Biscuits spell comfort in all ways and shapes for me. I can eat them in the morning or paired with a main dish for dinner. I've made this cheddar biscuits recipe for my family to enjoy and I want to share it with all of you. Best of all it takes less than 30 minutes in total to make and less than 15 minutes bake time.
This recipe is super child friendly because it has ham and cheese. It's a classic marriage that just goes so well together.
Why You'll Love These Homemade Biscuits Recipe
- Savory Goodness - there are so many sweet options for snacks and breakfast. This offers a savory option for the whole family.
- Homemade In 20 Minutes - you won't believe it takes just a short time to make fresh homemade baked biscuits.
- Versatile - serve these bites as a snack, full meal, or a side dish for dinner.
Ingredients For Ham and Cheese Drop Biscuits
- Flour - all purpose flour is a must for this recipe.
- Sugar - sugar not only gives it sweetness, it actually gives the biscuits a soft and tender texture. It basically has scientific properties that stops gluten formation and starch gelatinization.
- Baking Powder - is a rising agent and you definitely need it for biscuits.
- Salt - you'll need salt for a little flavor and it also has some important baking properties. Not only does salt add flavor, it aids in adding color to the crust and controls controls yeast fermentation (which you won't need in this recipe, but just in case you are wondering, why you see it in so many baked good recipes.
- Garlic powder - is a flavor enhancer in this recipe. A hint of garlic makes these biscuits so good.
- Buttermilk - buttermilk is cultured milk similar to yogurt or kefir. I would grab some from the store if possible to create an traditional biscuit, but if you are unable to do so you can use milk and vinegar. In this recipe you'd use 1 cup milk combined with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
- Melted Butter - While most biscuit recipes require cold butter, I've opted for melted butter so you don't need to work it in the mixture and work harder. This is a much easier to make biscuit.
- Egg - Eggs are binding agent and keep the biscuit together.
- Ham - this is an optional ingredient, and if you're trying to make it vegetarian you can omit this from the recipe. My kids love ham so we included it.
- Cheddar Cheese - cheese is a flavor in enhancer and creates the ultimate savory biscuit. I like sharp cheddar, but mild cheddar works too.
- Additional butter and cheese- butter and cheese adds more flavor to the top of the biscuit. It certainly is tasty with these additions.
- Parsley - you can do without the parsley, but this does definitely makes these drop biscuits pretty.
How to make Cheddar Biscuits
- Preheat oven 425F. Add flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, and garlic powder in a bowl
- In another bowl, whisk egg, butter, and butter milk
- Combine wet and dry ingredients
- Add in ham and cheese
- Add dough onto lined baking sheet and top with cheese
- Bake 12-13 minutes and brush with melted butter.
Step by Step Instructions
First, preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick cooking spray. I also like to gather all my ingredients so I don't miss anything.
Next, you'll want to start by sifting together the flour baking powder, salt, sugar and garlic powder. Sifting is optional, but to me it creates a better biscuit, more info on FAQ below.
Then in another smaller bowl whisk the egg, melted butter and buttermilk together. You're essentially adding the butter into the flour and mixing all the ingredients together.
Next, you'll want to mix you dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. Pour the wet mixture over the flour and stir until just combined.
After this, gently fold in the diced ham and shredded cheese in the flour mixture.
Now for the fun part, drop the biscuit dough into even size portions onto lined baking sheet and top with extra cheese. It should be around 1 inch thickness, just remember it will rise when baked. Also, you won't need a work surface because there is no kneading of dough, you simply drop it on a nonstick or lined sheet.
Finally, you're ready to bake the batch for 12-13 minutes for the perfect biscuits. You'll see the biscuits rise and turn a golden brown. Remove them from the oven and baste the biscuits with melted butter. You can also garnish them with finely chopped parsley. Serve with butter or garlic butter.
Here's a pro tip for you: Use a cookie scooper! If you want equal sized biscuits just use a large cookie scooper. It also helps keep the mess at bay. You can also use a muffin tin to make perfect looking biscuits. Just make sure to spray the tin well to prevent sticking.
Cook's Tips
- Want more nutrition? Just add some finely chopped spinach to the mix for some veggies. I would suggest a couple of tablespoons to start. You can use a food processor to make it extra fine.
- Vegetarian - if you'd like to keep this vegetarian, just omit the ham from the recipe.
- Measure ingredients accurately - Don't eyeball measurements for this recipe. It's quite important for this recipe.
- Bake Immediately - after you're done making the mixture, it's important to shape the biscuits and bake.
- Use fresh baking powder - baking powder isn't something we all use unless you bake daily. That means it can sit in our cabinets for months. Make sure you check the expiration date. It's all about science when it come to baking, so you don't want to use old baking powder.
- If you're cutting back on sodium, just use unsalted butter.
- You can pair this with biscuits and gravy if you like.
- Serve it in the morning on a snack board with other breakfast foods.
FAQ:
- How do I test if baking powder is still good?
- Just mix a spoon of baking powder with about ¼ cup of hot water. You should see a very obvious bubbly reaction.
- Do I have to sift the flour?
- Sifting the flour will give you a smoother and much airy dough. A wire mesh strainer will work just fine
- I don't have a sifter, what can i use instead?
- Not a problem, you don't need a fancy sifter, just use a wire mesh strainer.
- Can you freeze these?
- First, off, make sure your biscuits are complete cooled. I suggest allowing them to cool on a wire rack. Wrap tightly with aluminum foil or freezer bags. You can also store them in an air tight container, but I prefer individually wrapped so I can take what I need. You may freeze it for up to 3 months.
- How do I reheat the biscuits?
- In the microwave, heat on high for 10 to 30 seconds.
- If using an oven, preheat oven to 300F and place the foil wrapped biscuit for 10 minutes if thawed and 20 minutes if frozen.
- Can I leave it on the counter?
- I don't suggest it because of the ham and cheese added to the biscuits. If doing without the cheese and ham yes you can leave it out for about 3 days on the counter, making sure to cover it.
- How long will it keep in the fridge?
- You can happily keep these n the fridge for 1-2 days. Heat in the microwave for a few seconds and serve warm.
- Can I use shortening instead of butter?
- I prefer butter because shortening tends to have a lot more saturated fat.
Cheddar Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbs baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup milk + 1 tbs vinegar
- ½ cup butter melted, unsalted
- 1 egg
- ½ cup ham small diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded & 2 tbs separated
- Garnish: melted butter fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or non-stick cooking spray.
- Start by sifting together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and garlic powder.
- In a smaller bowl whisk the egg, melted butter and buttermilk together.
- Pour the wet mixture over the flour and stir until just combined.
- Next gently fold in the diced ham and shredded cheese.
- Drop dough into even size portions onto lined baking sheet and top with extra cheese.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes then baste with melted butter and fine chopped parsley when biscuits are cooked.
Notes
Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Looking for more easy lunch ideas? Try these:
Tried this peanut butter cookie recipe and love it? Please leave me a comment and rating below. Feel free to also tag me, I love to see your creations and sharing them. For more inspiration follow us on Instagram Or like us on Facebook
Super easy and limited mess (bonus!). My kids are at school right now so we will see if they like them. The only thing I would critique is that I found them to be a bit too garlicky, especially if you’re making them for kids. Next time I’ll half the garlic and they will be perfect!. I’ll definitely save this recipe!