homemade cheddar bay biscuits
Oh man. My childhood encapsulated in a flaky disc of cheesy dough.
I haven’t visited Red Lobster in years, so I couldn’t even tell you if their infamous cheddar bay biscuits are any good nowadays. What I can tell you, though, is amongst all the youthful memories my brain purposely blanked out, my visits to Red L with my family had some notable, positive instances. For instance, feeling “grown up” by ordering my very own Caesar salad instead of sharing.
And of course, eating too many biscuits before the main courses even came out.
Oddly enough, I actually love a good buttermilk biscuit. I almost never order them at a diner or otherwise, nor do I buy the prepackaged versions, but occasionally the idea of baking them appeals to my desire for comfort foods. Such is how both my bourbon strawberry and bourbon peach shortcakes came to be.
An urge to make some of these brought this recipe to life, and it’s damn good. My interpretation features a buttery, flaky biscuit seasoned with plenty of Old Bay, garlic, and parsley, baked up so the inside is soft but the outside maintains a lovely crisp. Perfect for any season, but especially as fall approaches and menus get cozier. And bread cravings bust out of the woodwork.
What About New Bay?
I suppose the new bay is probably contaminated.
Buttermilk biscuits do have a formulaic process, but I’d argue it’s pretty simple. The main holdup is getting the texture of your dough correct: too wet and it won’t be flaky and airy, too dry and the finished product will crumble (if you can get it form anyway). But when you get it right, man, is it satisfying.
Before you start, you need a couple of your ingredients very well chilled. I call for grating the butter in this recipe, since that makes cutting the pieces into the dough way easier – especially when you don’t have a pastry cutter, like me, and need to use your hands. Shred the butter sticks into a bowl, then pop in the fridge until it’s needed.
Second, make sure your buttermilk hasn’t been sitting out. Another component you need to be nice and cold.
With that in mind, let’s get it.
Mix up your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, dried parsley, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until no chunks larger than a pea remain, then stir in lots of sharp cheddar cheese.
Stream in your buttermilk, starting with the lesser amount listed, and stir until a ball of dough comes together. If your dough seems too dry, mix in 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until your ball is nice and firm. Tehe. The texture we want is “shaggy” but not soggy or too crumbly.
Too Legit to (Bis)quit
Flour a clean, flat surface and throw down that ball of dough. Press into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
I don’t quite understand why the folding method is called an envelope fold, cos I’ve never seen an envelope that looks like that, but here we are. Fold one of the short ends to the center, then fold the other short end overtop. Pat the dough back out into a rectangle and repeat. This layering will give you those pull-apart pillars once the biscuits are baked.
Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. If you’ve got one of those cool scalloped doohickeys, have at it. Roll out the dough as many times as you need between cuttings to get more biscuits for your buck. Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Pop the baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes, longer if you want or if you forget. While you do that, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Then, bake that shit up! Or pop the unbaked biscuits in a covered container and freeze them for awhile until you’re ready to bake. They prep ahead beautifully.
Best serving tip? A little brown butter brushed atop and some flaky salt, fresh basil or parsley if you’ve got it. And, of course, more butter to slather between the breads. Any manner of seafood pairs with these, like this week’s Bourbon Honey Butter Shrimp, or Brown Butter Shrimp Scampi; or, if you’re feeling fishy, Lemon Butter Salmon Piccata or Hot Honey Balsamic Salmon. All winners in my figurative book.
Like you. You’re a winner in my figurative book. Especially if you make this biscuits.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
homemade cheddar bay biscuits
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 sticks butter, VERY cold, grated
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2-2 cups buttermilk, cold
- extra butter and flaky salt, to serve
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, parsley, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt. With a pastry cutter, two forks, or your hands, cut in the butter until pieces no large than a pea remain. Stir in the cheddar cheese.
- Pour in 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk and stir until a shaggy but cohesive dough forms. If the dough seems to dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold one short end towards the center, then fold the opposite short end overtop (the "envelope" fold though I dunno any envelopes that fold like that.) Pat the dough out again and repeat the folding one more time.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Use a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to cut rounds into the dough. Ball up any dough scraps and pat out again to cut more biscuits. Lay the biscuits onto the baking sheet.
- Transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes. While they chill, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Pull the biscuits from the freezer and bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden and crisp. Let cool 5 minutes, then serve with butter and extra flaky salt, as desired.
