Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

• Flour – I choose to use all-purpose flour because I find it easily accessible and prefer it to using cake flour. The result is a slightly drier biscuit but it creates a delicious outer crust. 
• Old Bay Seasoning – This seasoning, synonymous with seafood, is a blend of savory spices like celery salt, bay leaf, mustard powder and black pepper among others. It adds a complex flavor to these Cheddar biscuits. 
• Unsalted butter – The butter is first chilled before it’s added to the biscuit mixture so the bits of butter melt and create steam, making those flakey layers. If the butter is too warm when it is added the dough will be much denser. 
• Cheddar cheese – I use sharp Cheddar when baking. Using mild or medium Cheddar the flavor will cook out and the recipe will be lacking in that cheesy flavor.
• Chives –  Fresh or dried chives can be used in this recipe interchangeably. The chives add a mild onion-y flavor to the biscuits. 
• Buttermilk – Buttermilk helps to keep the dough tender while adding a tangy flavor. It also helps to activate the baking soda in the dough helping it to rise better. 

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

Tips for making the best biscuits

• Make sure you butter is very cold! This way as the butter melts in the oven you get those flakey layers.
• Don’t overwork the dough. The more you work the dough, the more likely it is to melt. Pat the dough out into the rectangle before cutting the biscuits rather than using a rolling pin.
• Use high quality butter and dairy. European butter has a higher fat content than American butter. Since there are only a few ingredients, the quality will make a difference. 
• Don’t twist the biscuit cutter. When you cut out the biscuits, press directly down on the cutter to make clean layers. Twisting the biscuit cutter will seal the layers together.

Swaps and substitutions 

• Swap the Cheddar for another favorite semi-hard cheese like Monterey Jack. 
• If you don’t have buttermilk I recommend either swapping 1 tablespoon (14.4g) white vinegar + enough whole milk to fill a 1 cup measuring cup. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before adding to the mixture. 
• For a bit of spice add ¼ teaspoon (2g) cayenne powder. 

How to Make Without Biscuit Cutters 

If you don’t have biscuit or cookie cutters, shape the dough into a rectangle 1” thick (2.5cm) and cut into 12 pieces. Bake for 20 minutes. They will take slightly longer than the cookie cutter biscuits because they are slightly larger.

You can also skip shaping and drop the biscuits in 12 spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

What to serve with Cheddar bay biscuit

• Fried chicken. Biscuits and fried chicken are a classic pairing. The Cheddar cheese and Old Bay takes it to the next level. 
• Seafood. The Old Bay Seasoning in these biscuits (and of course because they are inspired by the biscuits at Red Lobster) make them the perfect pairing for a seafood boil. 
• Salad. You can balance the biscuits with a lighter salad like this one featuring crab and a creamy tarragon dressing. 

If you enjoy this Cheddar Bay biscuit recipe, give these a try and follow me on Instagram: 

• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Lobster and Cheddar Gougeres
• Cheese Twists

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Print Pin

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Serves 12

US Customary – Metric

Ingredients:

For the biscuits:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½-inch chunks (or lard)
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup diced chives
• 2 cups chilled low-fat buttermilk

For the topping:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon diced chives

Instructions:

For the biscuits:

• Heat oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
• In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, Old Bay Seasoning, onion powder and salt.
• Add the butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Do this until it resembles rough crumbs and the butter is still in pieces.
• Add the cheese and chives, tossing with your hands to combine.
• Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until a loose, sticky dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough over and reshape again into a rectangle about 1½” (3.8cm) thick.
• Cut the dough into biscuits by pressing straight down, using a 2.5” (6.4cm) biscuit cutter. Reshape the dough as needed to continue cutting biscuits.
• Place the biscuits on a greased cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the topping:

• In a small bowl stir together the melted butter, Old Bay Seasoning, garlic and chives.
• Brush the topping over the biscuits and serve.

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