North Carolina Cheese Biscuits – My Recipe Reviews (2024)

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The first time I saw North Carolina Cheese Biscuits on Cook's Country's PBS show, I thought - Wow, do they look incredible!

Now I'm wishing I'd made them a lot sooner.

Big, fluffy biscuits with a melty, cheesy middle. And don't forget the melted butter slathered on the golden brown top.

What Makes These Biscuits So Good?

First of all you use cold butter that's pulsed in a food processor along with a flour mixture. This distributes the butter perfectly so it will create tender, buttery pockets throughout.

Then there's a little more butter in the buttermilk, which blends with the flour/butter mixture to make a perfect, almost sticky dough.

And don't forget the butter slathered on top before and after baking to get that perfect golden brown color.

So the answer is....butter!

Cook's Country states the dough is very wet and sticky, but I didn't find that true with mine.

I lightly floured my hands to create the round biscuit circles and the dough was very easy to handle.

After you split the dough into six portions, you flatten each portion out and stuff a giant ball of cheddar cheese into the circle. Wrap the dough around it, pinch the bottom together and place seam-side down in the pan.

When I heard about the North Carolina Cheese Biscuits, I figured they were regular old biscuits with grated cheese incorporated into the dough.

These, though, have that great middle of melted cheese instead, surrounded by the thick, tender, perfectly baked biscuit.

I've never had much luck making homemade biscuits, but these are incredible! I'll make these with the cheese, but also without because they're so good.

Be gentle with the dough when you're stirring it together. The less you mess with it, the better the final biscuit.

If you don't have a food processor, pulse the flour/butter mixture in your blender for a similar result.

Keep a watch on them while they're baking and pull them out when the tops are golden brown. At the high temperature, the bottoms have a tendency to get very browned, almost burned.

If you're concerned about the bottoms over-browning, I found that turning down the temperature to 425° helped avoid that. Also remember to use a light-colored pan to get less-brown bottoms.

This is now my favorite biscuit recipe! Fairly easy to throw together with a marvelous, delicious result.

Another great biscuit on my site that you may want to take a look at is Blueberry Lemon Drop Biscuits. They're terrific!

North Carolina Cheese Biscuits – My Recipe Reviews (5)

North Carolina Cheese Biscuits

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Tender delicious biscuits surrounding melted cheddar cheese.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 Cups)
  • 3 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoon butter, cut into ¼" pieces, plus 3 tablespoon melted
  • 1 ½ C buttermilk

Instructions

      1. Heat oven to 500°. Grease or spray a light-colored 9" round cake pan. Take ⅓ cup of the shredded cheese and form into a tight, firm ball. Repeat with the rest of the cheese (equals 6 cheese balls).

      2. Pulse 2 ½ cups of the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor (or blender) until combined, about 6 pulses. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 8 to 10 pulses.

      3. Transfer the flour/butter mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined (Dough will be slightly sticky and a little lumpy).

      4. Spread the remaining ½ cup of flour onto a rimmed baking sheet. Using a sprayed ½ cup dry measuring cup, transfer 6 portions of dough to the prepared sheet. Dust the top of each with a little flour from the sheet.

      5. Lightly flour your hands and gently flatten 1 portion of dough into a 3 ½" circle. Pick up the dough circle and place 1 cheese ball in the center. Gently pull the edges of the dough over the cheese to enclose, then pinch together the seams. Shake off any excess flour and transfer to the prepared cake pan. Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese, placing 5 biscuits around the edge of pan and one in the center. (They'll spread a bit on baking.)

      6. Brush the biscuit tops with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 450°. Continue to bake until biscuits are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Let the biscuits cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then invert onto a plate. Break the biscuits apart and turn right-side up. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the leftover 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve warm.

Notes

The original recipe had ½ cup more flour to spread on the baking sheet, but I ended up throwing quite a bit of it away, so I pared it down to only ½ cup.

These are best the first day and served warm. Refrigerate leftovers. (The next day I split the biscuits, took out the cheese, then warmed the biscuit up for about 15-20 seconds, added a little butter and jam - awesome!)

I lowered the temperature to 425° after about 12 minutes because the bottoms were starting to get too brown. Then I baked for about 5 more minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6Serving Size: 1 biscuit
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 482Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 1162mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 17g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

North Carolina Cheese Biscuits – My Recipe Reviews (2024)

FAQs

Why are my cheese biscuits crumbly? ›

Falling apart

Conversely you might find that your biscuits are too crumbly. The likelihood here is that your recipe needs a bit more liquid, or your recipe has too high a ratio of flour. Be sparing with any flour you put on the work surface to roll your dough too.

What is the secret to an excellent biscuit? ›

Just bring it all together and let the ingredients do the work." In order to help the biscuits rise, all the experts agree that the fat — whether butter, shortening or margarine — needs to be cold, and there should still be visible chunks of that fat in the dough. Don't overmix.

What are the best biscuits to have with cheese? ›

Some are even great by themselves as a nibble with a nice chilled glass of wine.
  • Buttercrumb Gruyere Biscuits. ...
  • Buttercrumb Parmesan Biscuits. ...
  • Casalinga Artisan Grissini. ...
  • Casalinga Artisan Grissini with Cereals. ...
  • Casalinga Rosemary Crackers. ...
  • Cheese Nibbles Parmesan and Chilli Stables. ...
  • Cheese Nibbles Stilton and Almond Sables.

What do you eat with cheese biscuits? ›

Nuts: Crunchy nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans can add a delicious texture and flavor to the cheese and biscuits. Spreads and dips: Spreads like honey, jam, chutney, or mustard can add a sweet or tangy flavor, while dips like hummus, salsa, or guacamole can add a savory and creamy texture.

What is the best flour for biscuits? ›

There is some actual science behind why White Lily flour is lighter than others and, thus, better suited for items like biscuits and cakes.

Should you chill biscuits before baking? ›

Whenever you're working with buttery doughs like biscuits, pie crust, shortbread, and the like, you're constantly reminded to chill the dough frequently, as well as chill the dough before baking time. Baking biscuits directly from frozen also keeps the biscuits from spreading and flattening out.

What kind of flour do Southerners use for biscuits? ›

White Lily brand flour, especially the self-rising flour, is the gold standard among Southern cooks who make biscuits on a regular basis. White lily, self rising. I use it for everything except those thing I make using either cake flour or yeast. If I'm using yeast I use King Arthur flours.

Why Northerners can't make biscuits? ›

In the North, the flour was milled from hard winter wheat, which has a higher protein level — great for bread and other baked goods, but not ideal for biscuits, as it can make them tough. So, while biscuits were certainly baked in Northern kitchens, they didn't replace bread as the carbohydrate of choice.

Are biscuits better with butter or shortening? ›

The butter version rises the highest — look at those flaky layers! The shortening biscuit is slightly shorter and a bit drier, too. Butter contains a bit of water, which helps create steam and gives baked goods a boost.

Is buttermilk or milk better for biscuits? ›

Buttermilk can produce better results when baking biscuits than using regular milk or cream. Buttermilk is acidic and when it is combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise and gives the biscuits a light and flaky texture.

How do you keep cheese biscuits crisp? ›

02/6​​Cover with tissues​ Another way of storing biscuits and cookies is by taking airtight containers and layering them with a few tissues and then placing the baked delights over the tissues and covering them with another layer of tissues. Doing this can retain freshness and crispiness for a long time.

What is the best biscuit to use for cheesecake base? ›

For a cheesecake crust, it is best to use a biscuit that is slightly sweet and has a buttery flavor, such as graham crackers or digestive biscuits.

Are cheese biscuits healthy? ›

While cheese biscuits may be a tasty breakfast option, they are typically not regarded as a healthy breakfast option because they are frequently high in calories, sodium, and saturated fat.

What is the name of cheese biscuit? ›

Malkist is an incredibly unique cracker with each biscuit made of 7 crunchy layers.

What is the history of cheese biscuits? ›

The earliest known use of the noun cheese biscuit is in the 1820s. OED's earliest evidence for cheese biscuit is from 1827, in the writing of 'M. Dods'. cheese biscuit is formed within English, by compounding.

How do you fix crumbly biscuit dough? ›

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Why are my homemade biscuits dry and crumbly? ›

If your biscuits come out hard and crumbly, it's most likely because the dough was overworked during the kneading process. To prevent that, mix your dough just until it comes together. You should still see bits of butter in your dough.

Why do my biscuits break apart? ›

If your biscuits are falling apart…

If this sounds familiar, you could be adding too much flour to your dough without knowing it, disrupting the ratio of dry to wet ingredients.

Why do my biscuits collapse? ›

Overworking the dough will not only create a tough biscuit instead of a tender biscuit, but can also result in a flatter biscuit. The more you play with the dough, the warmer the dough becomes. If the fat becomes too warm it will melt into the flour and they won't rise as tall.

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