Thursday, February 3, 2011

My Cheddar (not Bay) Biscuits and My (not Bisquick) Biscuit Mix

 

So, I'm pregnant, and being so I get cravings. Frequently this time around, and a couple of weeks ago all I wanted were the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuits. I'd been down this road before, and I've tried many of the online versions only to be disappointed, so at least I knew what not to do.

I pulled out the standard ingredients, including biscuit mix, only I didn't have any biscuit mix. Dun dun dun.

Panic like whoa.

See, I live in a small town. We have 2 restaurants that are really more like diners (and one of them only sells chicken wings, but there's a third going in now, woot!). To actually get to a red lobster is a 30 minute drive each way, and I was already in my pajamas (something I tend to get into 0.34 seconds after getting home from work). So, my only option was to make the biscuits from scratch. Or go to the grocery store (please recall pajama statement above).

So, I started hunting online for a biscuit recipe, but instead of finding a biscuit recipe, I found a biscuit mix recipe, and it ended up being awesome! I would link it, but I can't remember where it was, and I forgot to favorite the page. I'll try to figure this out later though, because they deserve all the credit!

Enjoy! I have 3 times since I figured this out (please remember I'm pregnant), and now because I'm typing it out, I'm pretty sure they just got added to the menu tonight. I'm sure they'll work with Asian marinated pork tenderloins!

Cheddar (not Bay) Biscuits

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 17 minutes
Makes: 12 large biscuits

Ingredients:

Biscuits:
2½ c biscuit mix
4 tbsp butter, straight from the fridge cold
¾ c whole milk, cold
½ tsp garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated medium cheddar cheese

Topping:
4 tbsp butter, melted
½ tsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt

Directions:


1. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine the biscuit mix, butter and cheese with a pastry blender (or cut in with a couple of knifes or forks, I highly recommend getting a pastry blender though!). You want the butter to be in pea sized pieces mixed with the flour.


3. Gently stir in the milk and garlic powder. Don't over mix this or the biscuits won't be fluffy

4. Use a ½ cup measuring cup to scoop up the mix and place onto the prepared baking sheet (you're hands will get a little messy here.


5. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn a light brown

6. While the biscuits are baking, mix all the topping ingredients together. As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the topping onto the top of each biscuit. Don't be shy here!

NOTE: You can also make smaller, ¼ cup sized biscuits. Just decrease the time in the oven by a few minutes and keep your eye on them. I like the big ones because then I say that I only ate 2 (or 3, or 4) of them, instead of 4 (or 6, or 8).



Pantry Biscuit Mix

This is fantastic because you just store it in a large airtight container in a cool, dry place, or the freezer, for up to 8 months! I found this mix to make biscuits far superior to the store-bought brand...but that's just my humble opinion.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Makes: 11 cups of mix

Ingredients:


9 c all purpose flour
¼ c baking powder
1 tbsp salt
2 c shortening

Directions:


1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Store until needed.

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