Chipotle Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 biscuits 1x
Description
All the creamy components of these biscuits, buttermilk, yogurt, and of course the cheese itself, temper the heat of the chipotle and keep it in balance, without dulling its smoky character.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (about 9 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (about 6.8 oz) whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 oz (115 g) (1 stick) frozen unsalted butter
- 2 cups (about 7 oz) chipotle cheddar cheese
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk + extra for buttermilk wash
- 1 cup (240 ml) yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Stir the flours, baking soda, salt and pepper together. Either grate the frozen butter over the flour mixer, using the largest side of a box grater or cut in using a pastry cutter. Stir in, then stir in the grated cheese.
- Whisk the buttermilk and yogurt together in a small bowl, then add it to the flour-butter-cheese mixture and stir to combine.
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead only enough to incorporate into a single mass. Using the palms of your hands, pat the dough into a rough circle about 1″ tall. Spoon some flour into a little mound on the table, and dip your cutter/cup’s edge into this before making each round to avoid sticking.
- Using a 2 1/2? cutter (or the closest sized cup you have–2 1/2? is actually not all that big, and it’s not the end of the world to end up with larger biscuits), cut out biscuits. (Until I got those pretty hummingbird cups pictured above, I even used the rim of a baby bottle on biscuits. In case you have some laying around).
- Place each biscuit onto your prepared cookie sheet, about one inch apart. Re-form scraps into another circle and cut more biscuits. Work quickly so the butter stays cold, rather than kneading or trying to make the dough perfect and smooth. (I find that the biscuits from the second and third pass aren’t as pretty, but they still somehow manage to get eaten).
- Pour a little buttermilk into a small dish and use your fingers or a pastry brush to paint the top of each round with a buttermilk wash.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until brown, rotating the baking sheets about halfway through.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
- Calories: 200
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the recipe use frozen butter rather than cold butter?
Step 2 instructs you to grate the frozen butter over the flour mixture using the largest side of a box grater, or cut it in with a pastry cutter. Frozen butter grates into tiny flakes that stay cold longer and distribute evenly through the dry ingredients, creating more flaky layers than chunks of merely cold butter would.
Why should I knead the dough as little as possible?
Step 4 says to knead “only enough to incorporate into a single mass,” and step 6 emphasizes working quickly so the butter stays cold rather than trying to make the dough perfect and smooth. Over-kneading develops gluten and warms the butter, both of which make biscuits tough and dense rather than tender and flaky.
What does the yogurt do that buttermilk alone can’t?
The recipe uses 1 cup each of buttermilk and yogurt. The excerpt notes that the creamy components — buttermilk, yogurt, and the cheese itself — all work together to temper the chipotle’s heat and keep it in balance without dulling the smoky character. The yogurt’s extra thickness and acidity also contribute to a more tender crumb and better rise from the 2 tbsp of baking powder. 
