Rosemary Cheddar Biscuits

Do you ever eat at a restaurant and wonder…"What is this seasoning?" or "How did they make this amazing dish?" or "I wonder what ingredients they used?"  Well, I do.

Sometimes I brainstorm what all could be in something.  Sometimes I have to close my eyes to discern it.  One night I tasted this squash soup and I couldn’t pin-point the flavor that was added to the squash in the puree.  Then I closed my eyes and the taste was obvious to me – it tasted like chicken noodle soup!  So I knew that it must have been chicken broth!

Sometimes I take a photo on my phone to remember the presentation, or the moment, or to jog my memory later, or just to savor it a little while longer, even if just through a photo!

the inspirational breakfast biscuit

Well, during our kids’ spring break in March, I snuck away with my friend Melissa (the florist Melissa) sans kids to have some uninterrupted quality time together (we each have 3 kids, so our time together is typically pretty rowdy).  We met for breakfast at one of our favorite local coffee shops, the Frothy Monkey.  Melissa got the special that was mentioned on the chalkboard:  a Rosemary Cheddar Biscuit with Swiss, Prosciutto, and spinach leaves. She let me have a bite and it was lovely!  I took this photo and decided that cheddar biscuits, plain or with anything on them, were something I needed to make.

I added it to my “to do” list and early this summer I dug around for a good cheddar biscuit recipe. I found this one from Southern Living a few years back.  It is simple to throw together, and the biscuits are flaky and delicious! I have made them twice now.  The first time, I made both with Rosemary and without.  My kids didn’t appreciate the strong herby taste, but I thought it was a nice addition.  We ate them straight off the plate.  I made them another time and sliced them open, then filled them with scrambled eggs and tomato.  You could put anything you want on them – breakfast meats, eggs, cheese, veggies, or butter and jam!

I love that a moment of breakfast yumminess in March at a cafe inspired batches of biscuits this summer.

Be inspired– replicate a tasty dish from a restaurant at home!  The crazy thing I want to replicate these days is the amazing Chick-fil-A Sauce (smokey honey mustard). I really want to figure out how to make it at home. Any ideas?

Cheddar Biscuits

simple ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/3 cup Crisco shortening

½ cup milk

20 rosemary leaves, chopped (optional)

Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor several times until thoroughly combined. 

Add shredded cheese and Crisco, and pulse 4 or 5 times or until mixture is crumbly.  With processor running, gradually add milk and mix until dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl.  If you are including the rosemary, add it now, and thoroughly blend.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface; shape into a ball.

Pat or roll dough to ½ inch thickness, cut with a 2 inch round cutter and place on baking sheets. Then sprinkle a few shreds of additional cheese on top of each biscuit.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden.

crumbly dough mixture

ready for baking

with or without rosemary!