These fluffy baking powder drop biscuits are seasoned with black pepper and salty, crunchy bits of Parmesan cheese. Perfect with a bowl of hot soup.
You might also love these recipes for Scottish bannocks (oatmeal scones), cheesy biscuits with bacon, and peasant bread.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft, Fluffy, and Flaky. Today’s recipe for drop biscuits is based on my original recipe for baking powder biscuits. But instead of rolling and cutting the dough, you can also just “drop” the dough onto a baking sheet with a spoon. If you like the look of layered, flaky, biscuits, though, be sure to see the tutorial video in this post.
Crispy and Cheesy. There’s Parmesan cheese in the biscuit dough. But what adds a really special touch is grating cheese underneath and on top of the biscuits, creating a crunchy layer of golden brown Parmesan that’s just so good.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour and Corn Starch. The corn starch lightens the texture of the biscuits to keep them soft and fluffy.
- Baking Powder.
- Coarse Salt and Black Pepper.
- Unsalted Butter.
- Parmesan Cheese. Freshly grated, from a wedge, not pre-grated from a can.
- Milk.
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until crumbly.
- Grate 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the flour mixture, and stir it in.
- Stir in the milk just until moistened and use your hands to gather the mixture up into a craggy dough that sticks together, but don’t overwork the dough. If necessary, add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper. Grate 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese directly onto the paper.
- Use a large cookie scoop/cupcake scoop with a release lever (or just a spoon) to portion out 12 biscuits, placing them close together, on top of the grated cheese.
- Whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash, and lightly brush the egg wash over the biscuits. Grate the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan over the biscuits.
- Freeze the biscuits for 30 minutes.
- While the biscuits are freezing, preheat the oven to 450 F and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the biscuits until the cheese is crisp and golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
- Cool biscuits for 5 minutes, then serve hot with honey.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Biscuits are best served fresh, on the morning they’re made. But leftovers are still great, and the best way to reheat them is to lightly toast them in a convection oven until warm, or to microwave them briefly at 50% power.
Unbaked biscuits can be frozen for up to 3-6 months. You can bake them straight from the freezer, and just add about 4-5 minutes to the baking time.
No, you need to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese for today’s recipe.
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Parmesan Pepper Drop Biscuits
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 10 tbsp very cold, unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp very cold whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until crumbly.
- Grate 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese over the flour mixture, and stir it in. (Don't pack the grated cheese into a measuring cup, or you'll end up with too much. Just estimate the amount as you grate it over the dough, and you'll be fine.)
- Stir in the milk just until moistened and use your hands to gather the mixture up into a craggy dough that sticks together, but don’t overwork the dough. If necessary, add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper. Grate 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese directly onto the paper.
- Use a large cookie scoop/cupcake scoop with a release lever (or just a spoon) to portion out 12 biscuits, placing them close together, on top of the grated cheese.
- Whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash, and lightly brush the egg wash over the biscuits. Grate the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan over the biscuits.
- Freeze the biscuits for 30 minutes.
- While the biscuits are freezing, preheat the oven to 450 F and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the biscuits until the cheese is crisp and golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.
- Cool biscuits for 5 minutes, then serve hot with honey.
Video
Notes
- Biscuits are best served fresh, on the morning they’re made. But leftovers are still great, and the best way to reheat them is to lightly toast them in a convection oven until warm, or to microwave them briefly at 50% power.
- Unbaked biscuits can be frozen for up to 3-6 months. You can bake them straight from the freezer, and just add about 4-5 minutes to the baking time.
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Will bake time be different if I bake without cheese
Yes, a few minutes less. Without cheese, you’ll be making my original biscuit recipe, which you can find here: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-powder-biscuits/