Rosemary Biscuits

Elevate your biscuit game with rosemary! Our simple rosemary biscuits are a delightful twist on a classic recipe that work just as well for dinner as they do for breakfast.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Resting Time20

Total Time45

Servings: biscuits

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Sandra

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt See Note 1.
5 tablespoons butter European style with sea salt. Cubed. See Note 2.
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary Chopped. See Note 3.
1 cup milk See Note 4.

Instructions

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
Add cubed butter and distribute the butter throughout using a pastry cutter or fork. Note 5.
5 tablespoons butter
Stir in rosemary.
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
Add milk and stir until the dough forms a rough ball.
1 cup milk
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat it down into a rough rectangle about an inch thick.
Fold it over and gently pat it down again into a rough rectangle. Repeat once. Note 6.
Gently roll out the dough until it measures roughly 10 by 6 inches.
Cut dough into biscuits using a floured 3 inch diameter biscuit cutter. Note 7.
Carefully transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet, being careful to not touch the sides.
Cover the baking sheet loosely with a clean kitchen towel and place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes. Note 8.
About halfway through the resting time, preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C).
When biscuits are done resting, remove them from the refrigerator and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden.

Notes

The amount of salt you use here depends on whether you are using salted or unsalted butter. I used European style butter salted with sea salt. Sea salt is less salty than regular table salt. If you are using unsalted butter, you will need to increase the salt to ¾ to 1 teaspoon.
As mentioned in Note 1, I used European style butter with sea salt added. European style butter has higher milk fat content than regular butter. This makes the biscuits more tender and flavorful. If you can't find European style butter, it's perfectly fine to sub regular butter. I would opt for unsalted butter and then adjust the amount of salt. Chop the butter into ½ inch cubes then place it in a bowl in the freezer while you prep everything else. It's important that the butter stay as cold as can be until you're ready to use it.
The way you chop the rosemary does matter here. I tested this recipe with finely chopped rosemary and again with roughly chopped rosemary. I found that the rougher the chop, the more the rosemary flavor comes through. If you want a lot of rosemary flavor in your biscuits like we do, chop it into about ¼ inch pieces. If you want more subtle flavor, chop it more finely.
I used 2% milk which is what I usually have on hand. Whole milk would be even better. If you happen to have buttermilk, that will work as well.
There are several methods out there for distributing the butter for pastry and biscuits. I have found that a pastry cutter or fork works best for me. It keeps my hands off of the butter (so they don't warm it), and I get better distribution. Some people love using a food processor, but I didn't want to bother with dirtying my food processor just for this. I also think it over works the dough. After distributing the butter, I test the distribution by picking up some dough in my hand and squeezing and releasing, if the dough holds together then it's good.
Folding the dough over like this creates flaky layers in the biscuits. To save time, I folded it just twice. If you want more layers, you can fold it once more.
I used a 3 inch diameter biscuit cutter. You can adjust the size according to the size of the biscuits you want. If you do size down, bear in mind that the baking time may need to be adjusted. While baking, check the biscuits at 8 minutes. If they are already golden brown, then they're done.
This resting time in the refrigerator does a couple of things. It gives the gluten a chance to relax. It gives the butter a chance to firm up. If you prefer taller biscuits, let them rest on the kitchen counter instead of putting then in the fridge.

Nutrition