a nice, crisp morning. Maybe I will make some biscuits and a spot of tea to warm up.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Sandra – You can certainly try the biscuits with ricotta instead of cottage cheese. Let me know how they turn out for you!
Hi Jean – Yes, more walking, more biscuits. And kudos to you for always achieving your FitBit goal!
Joy Brinduse says
OK, Kevin….I asked a while back for a non-dairy recipe, so I’m going to try these with my lactose-free cottage cheese, lactose free milk and Smart Balance. I absolutely know they won’t be as good as your buttery recipe, but I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Karyn says
Just printed off this recipe, will have to wait till I get home from church to try it though. I would make it this morning but hubby doesn’t like anything but regular biscuits. All the better for me!! I always come in from church famished, so I may be able to take care of all of them. lol
Sandra from WA says
I love savory foods. I am making these today!!!!! Thanks Kevin for all your tasty ideas.
Carol Samsel says
These sound heavenly and will go great with the zucchini/tomato casserole I’m planning for supper tonight !!!!!
Ardelle says
What a great recipe – I will give it a try this morning with fresh, cool parsley and basil from my garden. Thank you for the great tip to freeze before baking to bake later. I often hesitate to make biscuits because as you stated, they are best straight from the oven – leftover, not so much. So I can now bake several, and freeze the others for another day. Best tip ever!
I am always intrigued by your rolling pin. I have always used a straight ‘standard’ rolling pin. You use the tapered style. Can you explain why or is it just a tradition from some family pantry? No one has ever given me an answer that made sense, so here’s your chance to shine once more.
Jessica Radcliffe says
Kevin, I made the parsley,basil and sage pesto for the third time and it is one of the Best Things Ever. Thanks!
Jane Childs says
Funny, here in Australia we call these lovely treats from Kevin’s oven, scones.! Biscuits here are like crunchy short bread, and I think you call them ‘cookies…. And they are usually full of Trans Fats ( the bad -fats)..So enjoy Kevin’s scones( as in scons)without the bad -fat guilts!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Ardelle – Until I purchased a tapered (“French”) rolling pin, I could never produce perfect circles of dough for tarts and pies. But any standard pin will work for biscuit dough.
Marge says
Oh c’mon Kevin, did you really have to do this to me? These are absolutely mouth wateringly gorgempulous! Is that a word? Now I have to wait til this afternoon to try these…I’m out the door. And oh those peanut butter cookies were a hit and are regularly requested by the king of this manor.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
HI Jessica Radcliffe – So glad you enjoyed the PBS pesto!
Hi Marge – “Gorgempulous” — I’m adding that word to my culinary-dictionary.
Janice MacLean says
I will try these, with the tomato pie these sound wonderful.
jane says
hi kevin~they sounds DELICIOUS!!! do you think they’ll work with gluten free flour… and by the way i’ve been making your recipe for iced coffee ALL SUMMER… i love it and have been serving it to everyone who comes in my door…… thanks SO much…. xoxoox
Rhonda Strahler says
I think I just gained a couple pounds reading the recipe – gotta try it! And thank you Mary – henceforth my portable paper brain will be call my “ChopinListz!!!!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Jane – If you try these with GF flour, let me know how they turn out for you. And I agree with you — cold-brewed coffee is the bomb!
Elaine says
I hope you realize that eating “low-fat” is a myth. It was all wrong. We need FAT for every function in our body. Fat does not make us fat.
Julie R says
Kevin, you give such great details for making recipes. Yes, I want to try making these biscuits. Once again you had me laughing at the funny green dinosaur on the counter. Every week I look forward to reading your news and recipes and hearing about Lily. I sure wish I would have known about your site years ago. Just glad that I found it when I did. Have a great weekend !
Pat C says
I love your recipes and your subtle sense of humor! Your newsletter is always full of interesting, useful and delightful info!
Thanks!!
Trudi says
with some modifications for gluten free and a trip to the market for herbs I can do this. Its been a long season here for my herbs and they are finished. but there is always some body who still has them for sale
Suzanne Rowe says
I love your recipes the funny thing about this one was I grew up on the border between Minnesota and Iowa and now live in Montana! So I can most defiantly roll out the biscuits to similar shapes. They sound absolutely delish!
Kathy woicik says
You are talented and very funny, thanks for the laughs.
Mary in Iowa says
LOL, Rhonda Strahler. When you have a number of chores to accomplish, you’ll find that a ChekhovLizst comes in very handy. 🙂
Elisabeth Feher says
Hi Kevin,
Just made the herbed cottage cheese biscuits for Sunday lunch with a quiche.
Used whole wheat flour since that is what I had at hand. I came up with 15 pieces since I must have rolled the dough a little thinner. Know better next time. I had some dehydrated jalopeno peppers and since my husband loves hot flawor I sprinkled a little in the mix along with the Parsley. Tastes good and the texture is very good too. Will be a little more moist when I roll to the right thickness.
thanks for the share,
Elisabeth
Josie says
these sound sooo good I am going to make them right now
Ed Morrow says
Kevin,
Is Brenda Johnson one of your imaginary friends? We hear a lot about her, but have never see the two of you together in a picture. The biscuits sound delicious and I’m headed to the garden to get some parsley and basil.
All the best.
Ed Morrow
Carmel Valley,CA
Sherlie Magaret says
Yummmm, yes I want to try the biscuits, I also have a Fitbit that counts my steps, it is making me more responsible to keep moving. 🙂
Miller says
I immediately made these today upon receiving your weekly email. They tasted GREAT, but they didn’t rise at all. Followed everything to the tee…any advice? Thanks for everything….really enjoy your emails and recipes!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Miller – So glad you tried the biscuits! The only thing that will keep these pastries from rising well is baking powder that is past its prime. Ditto for baking soda. (I once read that BP should be replaced every 3 months, especially if it is stored in a warm cabinet.)
Elizabeth King says
OH!! if only these were gluten free! Look delicious!
Susa n says
Oh no! I grow basil but not parsley. Any suggestions from fellow Kevin followers?
Jenny Larmouth says
These look delicious, but a little information on carbs would help.
Sekina Suleman says
Hi Kevin
You have such great taste in your beautiful home,food,garden etc.
Why do you call them biscuits( like the Americans?)
They’re good old fashioned scones and looks delicious.
Do you have a gluten free recipe as I stopped eating wheat four months ago and have lost eight pounds(lbs) thus far and going strong.
Will appreciate your reply as soon as possible.
Stay well and keep sending those wonderful delights.
Much love and regards,
Sekina Adam- Suleman
selma says
Now that its cooler (this morning 46 in Falls Village CT) I will be making soups for dinner and these will be the perfect go with! Thank you …. Just a side note, last evening dinner with friends and my BFF took your blog address down. I had made the Blueberry Galette for dessert for a gathering of our friends this summer… Cathy lives in Florida and Bridgewater CT and will make this fab dessert for her friends in Florida! So you are expanding your sphere of influence!
Phyllis Vander Linden says
I made the tomato pie. We loved it. Didn’t plant basil this year but hope to next year. I had to pay $2.50 for a few leaves. Now the biscuits could use basil too.
Addie in FL says
Hi, Kevin – I’ll trying making them with the GF flour from America’s Test Kitchen and let you know how they come out. And I found out the hard way that if your baking powder goes hard it isn’t going to do its job, so now I cover the can with plastic wrap before I put the lid back on.
Anyway, it won’t be for a while because we’re having our kitchen ripped out and replaced, so we’ll be getting out of Dodge in our travel trailer since a good friend has offered to project-manage the job for us. I’m getting an induction stove (as much as I loved my gas stove in the UK it’s too hard to get where we live in Florida); the induction stove will give me similar results; i.e. instant on/off.
Cheers for all your hard work and terrific recipes!
Addie
Jean says
Wow, thanks for the recipe and bringing back memories! I used to make cottage cheese bread years ago and had forgotten how good it was. Will try your biscuits tomorrow.
NPA says
I love the new print feature – thanks for the change. And I’ve just printed off your biscuits to try; they look delish!
NPA
Mary Dee says
Yummaroo, definitely going to try to make these!! I don’t have the fresh herbs either but Kroger does so I’ll head that way tomorrow.
Lori says
Those would make a fabulous crust for Tomato Pie.
Anne in Vermont Zone 4/5 says
Hi Kevin,
Did not have cottage cheese on hand when I made these so I used ricotta made from whole milk and some cream. Guests liked them a lot, I, not so much, though that is perhaps because biscuits are an American item and I am not American. Still, they were easy and quick to prepare and received rave reviews. I am pre-selling your cookbook here so hope some details will be avavilable soon.
Anne
ANN GEORGE says
HI KEVIN, NICE TO FINNALLY MEET YOU, OLD HOUSE, I HAVE ONE TOO; HUMOR, NESSASAREY IF YOU OWN AN OLD HOUSE AND AWESOME FOOD THE REWARD FOR TAKING CARE OF AN OLD HOUSE. I WAS FEELING QUITE ALONE OUT HEAR WITH MY 23 WINDOWS THAT ARE MORE WORK THAN I CARE TO SAY, I HAVE EVAN LEARNED HOW TO GLAZE, NEXT WITH BE REPLACING THE SASH CORDS , THAT SHOULD BE FUN. I STUMBLELED INTO YOUR SITE FOR A CLEANING OLD GLASS , WHICH I HAVE ALOT OF ALONG WITH STORM WINDOWS OVER THE OLD WINDOWS. I AM ONLY 5’3″ AND THEY ARE REALLY TALL EACH WINDOW TAKES ME 3 HOURS TO CLEAN. RIGHT? MY NAME IS ANN AND I HAVE BEEN VERY ENTERTAINED BY WHAT I HAVE READ SO FAR. THANKS
January5 says
I made these gluten-free by subbing the 2 cups flour for 2 cups Namaste gluten-free flour mix and they turned out just right. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Angela says
I would very much like to try this recipe – it looks delicious! I was wondering whether I could substitute a red bowl instead of a blue without too much impact on taste, as I do not have a blue bowl. Also, would you recommend using dried basil at the usual 1 to 3 ratio, as I cannot get my hands on fresh basil at this time of year? I do look forward to trying this recipe, and I am sure my very own imaginary friends will also be licking their lips!!
Mona Klassen says
Recent to your site, so am enjoying reading all your old postings. Tried lots of your recipes and
Find them so delicious. I too love your garden (I have a big one too) so always have
Supplies . y our Lily is darling. All this has been said by so many others, but I wanted you to
Know from me how refreshing it is to open my iPad and find you there with something new to
Try! Your tomato pie was to die for. I made the bottom with your biscuit dough. I hope you have a large repertoire because there sure seems to be a lot of us depending on you for big hips.
Kindest regards. Mona
Barb Milburn says
You couldn’t be more right, Kevin!! THESE are worthy of an extra mile!!!
Looneymaple says
Kevin, I don’t bake well (and not often) but this looked so simple I gave them a try for a luncheon at home today.
I wished the dry as instructed, I minced fresh fragrant herbs perfectly, I massaged gently the dough and shaped it gingerly into the shape of Saskatchewan (I am Canadian). I even went as far as using parchment lined cookie sheet!
My biscuits (scones here) were hard bullets that when dropped could chip your fine china plate.
One of my guest wondered if my baking powder was old!? What? Sure enough, I am embarrassed to admit it expired March 2013!! Who knew you had to replace this stuff? Not me.
So, I will try these beautiful scones again with fresh BP.
Lesson learned; it’s time to refresh my dried spices and baking items.
Looneymaple says
oops, I whisked, not wished. In hindsight, I shd hv wished.
Karen says
I made these for our Thanksgiving feast. They spelled so good that I couldn’t wait and needed to “test” one. WOW!!! They are outstanding. I highly recommend these. I used 1% milk and fresh basil. Mine came out slightly crispy on the bottom. I used the 2 1/4″ biscuit cutter. Next time I will go with a slightly bigger cutter, although it’s probably not best for my diet to make these bigger. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Karen says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I really enjoy good biscuits and these are amazing. I am going to make a batch to freeze so we can have them whenever we desire. You are such a blessing.
Phoebe says
Hi, Kevin,
When you say ‘plain’ four do you mean all-purpose unbleached or bleached flour?
White Lily bleached seems to be popular in the South.
Thank you,
Phoebe
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Phoebe – I used unbleached all-purpose flour for these biscuits. Bleached flour should work as well. Enjoy!