These truly are the best homemade Cheddar biscuits I have ever made or eaten. For me that is saying a lot, because I have tried so many recipes and eaten so many in my day! I put together a collaboration of recipes I have used before to create this one. Let’s just say, ding, ding ding… we have a winner!
I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a good biscuit. I am also a sucker for anything that has cheddar cheese in it. SO, I mean, put the two together and well… you guessed it, I am sucker for it every time! So, if you are anything like me, I promise you that these will be the best homemade cheddar biscuits you have ever had.
What makes them the best homemade cheddar biscuits?
I get it, you are like Chef Steph, to claim something is the best it better be the BEST! The homemade part, okay, obvious! The cheddar part, again, obvious! The best part… a big claim!! Don’t worry, I have got you.
There are two things that make these the best homemade cheddar biscuits. Ice cold… and I mean ICE cold butter. There are three times in this recipe that I am going to tell you to freeze, yes freeze your butter. You are probably thinking, why? Or is that truly necessary. My answer to you is YES! There are two key elements to making the best homemade cheddar biscuit. Element number one is ice cold butter. This will help make these biscuits lighter than air and not dense as a brick.
That brings us to the second thing. Which is flaky layers. A fabulous biscuit so be light and flaky with lots of layers. Two things are going to help us have amazing layers. We are going to make folds when forming our dough. Last, when we cut out the biscuits, we are not going to twist our cutter. That will seal off the edges and you will not allow the layers to grow i the oven. I even just use a glass to cut out my biscuits… anything works. Just don’t twist it!
What ingredients do you need for the best homemade cheddar biscuits?
Some people prefer to use cake flour or self rising flour for their biscuits. I understand the thought process, but I like to add my own leavening agents into my flour. I like to control the amounts, so I use AP flour with baking powder and baking soda.
AP Flour-Â As explained above, I like AP flour for my biscuits
Baking Powder- I like to buy an aluminum-free baking powder such as this one, but whatever you have is fine
Baking soda-Â We use both in here. This will react to the acid in the buttermilk and give you an amazing rise on these biscuits
Granulated Garlic- I love garlic and I love the addition to the garlic in these biscuits. It is not overwhelming or even steals the show. It just adds such a lovely flavor
Kosher Salt-Â In all of my recipes, literally all of them
Unsalted butter-Â We are going to start with a frozen stick of butter and then we are going to freeze it after it is shredded. We are then going to do a quick freeze just before adding in the buttermilk. Why, because we want it ice cold. We will also melt some and brush them when they come right out of the oven.
Buttermilk-Â You can certainly buy buttermilk. Or you can make it. I almost always just make it with milk and lemon juice
Cheddar Cheese- Good quality cheddar cheese here and shred it yourself if possible. You will get a different texture and a much better flavor
If you love biscuits in general, please check out these recipes below as well. You will love them.
Chef’s Tips
So, for these biscuits to be the best homemade cheddar biscuits you have ever had, you do need to make sure of a few things. You are going to want your butter uber cold! We are going to start with a frozen stick. Then you are going to freeze it after it is shredded and before it goes into the flour and then you are going to quick freeze it one more time. This will ensure a light and flaky biscuit.
Now to ensure a tender and not dense biscuit, you want to make sure you do not over work the dough. You will mix it only until it begins to form a dough. You will put it out onto the work surface when it is still a shaggy and not fully together dough. This is important. Make sure you just lightly press it together until it is just together enough to lightly roll. Again, do not over work it and do not handle it too much where the butter begins to melt.
Lastly, key tip number 3 here is that you want to make your layers. To do this, when you are rolling out the biscuits, you will fold the dough over 3-4 times before you cut them out. Meaning roll them to almost the thickness you want to cut them at. Then fold the dough over itself and do that again and again 3-4 times. Just make sure you do not handle the dough too much when rolling out. When you cut them out, do not twist the cutter. Make a sharp cut and then pull up on the cutter. Then place the biscuit on the tray. You do not want to seal the edge off or the layers will not have room to open up and grow in the oven. ENJOY, comment below if these are the best homemade cheddar biscuits you have ever had.
Equipment you will need for this recipe
We do not need too much, most everything you probably already have in the house. Yet, I love sharing my favorite items with you, so here you go!
Sheet Pan– I usually just make my biscuits on a sheet pan. Just make sure that they are slightly touching or close to each other. I love these sheet pans because they come in full, half and even quarter sheet size. So convenient for anything you are making. Plus, we use this same brand in many restaurants I have worked in, so you know they are durable
Cast Iron Skillet– You can also do your biscuits in a cast iron if you prefer. Then you can circle them together. I love the Lodge brand cast iron
Biscuit Cutters– So a cutter is not necessary. You can easily use a cup, glass or free form your biscuits. Yet, if you want them or you want to have a set around for biscuits and cookies and whatever, I love these. They have a handle, which makes it easier to keep from twisting at the end. You can just pull straight up. They also come in different sizes so if you want to make mini ones or larger ones, you can.
Box grater– Make sure you have a sturdy box grated to grate your butter on for this recipe. This one is my favorite.
The Best Homemade Cheddar Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups AP flour
- 1 tbsp (yes, I meant tbsp), Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 or 1 stick unsalted butter frozen, grated, frozen again
- 1 cup ice cold buttermilk or homemade buttermilk with milk and lemon juice
- 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter melted to brush on right out of the oven
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, grate the butter on the larger holes of the box grater. Then place the bowl back in the freezer. In a bowl, place the flour, baking powder. baking soda, salt and garlic. Lightly mix until combined.
- While the butter freezes back up, you can make the buttermilk. Just squeeze 1/2 of a lemon into the 1 cup of milk and allow it to stands for a few minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the butter from the freezer and lightly mix it into the flour just using a fork to toss it all together. This will create a course, pea like consistency with the butter in the flour. That is what you want. Place it back in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Then pull it out and add in the buttermilk and stir with the fork just until a shaggy dough in formed. Then pour the dough onto the work surface and press all together into a rectangle or oval shape.
- With a rolling pin, lightly roll out the dough until about 3/4-1" thick. Then fold the dough over itself in half and roll again to 3/4-1" and fold again. Repeat that total process 3-4 times for the best layers. Just try and make to you don't handle it too much or warm that butter too much.
- Once you are done, roll it out for the last time and cut them, making sure not to twist after it is cut. Brush the tops with either heavy cream or a little more buttermilk. Bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes or until lightly golden brown. ENJOY!
