All you need is 30 minutes and a few simple ingredients to whip up a family favorite recipe for The Best Cheddar Biscuits.
When it comes to homemade carbs, few recipes surpass my love of light and fluffy cheddar biscuits.
There’s just something therapeutic about about peeling apart the stacked layers of butter, cheese and chives, and knowing that your very hands created this perfect marriage of flour and fat.
When it comes to making biscuits from scratch, there are a few tricks that separates decent biscuits from slam-dunk biscuits, and it all starts with a simple kitchen gadget: the box grater.
Freezing and then grating the butter allows the cold fat to be evenly distributed within the biscuits, and the result is flaky layers and buttery pockets in every light bite.
Second most important on the list of tips for mastering cheddar biscuits is the folding and re-rolling of the dough (a.k.a. lamination).
Much like croissants, biscuit dough benefits from being rolled, folded and then re-rolled. It’s this repetitive process that stacks all the layers atop one another, yielding the flakiest possible biscuits.
And last but not least on your path to biscuit domination: the final brush of heavy cream. A thick coating of the cool cream not only adds moisture but ensures your biscuits will achieve the essential golden brown top.
So grab the flour, cheddar, and chives then preheat your oven for The Best Cheddar Biscuits, which are perfect for snacking or serving alongside soup, salad or entrées of all kinds (hello, pulled pork!).
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold, plus more for brushing biscuits
- 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Grate the butter on the large hole of a box grater. (Alternately, dice it into small cubes.)
- Add the butter to the bowl with the flour, and using your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the texture resembles small pebbles.
- Add the buttermilk, shredded cheddar cheese and chives, and using a spatula, mix together the ingredients just until combined.
- Lightly flour your work surface then turn out the dough. Using your hands, gather and knead the dough just until it is cohesive. (Do not overknead the dough.)
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s 1/2-inch thick. Fold it into thirds (like a letter) then rotate the dough 90° and roll it out again until it is a 10x6-inch rectangle that’s 3/4-inch thick.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 9 rectangular biscuits. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet then brush the tops of them with buttermilk. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Bake the biscuits until they are golden brown and no longer doughy, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and serve.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Absolutely the best cheddar biscuits I’ve ever made and eaten! My husband requests that I make them at least once a week. He says they remind him of the cheddar scones he used to have as a kid in England. Since I make them so often I usually use dried chives and they come out perfect!
Love reading this, Tammy! I’m thrilled you and your husband have been enjoying the biscuits!
I really enjoyed these! I did have a quick question. I was want to make these a few days ahead of time for a church potluck. Would if be best to freeze the dough after rolling and cutting or should I freeze them after baking?
So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, April! I’d freeze them before baking :)
Can you substitute the Buttermilk by using Heavy Cream?
Hi! You’ll need the acidity in the buttermilk to react with the leavener. You can make a quick version by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then pour in milk up to the 1 cup mark. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then use 3/4 cup for this recipe and save the rest for another use. And just in case you don’t have lemon juice on hand, here’s a link to even more dairy and non-dairy buttermilk substitutes: https://www.justataste.com/what-can-i-substitute-for-buttermilk/
Just outstanding from someone who has made biscuits a million different ways. The creation of layers with folding adds a great dimension — lemellae. Grating the frozen butter is messy, but effective. Terrific flavor, nice and flaky. We used habanero cheddar, which added a nice kick.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jim! And habanero cheddar sounds amazing!
Made these biscuits for my family a couple weeks ago and served them with seafood chowder! Tonight we are having lobster and they requested these same biscuits! A huge hit for us! Thanks for sharing!! ❤️
YUM! I’m thrilled your family has been enjoying the biscuits, Jennifer!
Hi Kelly,
Just made these biscuits and they are delicious, thank you for the recipe.
One question, how do I store them and or freeze them baked, please advise?
Thank you,
Eileen
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Eileen! The biscuits can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the baked biscuits for up to 3 months. To freeze, I recommend freezing them in a single layer on a baking sheet before transferring them to a plastic freezer bag or airtight container.
It deserves 10Stars but…ingredients call for Buttermilk….but presentation pics mention heavy cream on top before bake…so Heavy cream and buttermilk are not the same….please guide me!
Thanks for catching that, Jorge! Buttermilk on top works (as does heavy cream!). We’ve updated the recipe.
No sir they are not.
This recipe is a keeper! So easy to follow and the biscuits were absolute perfection.
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Amy!
can these be made ahead and frozen? If so, what is the baking instructions from frozen?
Absolutely, Lana! You’ll just need to add about 5 more minutes to the bake time when baking them from a frozen state.
Hi there! These sound delish! Can you skip the sugar? I am cutting out all sugar (honey & maple syrup included) all together.
Absolutely!
Hi just wanted to know can you use normal full cream milk instead of butter milk?
Hi Louise! You’ll need the acidity in the buttermilk to react with the leavener. You can make a quick version by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then pour in milk up to the 1 cup mark. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then use 3/4 cup for this recipe and save the rest for another use. And just in case you don’t have lemon juice on hand, here’s a link to even more dairy and non-dairy buttermilk substitutes: https://www.justataste.com/what-can-i-substitute-for-buttermilk/