What goes equally well with jam, ham and coffee? These black pepper and ricotta biscuits, obviously. They’re rich, flaky and comforting.
If you’re a fan of classic buttermilk biscuits, I think you’ll enjoy my savory twist. The recipe calls for a standard list of ingredients and, as you probably guessed, a touch of black pepper and a lot of ricotta cheese.
These biscuits may look impressive, but they are a snap to make. In fact, you can bake a batch in well under an hour.
As soon as they emerge from the oven, dig in! Slather the biscuits with fruit preserves or offer them as an accompaniment to salad. For something more decadent, split and top the buttery rounds with bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce or smother them with sausage gravy.
Recipe adapted from Apt. 2B Baking Co.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 egg
- heavy cream or half-and-half (for finish, optional)
- flake salt and freshly ground black pepper (for finish, optional)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta and egg; mix well.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a ¾"-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half, turn it 90 degrees and pat into a ¾"-thick rectangle. Repeat the process 4 more times, flouring your work surface as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Cut out biscuits with a round cutter and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Press together scraps and cut out one or two more biscuits.
- Brush tops of biscuits with heavy cream or half-and-half, and sprinkle with flake salt and pepper, if using.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
These were so delicious. My husband liked them so much that he said this should be my go to recipe from now on. They had a nice texture; the pepper flavor is well balanced.
So happy to hear, Dee! Glad you both enjoyed them.
The dough was very wet and sloppy and the scones aren’t really rising. Perhaps I’ve followed the recipe incorrectly.
I am sorry to hear that, Meg. It’s possible you were using a wetter ricotta, in which case you could try draining the cheese in a sieve set over a bowl for a few hours.
I never usually comment on recipes but I wanted to leave a review since there aren’t so many. I’m really happy I tried this recipe out. I love adding ricotta to anything. The dough was a dream to work with and I had no trouble with the recipe. It was perfect. 👌🏽 spot on. Best biscuits I’ve ever made. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Nia! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I added a little bit of bee pollen to the recipe and they taste great! I did have an issue with my first batch rising but I know what I did wrong 🤦🤦. Second batch is going in now!
Yum – that sounds like a delicious twist, Naomi! Glad you were able to troubleshoot. 🙂
Have you tried freezing before baking? Thinking I’d like to get the work done ahead of time for Easter Brunch and just pop them in the oven before we eat.
Hi Anne – I haven’t tried it, but you can certainly make and freeze the biscuits ahead of time and then bake as directed. Enjoy!