Monday, August 15, 2016

Easy Cheesy Drop Biscuits



On Saturday, I tried Sheila's Oven Fried Potatoes.  Because I am supremely lazy, I used frozen shredded potatoes. These were just potatoes, no seasoning. I smashed the package a couple of times with my fist to break them up and then followed Sheila's instructions. They were wonderful. We all loved the potatoes, and they will be a regular dish around here!

The next day, I needed to use some cheddar cheese so I was checking out cheese muffin recipes. Lately, I have found the comments on recipes to be very helpful. When all of the five star comments mention adding garlic or increasing the salt or making some other little tweak, while the three star comments use the dreaded word bland, I pay attention.

In a comment, a woman said she used the muffin recipe to make drop biscuits. I've heard of drop biscuits, but I'm not sure I have ever made them. So I did a little studying up on drop biscuits. They remind me of savory scones because they use cold butter and shouldn't be overworked.

But I had just washed and put away the food processor. (A story for another day about a fabulous dessert that tastes and looks wonderful but fell apart . . .) Hmm, I thought, maybe I should go back to muffins where I could use melted butter. But wait! Didn't one of those drop biscuit recipes use melted butter? Indeed it did. And the credit for that recipe went to America's Test Kitchen. Heavenly music played and joy filled the land. Okay, joy filled me anyway, because America's Test Kitchen is my go-to reference for all questions involving food, so if they said it was okay to use melted butter, it must work!

I took the ingredients I had been thinking about and used (gasp) melted butter and they are delicious! The smell is incredible. They're just a little crunchy on the outside and pillow soft on the inside.

This recipe is super easy. In fact, as long as you make sure no one stirs too much, it would be a fun recipe for a kid to make. But I'm going to give it to you in steps because I plan to make it again when I have company and there are some things we can do ahead of time so they're quicker to make when we want them.

Cheeseaholics may want to increase the amount of cheddar to 1 1/2 cups, but I thought they were great they way they were.

You'll note that an option at the end is to brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with just a tiny pinch of grated Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, I think they would be great with a sprinkle of salt over the melted butter.

They would be a fun change  with eggs for breakfast, and would work equally well with a brunch or dinner. I can imagine them with a hearty soup in the winter.

Easy Cheesy Drop Biscuits
makes approximately 16 biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tablespoon vinegar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)


Optional:
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan


1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, baking soda, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper in a large bowl. (If preparing in advance, put a lid on it and set aside.)

2. Shred the cheddar and mix with the Parmesan. (If preparing in advance, store in fridge.)

3. Mix the milk and vinegar. (If preparing in advance, store in fridge.)

4. Preheat oven to 450 and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. (If not making in advance you can do this first.)

5. Stir the cheeses into the flour mixture.

6. Pour the milk and melted butter into the flour mixture and turn gently with a large cooking spoon until the flour is blended in. Do not over mix.

7. Drop from the spoon onto the baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes until light golden brown (not just the peaks and edges).

8. While they are baking, melt the additional 2-3 tablespoons of butter. When you take them out of the oven, brush with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan. For best results, do  this one biscuit at a time.

Mix the dry ingredients.
Stir in cheeses.

Spoon onto parchment paper.

Fresh from the oven!


 

12 comments:

  1. oh man Krista, those look amazing. I will save for when my salt restriction improves--and then watch out!

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  2. Those look so good! And I'm so glad you thought of using frozen shredded potatoes for the oven-fried potato recipe--brilliant. (Hmm, my sister-in-law has a nice recipe for a casserole using those--maybe I'll go find it.)

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    1. I look forward to the casserole, Sheila. Sounds like something we would like!

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  3. If my house ever cools down I will make these. Thanks for sharing another great recipe Krista!

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  4. Ok while these look and sound delicious, I am just too lazy to work with more than a few ingredients. So I turn to Bisquick. I love making drop biscuits and adding different things to it. Cheese is a must and sometimes I admit i add too much. I have added olives, bacon, feta cheese, you name it. And always some garlic salt in the mix and some with parsley on top. The other wonderful thing is the recipe is on the box, lol

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  5. Scrumptious and easy! My mouth is watering~

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  6. Those cheese biscuits look amazing.

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  7. Those cheese biscuits look amazing.

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  8. Sorry toi be a bit late here.
    These sound irresistible! I'd like several right now.

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