Since I’m always looking for new timesaving convenience foods that are as good as the homemade versions, I recently picked up some frozen biscuits at the grocery store. I was amazed at how good they were. In fact, when I mentioned the biscuits to my friend Gail, who is a Southern Belle through and through (born and raised in Atlanta, GA) and is very particular about her biscuits, she admitted to me that she no longer makes biscuits from scratch because the frozen ones are so good.

With all the convenience “crap” out there, it is really refreshing to find that something as important as good biscuits (to the Southern folks anyway, including my picky-eater husband) can be found in our freezer section at the grocery store! I’ve always made the following festive Biscuit Christmas Tree for Christmas brunches with homemade biscuits, but I streamlined it this year by using the frozen variety.

If you want to make this cute and festive Biscuit Christmas Tree, you will be pleased to learn that it can be put together in less than 10 minutes and takes only about 20 minutes to bake; it’s also delicious. The tree can be served at Christmas brunch as a bread offering, or with soup and/or salad at mealtime. It’s also a great dish to make with children; they can do everything on their own (except for the baking which should be supervised by an adult)!

Another convenience food that is actually worth purchasing from the grocery store when you need to save time is ready-made pesto. If you want to make it even better, you can stir in some additional freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and chopped toasted pine nuts; I find, however, that for this Christmas Tree, its just fine as it comes from the container.

Biscuit Christmas Tree

18 Servings

1 package of 20 frozen biscuits, flaky, buttermilk, layer, or your favorite (you will have 1 left over)
3/4 to 1 cup prepared pesto
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5 grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Arrange the rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet: five rounds across, then four rounds on the five, then three rounds on the four, then two rounds on the three, then one round on the two, to form a tree. Place one biscuit for the trunk in the middle under the row of five biscuits. Push the biscuits so they touch each other. Spread the pesto over the tree (don't put any on the trunk). Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the entire tree including the trunk. Place a grape or cherry tomato half, cut side down, wherever four biscuits are touching.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Note: I once tried this with refrigerator biscuits; it wasn’t very good and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 120 Calories from Fat 64
Percent Total Calories From:
Fat 53% Protein 9% Carb. 38%

Nutrient Amount per
Serving
Total Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 2 mg
Sodium 66 mg
Total Carbohydrate 11 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%
Sugars 0 g
Protein 3 g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 1%