MONDAY RECIPE POST - GREEN CHILE CHEDDAR BISCUITS

I haven't made any biscuits in a long time but when I made last week's 'soup', I thought something other than the regular bread choice would be a nice change and I made these the next day.  They are now a definite favorite.

Last week’s soup and the biscuits I ended up making, came out a lot differently than I expected but I needn’t have worried as they were light and very yummy, and if you read my soup challenge, well you know what happened there  

I found today's recipe here at Cooking on the Front Burner, and our host Deb goes into greater detail than I do, plus the fact her photos are splendid and shows what the biscuit should look like!

I made a mistake in making these too but the finished result did not detract from the taste.  They turned out flatter - but still fluffy - than the ones at the website because I added a little too much buttermilk to the mix.  It was one of those days where I enjoyed making them but maybe did not have as much concentration available as I normally do. So that old saying, when life gives you lemons make lemonade comes to mind, especially when looking at the finished results of last week's recipe and this one.   

It is a sticky dough and I made it stickier with too much buttermilk.  I ended up adding more flour and though they didn't rise as much and were more like a cookie shape, they were still delicious.  So who knows, maybe I discovered a new variation on making our biscuit.  Both last week's soup and this week's biscuits turned out exceedingly yummy even though the results were different than the original recipes intended.  Lemonade out of lemons!  I look forward to making both again throughout the colder months, and will be a little more careful with the correct amount of ingredients next time.  Ramble, ramble, ramble, that’s me!  Let’s get down to the recipe.

Green Chile Cheddar Biscuits - makes 12

Serving size: 2 biscuits

Calories per serving: approximately 388 (just a guideline, not sure how accurate this is as you will see from reading what's on the host’s blog post)

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 18 minutes 

Total time: 33 minutes 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup cold buttermilk

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup diced green chilies (rinsed well)

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Additional shredded cheddar for top of biscuits

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt.  It is helpful to use a whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed.

Dice the cold butter and add to the flour mixture; use a 2 inch pastry cutter until it resembles course crumbs (I used two cold knives (the type we eat with, and used a crisscrossing motion).

Add the buttermilk and mix until combined.

Add in the cheese and green chilies; mix until just combined (dough will be sticky).

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour on top

Knead the dough 5-6 times and pat into a 1/2" thick circle

Use The 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut and place on parchment paper (leave 1" between biscuits).

Reworking any dough scraps, shape again and cut more circles.

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of shredded cheese on top of biscuits.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until raised and golden brown.

For all its 'flatness' we gave this biscuit a ten out of ten.

I thought next time chopped green onion would be a nice addition, maybe crumbled crispy bacon also.

The cheese in some areas oozed out of our biscuits onto the baking sheet, and there were small discs of cooked, crispy cheese. If this happens to yours,  don’t  make the mistake of throwing them away. When you slide the biscuits onto your plate, scoop those up too and let cool enough to pop them into your mouth, but while still hot. Oh yum!

Have a great week everyone

and 

 Bon Appétit!