Goat Cheese and Black Pepper Biscuits

The mild, smooth curried coconut combination pairs well with something smoky and peppery, so I opted to make some Goat Cheese and Black Pepper Biscuits, a recipe for which appeared in the April 2005 issue of Bon Appetit. Make your basic biscuit dough by mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl. To the dry ingredients, add crumbled goat cheese and 1/4 c buttermilk. Roll the dough out and cut into biscuit shapes.

Most recipes specify that you should use biscuit cutters (or cookie cutters). And there are some advantages to using a metal cutter that will cut the dough clear through to the counter. However, I free up my cabinet space and just re-purpose a drinking glass -- coat the rim with flour and use as a cutter. You'll need to twist your wrist a bit more than you would with a biscuit cutter since the rim of a glass isn't sharp, but, it's one less utensil to have in the kitchen.

Goat Cheese and Black Pepper Biscuits
Bon Appetit

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup buttermilk
European-style butter (such as Plugrá), room temperature

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until coarse meal forms. Add cheese and buttermilk; stir with fork just until dough comes together (bits of cheese will be visible in dough).

Pat dough out on lightly floured surface into 3/4-inch-thick round. Using floured 2-inch-diameter cutter, cut out biscuits. Gather scraps and pat dough out; cut out additional biscuits. Arrange on prepared baking sheets and bake 6 minutes. Turn sheets; bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes longer. Cool biscuits on rack. DO AHEAD Biscuits can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

My biscuits didn't rise very well, which tells me that I need some new baking powder -- once the can is open, it can age fairly quickly -- usually within six months to a year. I once read a cookbook where the author said she would buy a fresh can of baking powder every time she baked. That seems a bit excessive to me, so perhaps a happy medium between her fresh cans, and my flat (but tasty!) biscuits.

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