A few summers ago, a friend of mine went on sabbatical for foot surgery. To keep herself busy, she decided to make recipes from her cookbook collection.
The subject of biscuits came up and I mentioned how my friends in Atlanta would whip them up for breakfast often. I told her that the best one I ever had was from the Flying Biscuit (cream biscuits with their homemade apple cranberry butter- YUM!)
She mentioned the infamous cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster- it's been so long since I'd been to one that I blocked it from memory.
Later I confessed that I had multiple failed attempts at making biscuits. Overworked dough resulting in 'hockey pucks'- not cute. We laughed about it and kidded about a cheddar biscuit challenge.
I translated that into, "Bitch! The Gauntlet is down! You better make some worthy biscuits or be forever shamed!" Okay- I probably took it to another level- but I can be competitive when I want.
After 2 months of twice weekly trials- experimenting with fat to flour ratios; buttermilk vs.(greek) yogurt, butter vs. shortening; sharp cheddar vs. medium; white cheddar vs. yellow cheddar- I perfected my cheddar biscuit.
This cheddar biscuit is buttery, cheddary, flakey and requires no additional butter when eaten (unless you want more). I've made them with/without bacon and with thyme on occasion.
Since perfecting the recipe, I reserve my biscuit making for special occasions in Wellville. I think we ate way too many of them in that 2 month period... we're still recovering today!
cheddar buttermilk biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in a bowl- aerate with whisk to remove lumps and combine.
Add butter and shortening to dry mixture and cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles small pea-sized crumbles.
Add grated cheddar to mixture and gently coat the shreds with the crumbles.
Pour 1/4 cup of buttermilk over the crumbles and fold with a wooden spoon or spatula. Repeat this technique for the remaining buttermilk (folding 1/4 milk after each addition). The resulting dough will be loose.
Turn the dough mixture on a lightly floured surface and gently knead dough by folding dough on top of itself.
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in a bowl- aerate with whisk to remove lumps and combine.
Add butter and shortening to dry mixture and cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles small pea-sized crumbles.
Add grated cheddar to mixture and gently coat the shreds with the crumbles.
Pour 1/4 cup of buttermilk over the crumbles and fold with a wooden spoon or spatula. Repeat this technique for the remaining buttermilk (folding 1/4 milk after each addition). The resulting dough will be loose.
Turn the dough mixture on a lightly floured surface and gently knead dough by folding dough on top of itself.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER WORK THE DOUGH.
Flatten dough to 3/4" rectangle. Cut dough into equal squares. Lightly shape them before puttng them on the baking sheet.
Bake biscuits for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Serve hot or warm...with bacon jam or apple butter.
