These simple Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits are rich in flavor and perfectly fluffy, full of gooey chunks of melted cheese, fragrant herbs, and bright points of salt. Make these any time for a delicious addition to your family meal.
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Happy New Beer’s Eve friends!
Seriously. It’s a thing. I was surprised too.
Tomorrow is National Beer Day, which is celebrated every year on April 7th in commemoration of the day the Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect in 1933. This law, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 22, 1933, didn’t end Prohibition (that would happen in December 1933), but it did redefine the meaning of an “intoxicating beverage” under the Volstead Act. Starting on April 7th, people were once again allowed to buy, sell, and drink beer “containing up to 3.2% alcohol by weight (or 4.05% by volume) in states that had enacted their own law allowing such sales.” A social media push by Virginia natives Justin Smith and Mike Connolly made the holiday a reality in 2009, and it’s been trending ever since.
While I’m not much a straight beer drinker myself these days, I absolutely appreciate a great craft beer. I love using beer in cooking even more. In celebration of this worthy food holiday, I created an absolutely delicious recipe for Beer Braised Slow Cooker Barbeque Pulled Pork with Chocolate Stout, to be served over warm, fluffy, Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits. Today I’ll share the biscuits, and tomorrow – the pulled pork will be yours for the making.
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Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits
I knew the pulled pork recipe I was imagining for National Beer Day needed a hearty baked good of some kind to sit on top of. I loved the savory idea of biscuits and cheddar, but I don’t frequently make biscuits from scratch. I always forget just how simple they are. This lovely rendition includes a dash of fragrant rosemary, which is probably my favorite herb. Fresh chopped rosemary leaves taste best, but dried rosemary works too. I’ve made the recipe both ways and the difference is marginal.
My biggest problem with biscuit recipes is that they always require buttermilk. Buttermilk is great, but unless you bake all the time it can get pricy and wasteful to buy a big carton to make one or two recipes before the rest goes bad. I cook a lot and even I can’t ever seem to go through one in time. For that reason, I specifically tested this recipe using a common buttermilk substitute – milk and lemon juice – to see if I could avoid the problem all together. Spoiler – it works!
To make the biscuits extra fluffy, take an extra step and separate out your egg yolk from the egg white. Using a whisk, whip up the egg white for a few minutes as you watch some television, getting them nice and frothy. I found this added a lightness to the finished biscuits. If you don’t want to deal with that though, feel free to skip it – they’ll still be tasty, just perhaps a bit more dense.
Biscuits will keep 1-2 days in an airtight container on the counter, or 5-7 days in the fridge. You can also freeze the biscuits and reheat them in the oven as needed. Frozen biscuits will keep 2-3 months.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the second part of this delicious meal, and have a pint in celebration of the holiday tonight! Share your tributes on social media with the hashtag #nationalbeerday.
Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains Amazon.com affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. I recommend products because I find them interesting or helpful, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Cheddar Rosemary Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 egg, white and yolk seperated
- 3/4 cup cheddar, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped (or 1 Tbsp dry rosemary)
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- Flaky sea salt, for topping
Necessary Tools
- Baking sheets with parchment paper
- Pastry cutter (optional)
- Biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, 3-4 inches in diameter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Prep two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt together. In a smaller bowl, whisk together milk, lemon juice, and egg yolk. In a third bowl, whip the egg whites with a whisk until frothy and light, about 5-8 minutes.
- Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter (or just your fingers!) and combine until it is the consistency of a coarse meal. Toss in the cheese cubes and rosemary.
- Fold the frothy egg whites into the milk mixture. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk mixture, folding the ingredients together with a fork until just combined. The dough will be shaggy.
- Dump the ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. Form the dough into a flattened disk, one to two inches thick. Cut out biscuits, reform the scraps and cut biscuits out of the rest of the dough until you have none left. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared trays and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
- Bake 12-15 minutes, until the tops are just golden.
