My ideal party food (at a cocktail party) is one I can eat in a bite or two whilst holding my drink. This snack would be considerate of my constant battles with gravity and wouldn’t drip onto my fit or the floor, and wouldn’t require silverware or a seat to eat. This recipe is just that, a biscuit dressed for a party. She’s jazzed up with scallions, grated cheese, and hot Cajun seasoning. I use a 1.5-inch biscuit cutter to make this a two-bite (or, for the ambitious, one-bite) moment so you and your guests can nibble away. Or, if you’re wanting a bigger biscuit, you do you. It’s your world, babe.
Recipe Type: appetizer
Time: 1.5 -2 hours
Servings: 25-30 small biscuits
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for rolling out dough
¼ cup of whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon fine salt
5 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter
1 cup of whole milk
¼ of sliced scallions (4-5 scallions depending on the size)
1¼ cup of grated melty cheese such as cheddar, gruyere, or whatever you have on hand.
½-1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning (I love Slap Ya Mamma hot) or whatever herbs/spices you want
1 egg
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Measuring spoons/cups
Rolling pin
Plastic wrap
1.5-inch round biscuit cutter
2 sheets of Parchment paper
Baking sheet 2
Pastry brush
Pastry Cutter (optional)
Instructions
Gather your ingredients and tools. Preheat the oven to 425℉/220℃ and place one rack in the bottom third of your oven and one in the top third.
Grate your cheese. I used a blend of cheddar, Gruyere, and Parmesan most recently because I wanted to use up what was in my fridge.
Add AP flour, whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Give the dry ingredients a stir with a spoon.
Add the cubed butter with your pastry cutter, or fingers cut/pinch the butter until they become small irregular chunks of various sizes ranging from pea to lima bean.
Add 3/4 cup of the grated cheese into the mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining ½ cup for the topping. Add the scallions, seasoning powder, and all of the scallions, and the seasoning powder. Give the ingredients a quick toss with your hands or stir with a spoon.
Add 75% of the milk and mix with a spoon. The dough will start together and become shaggy. Try to mix in the liquid quickly without over mixing (to avoid gluten development.
With one clean hand on the bowl and one hand in the dough, begin to feel the dough as you add the remaining milk slowly. Incorporate the liquid into the dough as you gently turn the dough and try to soak up the dry flour, butter, and milk. You don’t want to overwork the dough or over-hydrate the biscuit. Add more milk, if necessary, a tablespoon at a time (whole wheat flour tends to drink up more liquid because it contains more bran). The dough is ready when it just comes together like pie dough. You don’t want it to be too wet or sticky. The flour will continue to hydrate in the fridge.
Flatten the dough into a disk around 3-4 inches thick and wrap it in plastic wrap. Pop in the fridge for 20-30 minutes so the dough can hydrate, and the butter can chill.
Remove the dough from the fridge and sprinkle a clean workspace with flour. With your rolling pin, roll the dough evenly until it’s around two inches thick. Next, cut the biscuit with the cutter and place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart.
Smoosh the remaining dough together by gathering it from the sides, pushing it into the center, and patting it into a disc. Rest for 15 minutes in the fridge, wrapped in plastic, before rolling out.
While the remaining dough is resting, crack one egg into a small bowl and add two tablespoons of water to the bowl. Beat the egg until it becomes a loose homogeneous liquid. In the meantime, brush all of the biscuits with the egg wash. Then top with cheese. Place this tray into the fridge as you roll and cut out the remaining biscuits. Place the 2nd round of biscuits onto the second baking sheet and repeat the egg wash and cheese topping process.
When both trays of biscuits are ready, place them into the oven on the top and bottom racks, and set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rotate the trays so they spend time in the bottom and top racks. Add more time to your timer in 2-minute increments until the biscuits are golden and the cheese has begun to brown in spots around the biscuit.
How to Serve
Serve immediately, or cool and take to a party in an oven-safe baking dish. You can have the host pop these into a 375℉/190℃ for five-ten minutes to refresh. They’re best when warm.