Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
If there is anything in this world I like better than a light, fluffy, buttermilk biscuit it’s a light, fluffy cheddar cheese biscuit! Now I may have mentioned that many of my friends weren’t raised in the south. They were deprived of homemade biscuits as children and many of them remain skeptical. Seriously, for many of them their first “biscuit” was some greasy, crunchy, overcooked, wrapped in paper hockey puck. If that’s your idea of a biscuit I suggest you seek professional help because you are, without a doubt, scarred for life.
Biscuits are supposed to be soft, fluffy, lovely white pillows to rest your sausage on, or perhaps a slice of country ham; maybe even some honey or gravy.
The addition of cheddar cheese dresses up a biscuit fit for a party and you can choose savory or sweet depending on the occasion. I mixed up a batch for our apple butter workday because apple butter on a cheddar biscuit is just about as much goodness one can experience without falling into a Sunday dinner carb and sugar coma.
Cheddar Cheese Biscuit recipe
2 ¼ cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne
(optional for savory biscuits) 2tsp dried dill weed or 2tsp dried mixed herbs if desired
1/3 cup cold lard
1 cup extra sharp cheddar, (you will have a much better product if you use a good quality block cheddar and grate it yourself)
¾ cup cold buttermilk
Melted butter to brush tops
Preheat oven to 425F, Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cayenne and herbs if using in a 2 qt bowl
Using a pastry cutter cut in lard to small, pea sized crumbles. Add grated cheese and cut into mixture so that it is evenly distributed and coated with flour. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour buttermilk into the center. Using a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon fold the dry ingredients into the buttermilk until well mixed. The dough will be very sticky and have small lumps. If the dough seems “wet” add a bit more flour- 1-2TBSP.
Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and gently fold over onto itself 3 or 4 times – this is a gentle knead. Be careful not to over knead or you will have those wretched hockey pucks that could strangle a goat!
Roll out gently to 1inch thickness and cut with a floured, 2” biscuit cutter, space the cutter as close to the edge of the previous cut as possible. Gather up the scraps of dough, reshape and roll to continue cutting biscuits until all of the dough is used. Place biscuits on a parchment lined baking pan with the edges of the biscuits touching one another – this is important as it makes the biscuits raise up light and fluffy. Brush the tops lightly with melted butter and bake on middle rack 18-20 minutes.
If you aren’t going to use the whole batch for that meal you can freeze unbaked biscuits in a single layer then store them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. To bake frozen biscuits follow the recipe instructions but increase the baking time by 2-3 minutes.