How to make cheese biscuits

A cheese biscuit is one of those indespensible recipes you’ll call into service over and over again – easy to mix together and quick to bake, they’re perfect for serving (warm, of course) with soups, stews and chili – and there is no better accompaniment to a sticky baked ham this Easter weekend.

These biscuits are made with half butter, half canola or olive oil, making them more heart-healthy than those made using a standard recipe. They rise high and light, if you have a gentle hand – ensure your baking powder is also fresh (it will lose its punch after a year or so) to guarantee the lightest biscuits possible. Cut them small, using a 1″-2″ round cutter for small hands, or bigger if you want to split them and make sandwiches or stuff them with pulled pork.

Classic Cheese Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1/4 cup olive or canola oil

1/2 cup grated old cheddar

3/4 cup milk or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a food processor) stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add the butter and oil and pulse or stir with a wire whisk or fork until crumbly.

If you’re using a food processor, transfer the mixture to a bowl. Toss in the grated cheese. Add the milk and stir gently until the dough begins to come together. For wedge-shaped biscuits, pat the dough into a circle that is about 1” thick on a cookie sheet. Cut the circle into 8 wedges with a knife or pastry cutter and separate them so that they are at least an inch apart on the sheet.

For round or square biscuits, pat the dough about 1” thick and cut it into rounds with a biscuit cutter, glass rim or open end of a can, or into squares with a knife, gently rerolling the scraps only once to get as many biscuits as possible.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Serve warm. Wrap well and freeze any you don’t eat the same day. Makes 8-12 biscuits.