Cheddar Scallion Drop Biscuits and a Cooking Class
In Boston, I think the best biscuits in the city can be found at Sweet Cheeks. Those soft, crumbly pillows are served with a heavenly honey butter. Second on my list are the mini biscuits at Townsman, which are served with the charcuterie platter and as mini ham sliders.
I’ve been wanting to make savory biscuits, which I assumed are very similar to scones, but I was scared that I might end up with a kitchen fail because it seems that the buttery, flaky kind I want requires a bit more patience and skill. I mean, I’ve had both good and bad luck with scones so I decided to play it safe this time and make some drop biscuits instead.
Drop biscuits are so-called because just you scoop them up from the bowl and drop them straight to the baking pan, and once they are cooled I drop them straight into my mouth.
These biscuits turned out perfectly – buttery, soft, with the salty and creamy taste of cheddar cheese and more savory notes from the scallions. I found that the scallions had a milder flavor when baked into the scones, and it really paired nicely with the sharp cheese.
I originally planned on making breakfast sandwiches with these biscuits, with a fried egg, sliced avocado, and bacon, but they didn’t feel sturdy enough to hold all my sandwich stuffing. So I made a breakfast plate instead:
I realized two things as I was eating this: 1) Even though scrambled eggs, bacon, and a cheddar scallion biscuit is a very filling meal, it didn’t stop me from wanting something sweet afterwards (I settled for cherries). 2) I should buy more things at Home Goods (the plate above is from Anthropologie but the platter is from Home Goods).
And 3) soft, creamy scrambled eggs are my favorite way to eat eggs, followed by fried, followed by soft-boiled, followed by flan. Yup, flan, there’s a lot of eggs there.
(PS – I make scrambled eggs the French way, low and slow, in a saucepan over low-medium heat, using a whisk to stir until small curds form.)
I can imagine servings these biscuits as a side or even an appetizer during dinner. Serve with butter (always butter) or pair with classic Southern fare like barbecue, fried chicken, shrimp and grits. Or just eat them plain, like my co-workers and I did the next day. No kitchen fails involved.
Cheddar Scallion Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450
- In a big mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut into mixture with two knives (or a pastry cutter, or your fingers) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in buttermilk and cheddar and mix just until blended and moistened. Fold in scallions. The dough will be a little wet but sticky.
- Using a standard (2 inch) cookie scoop, portion out dough onto a parchment-paper lined baking tray. Flatten tops slightly and bake for 18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm.
As for the COOKING CLASS, next month I’m teaching a cooking class at the Boston Center for Adult Education (BCAE)! I’ll actually be co-teaching it with Dan from The Food in My Beard. We’re doing a class called Entertain Like a Food Blogger – here’s the class description from the site:
Want to throw a fun and easy dinner party? Join local food bloggers Bianca Garcia (Confessions of a Chocoholic) and Dan Whalen (The Food in My Beard) in a cooking class this summer. They’ll teach you how to make easy appetizers and finger food, dessert, and a cocktail. Entertaining doesn’t have to be stressful, and you don’t have to slave over the stove for an entire day. You can prepare some things in advance, and whip up something quick. And don’t forget presentation – impress your guests (and social media followers) with food styling that will highlight your delicious food!
I am super excited about this because I LOVE dinner parties – I love hosting them, attending them, and all the small bites and fun drinks involved. The class will feel like a live demo of preparing food for a dinner party. Last year I taught a food blogging class at the BCAE, too, but this time it’s going to be a cooking class as in we get to cook together!
I can’t promise that I won’t be nervous and will try to awkwardly hug you while simultaneously offering you food. But, we can just pretend we’re all at a dinner party together already (except, you know, you’re actually making the food) where there is always awkwardness and nervous laughter and plenty of cocktails and Instagram. And also you don’t have to worry about being that guest who just hovers near the food table eating all the appetizers and desserts. Because you’ll have your own pile right at your station. Yes, I said pile. That’s how you eat appetizers at a dinner party, right?
If you are in the Boston area, we’d love to have you there! It’s on Thursday, July 16th from 6-9 pm. You can register here.
I won’t be dropping any hot biscuits at the cooking class, and I promise I won’t try and quote any Snoop Dogg songs.