These Pumpkin & Rosemary Biscuits bring Fall flavors to attention, bringing a twist to the traditional breakfast staple. With a little bit of cumin, cayenne, and paprika, these biscuits take pumpkin–a flavor usually seen in lattes and doughnuts and any delicious Fall sweet–and make it savory for an exciting change on the pumpkin craze.
I know last week I wasn’t fully planning on sharing a pumpkin recipe quite this early into the Fall season, but I couldn’t resist doing another one this week. For one thing, the Brown Butter Pumpkin Chai Doughnuts I posted only use a small amount of pumpkin puree, leaving you with a small Tupperware of pumpkin sitting in the fridge. For another, it’s not all that often you see a savory pumpkin recipe that’s not a soup or pasta dish–I guess I should specify and say it’s not all too often that you see a savory pumpkin bake.
And let me tell you–Pumpkin & Rosemary Biscuits are amazing. They are full of buttery, flaky layers that just sort of melt in your mouth as you eat them still warm from the oven, and they pair well with a bit of bacon or a scramble. Rosemary and spice give a kick to these biscuits that you don’t find in a muffin or a doughnut or a slice of pumpkin bread.
The key to these biscuits and their height is the folding and layering of the dough. It may sound intimidating when you read the instructions, but it’s super easy. I don’t think I even really used a rolling pin at all while making these but instead just used clean hands to pat the dough down until it could be folded into thirds and then twisted 90° and repeated the process about 4-5 times.
As the biscuits bake, the butter in between the folded layers melts and allows the biscuits to puff up a bit more than they would if you were to just roll out the dough and cut out circles or squares straight from there.
These are the perfect treat for an October (or September, or November, or whenever really) brunch or breakfast. Just mix up a batch, enjoy in the morning, and then spend the day going for a walk, reading a good book, or doing whatever your heart desires (because your belly will be full with flaky, buttery, biscuit goodness)!
Print Recipe
Pumpkin & Rosemary Biscuits
Buttery & flaky, these Pumpkin & Rosemary Biscuits are the perfect Fall twist on a classic breakfast staple. Quick and easy to throw together, you can get these started in the morning and have them fresh and ready to enjoy.
Yields: 6 biscuits
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, rosemary, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Add in the cubed butter. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, rub the butter in until it is fully coated in flour and you are left with small, pea-sized pieces.
In a small bowl or a glass measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and pumpkin puree until the puree is fully incorporated. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold until the dry ingredients are moistened and you have a shaggy dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead about 4-6 times by folding the dough in half and turning 90 degrees until the flour is fully incorporated.
Lightly flour a work surface and pat the dough into a small rectangle. Roll out until you can easily fold the dough into thirds.
Fold the bottom 1/3 of the dough up toward the middle. Then fold the top 1/3 toward the middle so that the all thirds overlap--similar to an envelope or folding a piece of paper into thirds. Rotate the dough 90°, pat down or gently roll into a rectangle that you can once again fold into thirds. Repeat this process about 2-3 times (4-5 in total).
Pat down the dough into an 8" x 5" rectangle that is 1" high. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough in half down the long side, then cut each half into thirds. If there are any rough edges on the short side, use the knife or bench scraper to cut these edges off.
Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Place the tray in the freezer and allow to chill for 10-15 minutes.
While the dough is chilling, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Whisk together the egg and water for your egg wash.
Remove the biscuits from the freezer and brush over the tops and side with the egg wash. Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Allow to bake for an additional 20-23 minutes until the tops have firmed and are a golden brown. The biscuits should peel off the parchment paper easily when baked, and the bottoms should be golden brown as well.
Allow to cool a bit, serve with an extra pat of butter, and enjoy!
