gameday snacks: pepperoni pizza biscuit bites [week 6]

I was in Austin this weekend for my boyfriend’s 30th birthday and while I was expecting some amazing barbecue, I was truly blown away by the food truck parks tucked away in different pockets of the city.  We drove out to Salt Lick for ribs, brisket, and the best sausage I’ve ever tasted; within the city, we sampled tacos from various food trucks, the names of which I have totally forgotten.  When we got back to San Francisco today, I had a hankering for one southern staple I didn’t consume this weekend: biscuits.  I also had a deep-seeded need for some pizza.  So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and create my own pizza biscuit bites – they did not disappoint.

Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites
Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites

The mozzarella MUST be freshly grated, or it won’t melt into the biscuit when baked.  I also recommend investing in some good sun-dried tomatoes.  I used a generic brand and found that the tomatoes were totally lacking in texture and flavor; I definitely would have benefitted from spending an extra few bucks on a better jar.  If you have fresh tomatoes and an extra hour, you could slice them in half and oven roast them until they give up all their moisture.  Just dice them up and use in place of the sun-dried tomatoes in the recipe.

Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites
Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites

I used regular pepperoni for this, but you could easily use a turkey or vegetarian version instead.  I know that crisping the pepperoni seems like an unnecessary additional step, but you really need to do this in order to render out some of the excess fat and get the pepperoni slightly browned so that the texture is more similar to what you’d get on a fresh slice.  The egg wash on top is really just to adhere the pepperoni slice to the top of the biscuit; you could add some additional mozzarella between the egg wash and the pepperoni if you want an extra punch of cheese.

Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites
Pepperoni Pizza Biscuit Bites

I liked these pizza biscuit bites on their own, but my taste testers loved them sprinkled with grated parmesan and dunked in warm marinara.  The choice is yours!  Get creative with your pizza mix-ins and dipping sauces, and let me know what you come up with!

pepperoni pizza biscuit bites

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 10 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

yield: 36

ingredients

  • 2 C All purpose flour (plus more for flouring the board)
  • 4 tsp Baking powder (1 TBSP + 1 tsp)
  • 1/2 tsp Table Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Baking soda
  • 2 TBSP Unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 TBSP Vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 C Buttermilk
  • 1/2 C Diced Pepperoni
  • 1/2 C Diced sun dried tomatoes, drained and blotted of excess oil
  • 1 C Mozzarella, freshly grated
  • 1 Egg, lightly beaten
  • 36-50 Slices of pepperoni for topping

instructions

  1. Mise en place, and read this recipe all the way through.
  2. In a dry, nonstick skillet over medium heat, render 1/2 C diced pepperoni until crisp, about 5 minutes.
  3. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain and let cool.
  4. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to mix completely.
  5. Add diced butter and shortening to flour mixture and toss to coat. Use fingertips to smear the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles wet sand. Try to do this as quickly as possible so that the fat doesn't melt.
  6. Add mozzarella and drained and diced sun-dried tomatoes to the flour mixture and toss to coat.
  7. Add crisped pepperoni and toss to coat.
  8. Make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in buttermilk. Use fingertips to work the buttermilk into the flour until just combined. The dough may still be slightly crumbly and not one solid mass - just let it be. You do not want to over-work the dough.
  9. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and dust the top with more flour. Fold the dough over itself a few times to gently knead.
  10. Make sure the board is still well-floured, then pat dough out into a half-inch thick square.
  11. Cut into 36 pieces by making 5 vertical cuts and 5 horizontal cuts.
  12. Transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet leaving about a half inch between each biscuit. Brush the top of each biscuit with the beaten egg, then put a pepperoni slice on top.
  13. Put on the top rack of a 450 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  14. Remove and let cool 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown

Optional: Dust with grated parmesan cheese and serve with warm marinara.

http://whiskandheels.com/kitchen/pepperoni-pizza-biscuit-bites

one comment to gameday snacks: pepperoni pizza biscuit bites [week 6]

so, what did you think?


@anisamariek



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