I used to be a much pickier eater than I am now, especially when it came to vegetables. I remember the first time someone offered me pesto pasta. I thought it would be like eating a vegetable. Spinach or something. Was I wrong about that! One bite and I was hooked. I love pesto on pasta and chicken and pizza. So why not biscuits?

Where did this biscuit recipe come from?

This one is mine! I took the base from the Rich Cheesy Cheddar Herb Biscuits and tweaked it to allow the basil pesto flavor come through.

Why choose this biscuit recipe?

Besides the fact that pesto just rocks, I had some leftover in my refrigerator and thought it would be fun to add it to biscuits.

What is Persnickety about this biscuit recipe?

You may have noticed that I’ve made a few biscuits that are this small rectangular shape. I’m sure I will vary it soon enough, but I just love how easy it is to cut up all of the dough at once, while it is on the parchment, and slide the whole thing into the oven. The opposite of persnickety, really.

I do like to freeze the shortening. One thing about shortening compared to butter is that it is still workable when frozen. Just colder. You can’t grate it like butter, but you can easily work it into the dough. I tried to work really quickly and not worry about making the little shortening/butter bits too small. They were more flat than round, which I think helped to make the biscuits a little more flaky.

So how was the biscuit?

Incredibly flavorful. The basil and parmesan were perfectly incorporated into the flaky biscuit that was soft and moist inside.

How were the leftover biscuits prepared?

Leftovers? What leftovers?

>>>Click here for printable recipe.

Pleasing Pesto Parmesan Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups White Lily self-rise flour
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup butter flavored Crisco shortening, frozen
¼ cup basil pesto
¾ – 1 cup buttermilk
Shredded parmesan to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Cut shortening into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Rub between your fingers or cut in using pastry cutter or two knives. Work quickly so that shortening does not get warm.
4. Add pesto, again using your fingers to incorporate but don’t worry about blending perfectly.
5. Make a well in the center and add 3/4 cup buttermilk. Mix quickly with large spoon or hands. Add more buttermilk, if needed, to make dough moist but not too wet. It will be somewhat sticky.
6. Sprinkle flour onto countertop or pastry board. Dump dough out of bowl onto flour. Sprinkle flour onto dough and rub onto hands. Press dough together quickly and flatten to about 1/2 inch. Fold dough in half. A pastry scraper can be really helpful here to lift up the dough. Flatten dough again to about 1/2-3/4 inch.
7. Transfer dough to parchment paper. Press out again if needed. Make into a rough rectangular shape. Using a pastry scraper, knife, spatula or other edge, cut dough into squares about 1 1/2 inches across. You do not need to move the dough after cutting. Sprinkle tops of biscuits with shredded parmesan and a little more pepper if you like.
8. Put cookie sheet in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops of biscuits are slightly browned.
9. Remove from oven, let rest a few minutes, then break apart and eat!
10. Share with someone you love.