Oregano and Ricotta Biscuits
Drop-method savory biscuits enriched with ricotta cheese and fresh oregano, delivering a tender crumb and Italian herb flavor. Perfect as an appetizer, alongside soup, or for breakfast.
Steps
Before you start
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) for even, consistent baking
- Use cold butter straight from the refrigerator; it must stay cold to create flakiness
- Have room-temperature ricotta cheese and egg ready; cold ricotta mixes poorly and creates lumps
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ease cleanup
Mix dry ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper (if using) until evenly combined with no visible lumps.
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Ready when: No visible lumps; mixture is uniform
Cut butter into flour
- Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture.
- Using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
- This should take 2 to 3 minutes.
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Ready when: Mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with visible butter pieces
Tip: Keep butter very cold; work quickly to maintain texture and flakiness.
Whisk ricotta mixture
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the ricotta cheese and egg together until smooth and well combined with no lumps.
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Ready when: Smooth and completely combined
Combine wet and dry
- Pour the ricotta mixture into the flour mixture and fold together gently with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- The batter will be slightly lumpy—stop mixing as soon as no dry flour is visible.
- Overmixing develops gluten and produces tough biscuits.
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Ready when: Just combined; some lumps remain visible
Tip: Stop mixing immediately when no dry flour streaks are visible; the batter should not be smooth.
Add oregano and cheese
- Gently fold in the fresh oregano, parmigiano (if using), and minced garlic (if using) until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
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Ready when: Herbs and cheese evenly distributed
Drop onto baking sheets
- Using a cookie scoop (about 1½ tablespoon size) or two spoons, drop heaping tablespoon-sized portions of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
- Biscuits will puff and spread slightly during baking.
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Ready when: All batter has been portioned
Bake until goldenOven 400°F / 205°C
- Place both baking sheets in the preheated 400°F (200°C) oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown on top and a biscuit springs back when lightly touched.
- The edges will be more deeply browned than the tops.
- If using two sheets, rotate them halfway through for even baking.
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Ready when: Golden brown on top; springs back when lightly touched
Tip: Ricotta biscuits brown more gently than traditional butter biscuits; expect a lighter, more delicate golden color.
Cool and serve
- Remove baking sheets from the oven and let the biscuits cool on the pan for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Ready when: Biscuits are cool enough to handle
Good to know
Tips
- Don't overmix the batter. Lumpy batter yields tender, fluffy biscuits; smooth, fully mixed batter develops gluten and produces tough results.
- Keep all ingredients cold except ricotta and egg. Cold butter and cold flour help create a flaky, tender texture.
- If baking two sheets simultaneously, rotate them from top to bottom rack halfway through baking for even browning.
- Ricotta biscuits won't brown as darkly as traditional butter biscuits. They'll have a lighter, more delicate golden color—this is normal and desirable.
Make ahead
Dough can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered, before baking. (This actually improves the biscuits.) Bake from chilled without increasing oven time.
Storage & reheating
Room temperature in an airtight container: 2 days. Refrigerator in an airtight container: up to 5 days. Freezer in a freezer-safe bag: up to 3 months (thaw at room temperature 1 hour before reheating). To reheat: Wrap in foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes until heated through.
Substitutions
- fresh oregano → 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Dried oregano is more concentrated; use about half the fresh amount. Add it with the dry ingredients in step 1 for even distribution.
- ricotta cheese → Greek yogurt (plain, full-fat). Replace up to half the ricotta with Greek yogurt for a tangier flavor. The dough will be slightly wetter.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese → Pecorino Romano. Use the same amount; Pecorino is saltier, so reduce salt in the recipe by ⅛ teaspoon.
- all-purpose flour → 2 cups self-rising flour. Self-rising flour already contains baking powder and salt. If using it, omit the baking powder and salt from step 1. Sift the self-rising flour before measuring for accuracy.
