Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
These Cheddar Cheese Biscuits rise tall and pull apart in flaky layers, with plenty of sharp cheddar right through them. Cold butter and a light hand are what make them work. Ready in 45 minutes, and they freeze beautifully unbaked.
Servings: 14
Calories: 200kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup buttermilk cold, shaken
- 1 large egg cold
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 12 tablespoons butter cold, unsalted, cut into slices (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 egg beaten, for the egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the ½ cup cold buttermilk and 1 large cold egg together in a small bowl. Return it to the fridge until needed.
- In a large bowl, mix the 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt together thoroughly.
- Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the 12 tablespoons cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal with some pea sized pieces of butter still visible. Don't work it until smooth.
- Stir in the 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Add the buttermilk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, then bring the dough together with your hands using a few quick presses. It will look shaggy.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times only, adding a little flour if it's too sticky to handle.
- Roll the dough out to ½ to ¾ inch thick.
- Using a floured 2 inch round cutter, cut out the biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet, about ½ inch apart. Gather the remaining dough, press it gently together, and cut again until it's used up. You should get about 14.
- Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until risen and deeply golden. Transfer to a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- Keep everything cold. Butter, buttermilk, and egg straight from the fridge. Cold butter is what creates the steam that separates the layers.
- Leave visible butter pieces. Pea sized bits in the flour make the flakes. Working it smooth gives you a scone.
- Barely knead. Three or four presses. More gluten means tougher biscuits, and this is the step people overdo.
- Press the cutter straight down without twisting. Twisting pinches the edges shut and limits how high they rise.
- Place them close together, about ½ inch apart or touching. They support each other as they rise.
- Keep the egg wash off the sides, since it runs down and glues the layers together.
- Grate your own cheese. Pre shredded is coated with starch that stops it melting into the dough.
- Freezing: cut them, freeze on a tray until firm, then bag for 3 months. Bake from frozen with 3 to 5 extra minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1biscuit | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 431IU | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 1mg
