Buttermilk biscuits.   Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits.

Ahhhh….

Those words that conjure up all sorts a’ warm happy thoughts and feelings, yeah?  I mean, who doesn’t drool endlessly over a fresh-from-the-oven biscuit?!  I know, I have a bucket next to me as I write this knowing full well…slobber slobber.  

And then, add some cheeeeeese?  Whoa.  Jeez louise, imma pass out here. 

Ok but the thing about buttermilk biscuits is that everyone and their dog claims to have the best recipe.  Or the mythical secrets to biscuit success.  Or demands you use certain ingredients, or a long list of, to get you golden fluffy goodness.  

How on earth are you supposed to….?  Which ingredients…?  What if you can’t access…?   How will you know?!  Dogs don’t have thumbs!

No one I know has a test kitchen, the time nor ability to try every single recipe out there.  Sure, we all love biscuits but just how many can one eat in the process of testing recipe after recipe after recipe?!   Ok, heh, silly question:  all of them. 

But I think, in the matter of cheese related biscuits, I’m good, these are handily the winners.  Great with chicken dinners.  Hahaha…..

Even if you don’t make these, there’s a tip here (oh the irony, right?) that will bring you success in whatever recipe you use.  And hey, if you have the perfect one, do let me know, I’d love to give it a whirl!

As a Northerner, it probably seems there’s zero chance I could do up a good biscuit.  I don’t have easy access to the right stuff and, well, no Southern charm.

And for these reasons, and others I can’t quite name, I was always led to believe biscuits were off-limits, too hard to make, or plain not possible.

Pshaw, what nonsense.

Admittedly I have made several clunker recipes.  Maybe that’s partly part of my mental roadblock.  It’s horrible to watch Mike go from excited face to sad face!

But I’m here to tell you these cheese buttermilk biscuits are outrageous and you have what you need in your pantry already.  Yep.  Ok, you may need to run out for buttermilk but that’s all right because there are a couple other recipes on the blog that will help you use it up.  Uh huh, I just winked and nodded.

Sooooo easy to pull these together, you’ll wonder why oh why you don’t have warm, comforting, fluffy, fresh cheesy biscuits slathered in butter more often.  Where’s my drool bucket?….

Now, the original recipe from The Kitchn calls for bacon and scallions.  I know.  Way to put these over the top.  I haven’t tried them that way yet.  I know.  What is wrong with me?!

One key to success is making sure your butter and buttermilk are and stay cold.  Another is to keep hands-on handling to a minimum.

So toss your flour, baking powder and soda plus the salt into a large bowl, fluffing with a fork to mix.  

Add in your butter either by:  grating it (if you do this, grate it then chill it then add it); cut it in with a pastry cutter;* smush it into the flour with your fingers; or use a food processor, the latter of which be very judicious.

Once everybody is crumbly, toss in your grated cheese.  

A cheese note:  we are raging sharp cheddar lovers so that’s my default but feel free to try a cheese you love, preferably one with oomph.  I encourage you to grate your own* as pre-shredded, while so very convenient, has cornstarch and/or anti-caking dust on the shreds.  I won’t be mad if you use it though as I have.

Next, into the bowl goes the bacon and scallions if you’re going all the way here, then pour in your cold buttermilk.  Stir everything up with a fork until a lumpy loose dough forms.

Ok.

Here’s where it could seem like panic time but trust me, you can do this.

Flour your work surface a bit, dump out the dough then gently push it together, not too much and with keep-away hands, until it’s mostly one piece of dough.  

This upcoming part seems an oxymoron but keep your hands off the dough as much as possible to avoid warming it.  But!  Heh, but, and here’s the tip, I need you to flatten it out and fold it over onto itself a few times, like six or eight or so.  Not too many though as things could toughen up.

By doing this you’re building layers via a rough sort of lamination process.  After they’ve baked, you’ll see a marked difference in the amount of lift and layers you end up with.  It’s amazing.  I was shocked.  Any biscuit worries I had were thoroughly dashed.

Sling a little extra flour on the counter, dip a three inch round cutter* in there, then punch out your circles.  Don’t wiggle or twist the cutter, just firmly straight down and done.  Wiggling and twisting seals the edges therefore the biscuits won’t rise.

Or, conversely, slice up rectangles to avoid gathering scraps and re-flattening, aka, making the dough tough yet using every bit.

Bake.  Sniff the air.  Dance a little.  Enjoy.

These would be great with Jen’s dinner recipes!

*Update:  ok, so it’s weird to update something I haven’t even shared yet but lo, here we are.  Holy Jesús Christo people, do not skip the bacon and scallions.  Oh.  My.  Word.

I skipped them previously as we were baconless and I live with an onion hater.  

Wow.  Wow.  These are just…I have no words.  That good.  This time I accidentally did two cups of cheese too, doh!!  Not bad, hahahaha, not bad!

Any way you make these, please, I implore you, do.

Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits

Warm and fluffy and cheesy, these satisfy every single one of your buttermilk biscuit dreams.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes minutes

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, biscuit, breakfast, butter, buttermilk, cheese, easy, quick bread, savory

Servings: 9 biscuits

Ingredients

Volume - Weight

• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt kosher, sea, or table
• 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 1 stick, 4 ounces
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 8 slices bacon cooked and chopped (about 1 cup, optional)
• 3-4 scallions finely chopped (optional)
• 1 cup cold buttermilk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450° F (230° C) and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
• If grating the butter, do so ahead of time then chill it.
• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then fluff to mix with a fork.
• Add the grated butter or use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mix. Using your fingers to blend the butter in works as well, as does a food processor but use the processor very minimally.
• When the butter is about pea-sized, add the cheese and optional bacon and scallions, mixing gently to combine with the same fork.
• Add the cold buttermilk and with the fork or a spoon, stir lightly until barely combined. The dough will be lumpy and some flour not mixed in.
• Lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough onto the surface. With light hands, push the dough together to form a mostly cohesive piece, then flatten the dough to about 1” thick. Fold the sides into the middle as if folding a letter, fold over in half and repeat for about 6 to 8 times. If the dough warms too much, place in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.
• Flatten the dough to about 1” thick and using a 3” circular cutter dipped in flour, push the cutter straight down through the dough without twisting. Pull the scraps together, flatten and fold one time, cutting circles and repeat.
• Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet, either touching each other for soft sides or with space between for more baked sides. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Remove the biscuits from the sheet and place in a towel to keep warm.

Notes

Adapted from The Kitchn.

*The pastry cutters, cheese graters, and biscuit cutters are Amazon affiliate links.  Thanks!  Please see the right sidebar for more info.