Cheddar & Scallion Biscuits

We had a BBQ themed potluck today at work and I intended on making the scallion & mint pesto potatoes to test the theory of them being an acceptable replacement for potato salad...

But I woke up and it was rainy and dreary and since I didn't bother to prepare for the potluck, I didn't have any potatoes. Boo.

So I decided to give biscuits a try because I had all of the ingredients on hand and I can't think of anything that would go better under a bed of BBQ than a nice, warm, flaky biscuit.

I found a recipe that called for grated butter and it explains how grating the butter makes all the difference in getting super phenom biscuits. Fine. I decided I'd double the recipe since we're basically human food vacuums at work...

But what they don't tell you is that grating butter is hard work!

... so I only made one batch. Because watching coworkers fight to the death over biscuits can be quite amusing too.

Mmm... check out that biscuit dough!

The original recipe can be found HERE, but I changed it a bit to include the cheese and scallions.

Yummers. And a Sunday brunch is the perfect excuse to whip up some of these bad boys.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 stick butter (frozen)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 sprigs of scallions, finely chopped

1/2 cup buttermilk*, cold

1 large egg, cold

2 tablespoons butter, melted

garlic powder

paprika

Directions:

*Don't have buttermilk? Add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let it sit for a few minutes and voila! Just as good in a pinch!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Grate 1 1/2 sticks butter into a medium bowl and return to freezer. 

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cheese, and scallions until combined. Add in butter and mix with fingers until it resembles small peas.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup buttermilk with egg and mix until blended.

Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and fold gently until barely combined. 

Sprinkle work surface with a little flour and flatten dough to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cut biscuits using a biscuit cutter (or a can with both ends removed) and transfer them to a baking sheet or baking dish.

I popped the baking dish into the freezer while I made the butter topping (they started getting a bit warm and soft, I'm sure this wouldn't happen if you worked quickly, but I was taking photos and making notes and dancing).

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter with a pinch of garlic powder and paprika. 

Remove biscuits from freezer and brush a thin layer of melted butter on top. 

Put into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tall and a light golden brown on top. Brush with butter mixture again after removing them from oven. Serve warm. 

Ready to go!

My yummy little tester biscuit. I have to say, they may give Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits a run for their money... I will probably do the biscuits drop-style next time. I mean, there's a time and a place for traditional biscuit-cutter biscuits, but there's something about the drop-style that makes it especially flaky and delicious.

Happy Sunday!