Buttermilk Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Biscuits, unlike leavened breads, use baking powder or baking soda as the leavening agent rather than yeast. The “rise” is quick, achieved in the oven rather than the long wait of traditional breads, which explains why biscuits are often referred to as “quick breads”. The beaten and folded dough of biscuits incorporates air, and the air, along with the gases of baking powders or sodas, expands while baking, causing the biscuit to rise.

Before the American Civil war, biscuits emerged as an inexpensive addition to a meal. Picture a nice, big breakfast of eggs and sausage, with warm biscuits and freshly made jams on the side. Or a big platter of fried chicken on the table with a basket of warm biscuits and honey butter.

It didn’t take long for people to realize that biscuits were actually better than breads in certain situations. Take a meal that includes a gravy. Biscuits are far more efficient at sucking up all that gravy without becoming soggy mush. It wasn’t long for a breakfast favorite of Biscuits and Gravy to make the scene. Alexander Ashbourne patented the first biscuit cutter in 1875. By 1931, the first patent had been issued for that now familiar canned biscuits sold in the refrigerated section of our favorite markets. Buttermilk biscuits are a stable of the South.

While Cheddar Bay Biscuits aren’t traditionally a buttermilk biscuit, there’s something wonderful about the tangy churned buttermilk and creamy saltines of Cheddar that go so well together.

Today in National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. How delicious!

Buttermilk Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Biscuit Dough
3 cups Flour
2 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, cold and chopped
1 3/4 cup Buttermilk
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 1/2 cups Sharp Cheddar, shredded

Finish Topping
1/2 cup Butter
1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Chop butter into small chunks. Add butter to the mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to combine, starting slow and working your way up to medium speed, until you’ve formed a dough with pea-sized lumps. With the mixer on low, slowly add in milk. Mix until a dough forms.

Fold in garlic powder and cheese. Use a spoon to place 2″ drop-biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted. Stir in parsley and garlic powder. When the biscuits are baked, remove from the oven and immediately brush melted butter mixture on top of each biscuit . Serve piping hot and delicious.

Author: Rosemarie's Kitchen

I'm a wife, mother, grandmother and avid home cook.I believe in eating healthy whenever possible, while still managing to indulge in life's pleasures. View all posts by Rosemarie's Kitchen