Do you ever plan the evening meal around the bread? I don't do it often, but yesterday I made this Chunky Beef Chili (which was excellent, btw) because it seemed like a good accompaniment to these cheddar cheese biscuits.
I yanked this recipe out of a Nestle ad in Food Network magazine. Its interesting feature was powdered milk, which I've been buying since I started reading Christina' Tosi's cookbook. I'd hoped it would help keep the biscuits tender, and I guess it did because they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. But that could have just been the 6 oz of cheese. At any rate, they were very good and I'd make them again if we ever finish this batch. Todd hates cheddar cheese so I only made a small batch and frozen the rest. Half batch version is below and here's a link to Nestle's Cheddar Cheese Biscuits.
Oh, and one final note. I mixed all the dry ingredients early in the day, put them in the refrigerator, then added water and baked right before dinner.
Half Batch Cheddar Cheese Biscuits from Very Best Baking
Cheddar Cheese Biscuits from Very Best Baking
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
¾ cup (3 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup dry NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Instant Nonfat Dry Milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (I recommend "scant" because I could taste the sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut up (I used unsalted)
½ cup plus ½ tablespoon water-- add gradually and don't dump it all in!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
Mix the cheese, dry milk, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives to make coarse crumbs. Stir in water just until moistened (important -- I dumped it all in and had a very soft dough)
Knead dough (About) 10 times on lightly floured surface. Pat into 4 x 6-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 biscuits. Place biscuits about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 to 16 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm.
Anna says
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the review! I didn't realize cheddar was so expensive in Poland, but it make sense. Maybe I'll try these with Edam next time.
LisAway says
I made these last night to go with our Ceasar Salad. They were yummy! My daughter requested one in her lunch for school this morning.
I made a full batch and had no powdered milk so I left it out and sustituted milk for the water (a little less than called for). I don't think I decreased the liquid quite enough and ended up making drop biscuits. They were great, though. Also, I didn't have cheddar (rarely do, as it's very expensive here) so I subbed what I had on hand (Edam). Thanks for another great recipe. Oh, and I agree about the sugar. It wasn't too bad, but you could almost half it and it would be enough.
Anna says
Louise, she won a James Beard award for that article. Make those!
Anna says
Ryan, biscuits are so simple!! Just don't over-work the dough and you'll be fine. Your best bet is to buy a bag of Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour and use the recipe on the back of the bag. That flour is particularly suited for biscuits. It has the added leavening, plus I think it might have a little less protein and maybe even a softer wheat. Not sure, but my biscuits are always good when I use that flour. Or even better, get your hands on some White Lily flour and use any recipe. Look for one that uses buttermilk for best results.
Louise, that sounds interesting. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had Mennonite bulk grocery stores around the corner?
Erin, glad to hear from you!! We'll try the cubed cheese next time. That reminds me of an old yeast loaf recipe where you use cubed cheese instead of shredded. Love the blobs.
Erin says
Anna, I had to make these last night after I saw your post. I had to, plain and simple. They were fantastic! I cut half of the cheese into little cubes, so there were lots of yummy blobs of melted cheese. I'm making them again on Sunday since I'm hosting a brunch. Thank you for sharing!
Ryan says
I need to get over my fear of biscuit making so I can make these, haha. They sound awesome!
Anna says
The Red Lobster one is pretty good, but most of the copy cat versions start with Bisquick. I like making my biscuits with flour and whatever else is on hand (though I do use Bisquick for impossible pies!).
Sue says
Thanks for the mention of the chili. I made it for dinner tonight. When I read your post this morning I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner but I had all of the ingredients on hand. The meat was in the freezer so I got it out right away so it would be thawed in time to use. The chili was very good! Very different from my usual chili. My husband made his Mom's recipe for Kentucky cornbread. Not something I'm wild about, but he likes it.
vanillasugarblog says
i adore cheesy muffins.
and love the cheesy scones even more.
what's that famous copycat recipe that everyone loves? red lobster or something?
Chewthefat says
I'm 'collecting' good cheese bread and cheese baked goods recipes--I have a friend who loves cheese bread! But I always have a question about serving cheesy stuff--would these be good cold? I'm always paranoid that cheese breads don't taste very good cold as leftovers. Of course, I could make a half batch, too, but I often give people a fair-sized serving if I'm bringing stuff to dinner so that they will have some left over for the rest of the week.
Katrina says
I often decide what's for dinner when I've made some rolls or bread or something (you know, because I'd rather bake than cook).
Karen says
Plus powdered milk increases the protein in the biscuits. Cornell University has a wonderful bread baking book that I gave my mom a few years ago, It has all kinds of science information with different recipies to enhance the nutritional value in breads.
I LOVE cheese in biscuits and rolls. Our family favorite is a sourdough bun with cheddar cheese in. My sister makes it every year for the holiday meals, some with all-purpose white flour and some with whole wheat.
Louise says
I thought I remembered that nonfat dry milk has the added benefit of keeping baked goods fresh. This is a quote from the Carnation site "It has a binding effect on flour protein, enhancing the strength & structure of baked goods, while helping them retain moisture and keep fresh longer."
Meg @ My Chocolate Covered Life says
I have been looking for a great cheese biscuit recipe. Someone suggested Red Lobster's cheese biscuits, but these look great!
Sue says
These look and sound wonderful! I'm going to have to give powdered milk for baking a try again. I used to be so hyper sensitive to the taste of it that I stopped using it.