Cheddar and Chive Buttermilk Biscuits make fantastic breakfast sandwiches

Cheddar and Chive Buttermilk Biscuits make fantastic breakfast sandwiches

With the weekend on the horizon, here's a timely recipe variation that provides the basis for fantastic breakfast sandwiches for your weekend brunch. Many recipes for cheese biscuits call for grated cheese but I find the strands of cheese can toughen the tender biscuit dough. Instead I dice the cheese into very small cubes which do not interfere with the tender biscuit, instead melting in little pockets within the biscuit to provide a more cheesy punch.

I had some leftover thinly sliced Mustard and Demerara Glazed Ham from a dinner earlier in the week, that I lightly fried to add to these sandwiches but bacon, sausage, or back bacon are also excellent. My scrambled egg for this sandwich is pretty standard but for extra richness I love to add 1 tsp sour cream per egg whisked into the egg mixture. I also sometimes add a little crushed chili sauce to the eggs for a spicy kick and sometimes a little finely minced garlic for extra flavor. Roasted red peppers are also one of my preferred additions to a good breakfast sandwich.

Originally published on Sept 30, 2011.

Makes about 10 three inch biscuits

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a food processor, blend together

4 cups all purpose flour

9 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pulse in

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp very cold vegetable shortening, cut in small cubes (I store mine in the freezer)

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp very cold salted butter, cut in small cubes

Do not over incorporate the shortening and butter into the flour. Similar to making a flaky pastry, small pieces of butter should be visible in the flour. 

Transfer this mixture from the food processor into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Toss in:

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, diced small

1/4 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Pour in

2 cups buttermilk

Working very quickly with a wooden spoon, fold the dry mixture through the buttermilk, only until the flour disappears, then stop immediately. Drop the sticky dough onto a well floured counter top or bread board. Sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour as well as flouring your hands to handle the dough. I don't even use a rolling pin for these biscuits, the dough is soft enough to pat it out gently with floured hands to a thickness of about 1 & 1/2 inches. Using a sharp 3 inch or larger biscuit cutter cut the biscuits out an place them, almost touching, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Alternately, you can cut the dough into three or for inch squares with a sharp knife. I recommend aluminum baking sheets because they tolerate the higher oven temperature without burning the bottom of the biscuits.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are evenly golden brown.