Cheddar Cheese Biscuits (with Bacon & Chives)

Buttery, flaky layers of cheese, bacon, and chives make these southern style cheesy biscuits a favorite at our house.

A rich, buttery biscuit is something I have a hard time saying no to. Piping hot biscuits are a good complement to most anything in my opinion: a Sunday roast, a breakfast buffet, or just a simple cup of coffee. Keith has his own recipe, rooted in the days when he cooked for a living, and he will usually make them for me if I ask nicely. But our appreciation for homemade biscuits reached a whole new level during a recent visit to Savannah.

Keith and I visited (and fell in love with) Savannah, Georgia for a friend’s wedding. In our restaurant research before our trip, one name kept appearing and reappearing more than most: Mrs. Wilkes. Determined not to miss out on this famous Savannah institution, we made our friends stand in line for over an hour to partake in Mrs. Wilkes’ famous southern fare. The wait was worth it. A meal at Mrs. Wilkes is on par with the best Sunday dinner I have ever eaten, a true home cooked meal with all the sides, shared at a communal table with strangers that instantly feel like friends. Food does have a way of bringing people together.

Ingredients:

• AP FLOUR (2 cups)
• BAKING POWDER (¾ teaspoon)
• SUGAR (1 teaspoon)
• SHORTENING (2 tablespoons)
• BUTTER (2 tablespoons, unsalted and cold)
• BUTTERMILK (⅓ cup)
• WHOLE MILK (⅓ cup)
• BACON (2 slices, cooked crisp and chopped)
• SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE (¾ cup)
• CHIVES (2 tablespoons)

We couldn’t leave that town without a copy of Mrs. Wilkes’ Boardinghouse Cookbook, and one of the first things we had to try was her Boardinghouse-Style Biscuits. Keith now uses this recipe as his go-to biscuit favorite, although he still likes to make them with biscuit cutters, rather than in a pan. This Cheddar Cheese Biscuit recipe starts with her basic biscuit recipe but adds a superman cooks style twist. Forget Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. These buttery homemade cheesy biscuits are an entirely on an entirely different plane. I can’t imagine anything better than these, fresh out of the oven with a pat of melted butter.

How to make Cheddar Cheese Biscuits:

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl. Add shortening and butter and cut (using a dough cutter or two butter knives) until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
2. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in buttermilk and milk. Mix lightly and quickly with your hands to form a dough to pull away from sides of bowl.
3. Turn onto floured surface and top dough with bacon, cheese and chives.
4. Knead dough by folding dough over itself and pressing down.
5. Turn dough ½ turn and repeat 6-7 times until dry.
6. Roll out until dough is ½ in thick. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut biscuits and re-roll dough until all biscuits are cut.
7. Place biscuits onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in oven. Turn oven temperature down to 400° and bake about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Remove form oven and spread tops of biscuits with melted butter (optional).

serving suggestions:

• FOR THE HOLIDAY TABLE: cheddar biscuits are perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any large family gathering. We especially like them with Perfect Mashed Potatoes and Apple Cider Brussels Sprouts.
• MAKE A SANDWICH: slice the biscuits in half and to make the perfect Hot Honey Chicken & Biscuit Sandwich
• MAKE BRUCH BETTER: a basket of these biscuits served with bacon, scrambled eggs, and a pitcher of classic Bloody Marys is one crowd pleasing menu.

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