Parmesan-Black Pepper Drop Biscuits

There is nothing better than having warm fresh buns, bread or biscuits at the dinner table. Due to the time involved, that is often saved for the weekend. We're always looking for quick and easy dinners, including accompaniments. Enter the wonderful world of drop biscuits! By simply dropping the dough instead of rolling and cutting, these can be made in around 15 minutes ~ just the amount of time you need to sear your meat, set the table, make a salad, catch up on your blog reading...or whatever you need to do. The result is fresh warm biscuits in no time. How nice is that! 

From the original recipe, I used Parmesan cheese instead of Asiago cheese, as I was trying to use up what I had on hand.  Either way is really good.  I added garlic powder, which definitely enhances the flavor in these biscuits.  I have tried using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour and found the whole wheat pastry flour yielded subpar results.  Light butter or regular butter work fine, but I'm always happy to shave off some calories if the light version works in a recipe. 

Parmesan-Black Pepper Drop Biscuits are versatile, quick and easy to make.  Great for a weeknight dinner, a last minute side or simply just because you're craving warm biscuits. 

Parmesan-Black Pepper Drop Biscuits
Yields 8 biscuits

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons light butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (or Asiago cheese)
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in medium bowl. 
3. Into flour mixture, cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 knives) until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add cheese and toss well to combine.  Add buttermilk and fold until just moist.
4. Drop dough into 8 equal mounds on lined baking sheet.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until edges are browned.

Adapted from Cooking Light