Irish Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits have to be one of my top comfort foods.  Growing up we had these fresh from the oven and served with a warm bowl of soup or stew.  I recently made this version of buttermilk buiscuits to go with a big batch of Broccoli Potato Soup on a Sunday afternoon and both were a hit.

There are two tricks to getting a nice biscuit.  The first is to use cold butter and keep it in large enough chunks (pea size) to form little pockets that cause the biscuits to be flaky: a pastry blender will be your best friend here.  The second is to not over-work the dough.  Unless you want a tough biscuit. But who wants a tough biscuit?

I was feeling festive leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and used a clover cookie cutter to make this batch but typically just pat the dough into a circle or square and cut them with a knife into 8 pieces.  It’s easier and I like the rustic look that it gives the biscuits.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1/2-3/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. butter, cold
• 3/4 c. grated Irish Cheddar (plus 1/4 c. for sprinkling on top, optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Crack the egg into a 1 cup glass measure and mix well with a fork.  Add the buttermilk to the 3/4 cup mark and mix well again.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut the butter into 1/2″ cubes and lightly mix it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or your fingers until the chunks of butter are the size of peas.  Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheddar (reserve 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top) and stir in the buttermilk until just combined (do not over mix the dough, you want to do this step in more of a tossing motion).
4. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough to 1/2″ thickness and cut with a cookie cutter or knife into 8 pieces (if using a knife – I usually make it into a round circle and cut the biscuits into triangle pieces but it’s up to you!).
5. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese if desired, and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

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