Parmesan & Pine Nut Biscuits

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat on the stovetop. Watch them carefully. You want them to be golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. Cut in the butter using a fork, a pastry cutter, or your fingers. Be sure to leave the butter in pea-sized lumps and take care not to warm the butter with your fingers too much.
5. Add the grated cheese, toasted pine nuts, and rosemary. Mix well.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg. Slowly pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork until the dough starts to come together. You don't want to stir it too much—just enough so that it starts to stick together. It's fine if there are lots of dry spots.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using floured hands, fold the dough over onto itself a few times until it comes together in a cohesive mass. Try not to press down too much—you want to fold and fold so the dough sticks together but you don't want to warm it too much.
8. Pat the dough into a large circle (about 2 inches high). Using a biscuit cutter or sharp-edged glass, cut out biscuits and place them on the baking sheet.
9. Fold any scraps together, the same way you did before with the dough, and pat it out again. Keep cutting out biscuits until you don't have any dough left.
10. Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little buttermilk if you want (it just helps them brown better) and sprinkle with some more grated cheese (totally optional).
11. Bake the biscuits for about 20 minutes, or until they are puffed up and just turning golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and let them cool.