Parmesan, sage and roast garlic biscuits

I like savoury biscuits (or scones), especially when spread with cold salted butter. I like them topped with herbal guacamole, tahini, or even crab or shrimp cocktail.


Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for oiling
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 cups (10 ¾ oz) Gluten-Free Flour Mix A
• 6 tablespoons (3 oz) margarine
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (check to be sure it is a gluten-free variety)
• 2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• ½ cup (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ½ cup (4 fl oz) 2% milk, warmed
• Cornstarch, for dusting
• 2% milk, for brushing

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).

2 First, roast the garlic: wrap it in foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove
the skins and crush the creamy garlic.

3 Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F (180˚C). Oil two baking sheets.

4 Place the flour, margarine, salt, and xanthan gum in a bowl, and rub together until you have the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the baking powder, eggs, sage, cheese, milk, and roasted garlic paste, and mix together to form a dough.

5 Dust a work surface with cornstarch and gently roll the dough out to about ½-inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2-inch (5 cm) plain cookie cutter, stamp out 10–12 biscuits. Place on the baking sheets, brush with milk, and bake for 10–15 minutes.

6 Once baked, remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.

7 Cut in half, and spread with salted butter to serve.

To freeze: Wrap well and freeze in an airtight container. The biscuits will dry out slightly after freezing, so once defrosted, sprinkle with a little water, and then warm them through in a preheated oven at 400˚F (200˚C) for 5 minutes before serving.

To store: The biscuits will keep for 2–3 days stored in an airtight container. They will dry out slightly after storing, so sprinkle with a little water, and then warm them through in a preheated oven at 400˚F (200˚C) for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 10–12 biscuits.

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Excerpted from Gluten-Free Baking by Phil Vickery Copyright © 2011 by Phil Vickery. Photography by Tara Fisher. Excerpted by permission of Firefly Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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