Cheddar and Jalapeño Biscuits
I thought it would be nice to start off a chilly and snowy day like today with a warm breakfast. Perhaps a breakfast sandwich nestled in a fresh and still slightly warm from the oven cheddar jalapeño biscuit! The slight kick from the jalapeño and the little pockets of warm gooey cheddar will have you breaking a sweat long before heading outside to shovel.
This recipe from simplyrecipes.com is great; the biscuits are soft, packed with great flavor, and have a little bit of crunch compliments of the cornmeal. These biscuits aren’t just for breakfast either, they will make a great side to a soup, a sandwich with a bit of turkey tucked inside, or simply enjoy them on their own.
Ingredients: (yields 10-12 biscuits)
- 1 1/3 cup of flour
- 1/4 cup of finely milled cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 6 oz (1 1/2 cups packed) of sharp cheddar cheese grated and divided (1 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh jalapeno, diced
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, plus more for bushing
Directions:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside for later.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar,cayenne and baking powder. Add the jalapenos and 1 1/4 cups of cheddar cheese. Stir to incorporate.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the cream to the center of the well and using clean hands gently combined the ingredients. The dough should be sticky and clumpy.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough a few times about three or four pushes. You want the dough to just come together. Keep in mind that over kneading the dough will yield dense and firm biscuits.
Shape the dough into a disc about 3/4 of an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out round biscuit shapes from the disc of dough. ( I didn’t have a biscuit cutter so instead I used a small drinking glass) Combine the leftover dough and keep cutting out biscuits until all the dough is used up.
Place the biscuits about two inches apart into the previously lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with a little more cream and evenly sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the tops of the biscuits.
Bake for 11-12 minutes or until golden and the cheese has melted.