Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

You know that cookbook I was telling you about yesterday? I could not resist making another recipe from it today. Two days in a row. What can I say, its a fabulous book!
Six California Kitchens by Sally Schmitt. If you haven't bought it yet, I highly recommend that you do! Its a winner! This recipe is from the same chapter as yesterdays and attributed to her grandmother's kitchen.
Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

I don't know about you, but to my way of thinking Grandmothers are just the best cooks! Apparently her grandmother was making these tasty Cheddar Drop Biscuits before the turn of the century, meaning the 20th, so 1900. They are now a staple at The Apple Farm for their guests.
And I am not surprised! Flaky with plenty of crisp crevices and loads of sharp cheddar cheese. These biscuits spell winner all the way!
Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

When I talk about biscuits here I am talking about North American Biscuits, not British Biscuits. In North America a biscuit is similar to a scone type of quick bread. In the UK a biscuit is a cookie. These are not cookies.
Although they are delicious enough that you might be tempted to eat them like a bunch of cookies! They surely are as addictive as any chocolate chip cookie I have ever sunk my teeth into, that's for sure!
Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

Golden brown, plump and crispy with plenty of cheesy nooks and crannies, these are simply wonderful and so easy to make as well. They are a drop biscuit.
This means that they are as simple to make as mixing the dry ingredients, rubbing in the butter, stirring in the cream and dropping them onto a baking sheet. There is no faffing about with having to roll and cut. That's my kind of biscuit!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHEDDAR BISCUIT DOUGH GODS
Very simple ingredients and not a lot of them. Basically just flour, butter, cheese, baking powder, salt and cream. Isn't cooking magic? I think so!

2 1/4 cups (315g) all purpose, plain flour (NOT self raising)
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (110g) cold butter, sliced
1 cup (80g) sharp strong cheddar, coarsely grated
1 cup (240ml) cold half and half (Single cream, coffee cream)

The kind of flour needed for these biscuits is all purpose plain flour. Not self raising. I get questions all the time asking if you can use self raising flour in the place of all purpose plain flour. The answer here is no.
I always find it so fascinating when people take a recipe and change everything about it and then come back to you and say, this recipe didn't work. Umm . . . yeh . . . sorry if this just described you. No offense intended but really you can't switch everything out, have it not work, and then blame the recipe. I think that one's on you mate.
Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

I used salted butter as that is all I have in my house. I did use a really good sharp cheddar though. If cheddar is one of the main ingredients I believe it behooves you to use a good, well flavored one.
Balderson is the best here in Canada. Well aged for the minimum of three months and up to seven years. It doesn't get much better than that! Not in Canada anyways.
Admittedly I really do miss British cheese. Sigh . . .

HOW TO MAKE CHEDDAR BISCUIT DOUGH GODS
These could not be easier. As they are drop biscuits there is no messing about with having to roll and cut them out. Simply mix, drop and bake.
Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with some baking parchment. Set aside
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Drop in the cold butter. Working quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two round bladed knives or your fingertips. The mixture should resemble cornmeal when done.
Stir in the cheddar cheese to combine.
Cheddar Biscuit Dough Gods

Make a well in the center and add the cold cream all at once. Stir in quickly with a fork to make a soft dough, which will be stiff. Do not over mix as this will toughen your biscuits.
Drop by the forkful onto your baking sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch in between each biscuit.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Notes

Make sure your ingredients stay cold. If they flatten out too much during baking that is an indication you have added too much liquid. Try holding back a bit of the cream as you mix it in, only adding it as needed. Chilling the mixture before baking can also help the biscuits to hold their shape better.

I enjoyed one of these tasty biscuits fresh from the oven with some cold butter for spreading and some rich Greek honey. Oh boy but were they ever some good!
Cheesy, rich, flaky and delicious! They even taste wonderful without any butter or honey and a day old. Seriously. That is the sign of a really good biscuit!

Some other biscuit recipes that I have shared on here that are delicious and that you might enjoy are:

MILE HIGH GREEK YOGURT BISCUITS - When it comes to flaky, things don't get flakier than these Mile High Greek Yogurt Biscuits! These biscuits are light as a cloud, and filled with lots of flaky pockets. They melt in the mouth.

PEPPERED BUTTERMILK BISCUITS - These are buttery, moist, flaky and light! They are nicely flavored with plenty of black pepper, but not in an obnoxious slap in the face way. Perfect served warm with a hot bowl of soup or chili, or with a stew, with plenty of butter melting into all of their peppery flaky tastiness.

Yield: 10 biscuitsAuthor: Marie Rayner