Mini Cheddar Discard Biscuits
It’s hard to go wrong with a good flaky biscuit, especially when it’s bite sized! Although, I will admit that cutting butter into flour and working with pastry dough = not my strength. This one is super easy, though. If I can do it, I promise you can, too. I adapted this recipe from Food and Wine magazine’s December 2019 issue.
Ingredients:
3 cups self rising flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp granulated sugar
8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
6 ounces cold unsalted butter in small cubes
1/4 cup oat milk (or any type of milk)
1 cup sourdough discard
1 egg beaten
Process:
Preheat the oven to 425F. Stir the sugar and black pepper into the flour, followed by 1 cup of the shredded cheese (reserve the rest for steps 2 and 9 below).
Sprinkle all but 2 tbsp of the remaining cheddar on two baking sheets. If you have good non-stick pans you can sprinkle it right on. If you’re worried about the cheese sticking too much, line the baking sheets with parchment paper first.
Add the small cubes of butter into the flour and work it in by hand until you have pea sized pieces of butter throughout the flour (note: you can also use vegan butter for this!).
Add the sourdough discard and the milk. Mix the dough together until a shaggy/loose mass forms.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and work it into a square shape. Roll the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut the dough in half (horizontally) and bring the top half down on top of the bottom half. This is how we’ll establish some flaky buttery layers.
Re-roll the dough so that it is once again about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat the cutting, layering, rolling process two more times after this one. If the dough becomes too soft (aka butter melting) you can pop it into the freezer for 5 minutes.
After the final roll out of the dough, you’re ready to cut biscuits! Using a floured 1.5inch biscuit cutter or the floured rim of a small glass (I used one here that was just under 2 inches across), cut directly down into the dough (do not twist, as this will seal the flaky layers shut).
Place each cut biscuit onto the baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as necessary. Brush an egg wash onto the tops of the biscuits and then douse them with the remaining cheddar that you have left.
Bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheets and gaze in awe and the lacy cheese skirts that have formed around the biscuits.
Biscuits will keep in an air tight container at room temperature for a couple of days, after which point I recommend moving them to the fridge or freezer. You can pop a couple in the toaster oven when you’re hungry! But be careful… these are bite sized which is dangerous.
If you make these, I’d love to see! Tag @nokneadtoworry on Instagram.
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