Black Pepper Biscuits

These Black Pepper Biscuits made with freshly-ground black pepper are the most heavenly biscuits you will ever eat! Pair them with butter and honey, and you have reached pure nirvana.

Let me tell you about my not-favorite-dinner when I was growing up. It consisted of tuna gravy made out of flour, milk, and tuna poured over flat, flavorless biscuits.

Now compare those biscuits to the ones you get from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Those biscuits are huge and fluffy, but they have a strange texture that makes them stick to the roof of your mouth makes you really thirsty.

Let’s just say that until recently, I was not a biscuit fan. Then one day, all of that changed when I found a recipe for Black Pepper Biscuits in our church cookbook, and my life was forever changed. I combined that recipe with this recipe for Perfect Biscuits Every Time from Mom on Timeout and tweaked it a bit, and the result was sheer perfection!

First, let’s just appreciate how high and fluffy they are!

Aside from their impressive size, what makes these biscuits truly special is the freshly ground black pepper that gives them their name. You can’t use the kind in your pepper shaker. You have to use actual ground pepper. If you don’t have one of those wooden pepper grinders, you can use this cute little McCormick Black Peppercorn Grinder – 1.0 oz from Amazon.

Alternately, you can throw some peppercorns into your Blendtec or VitaMix and and pulse them a few times.  I do think that you need a powerful blender, like a Blendtec or VitaMix. I tried blending the peppercorns in my Ninja, and it was not very effective. You might get huge pieces of peppercorn in your biscuits, which can be quite shocking to the senses. Also, be aware that if you crack the peppercorns in your blender, it may cause the bottom of the container to become a little filmy (because of the force of the peppercorns slamming into the side).

But it is SO  worth it. Look at this:

See those big flecks of pepper!

Wait. Were you too busy looking at the honey? That’s o.k. These biscuits taste AMAZING with butter and honey. Or try chicken salad sandwiched between the two sides. I can’t image anything that would not be delicious with these biscuits.

And if you end up with extra ground pepper, don’t worry. You can just make a second batch. ????

This recipe first appeared on Yellow Bliss Road, where I am a contributor.

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Black Pepper Biscuits

Author: Melissa Howell

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup cold butter not room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Remove butter from the refrigerator and cut into 1 Tbsp. portions. (You may cut them into even smaller pieces if desired). Put them back into the refrigerator. Cold butter is imperative!
2. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
4. Remove the butter from the refrigerator and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. Cut just until you see small chunks of butter (no larger than peas). Don't try to completely blend all the butter in until it disappears. Those small pieces of butter are important.
5. Slightly beat the egg with the milk and add to the flour/butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Don't add more flour or keep stirring the dough, even though it is sticky.
6. Generously flour a large surface (such as a clean counter or big cutting board).
7. Put the dough on top of the flour and add more flour to the top of the dough. Knead 10-15 times. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
8. Roll or pat the dough so that it is 3/4 to one inch thick. This height is important. Anything smaller than this will not give you the tall biscuits you desire.
9. Using a large cup or glass, cut the biscuits out and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. When you cut out the biscuits, do not rotate the cup back and forth. Just push it down and lift straight up.
10. Keep collecting and gently rolling the remaining dough so that you can cut out more biscuits.
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on top.
12. If desired, brush butter on the top of the hot biscuits.