Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Here's an interesting story.  The summer after my senior year of high school, I was a server at the Red Lobster near my house.  At the time, I also hated seafood, which made the job even more interesting.  I loved working as a server -- it was fun to meet new people and try to upsell them to a lobsterita or the "all you can eat crab" special.  While these days I would never go to Red Lobster for any of the menu items, I'm still completely obsessed with their cheddar bay biscuits!  As a server, we could eat them as often as we wanted during our shifts.  It was the way to keep hunger at a minimum when working a double shift or working through dinner.  Now, it's the only way someone can convince me to go to Red Lobster! 

Paging through an old issue of Food Network magazine I saw a copycat recipe for these delicious biscuits.  I figured I would give it a try and I might get to enjoy these cheesy biscuits whenever I wanted.  While there was still something missing from this version -- it might need more garlic, more salt, and more cheese (three things that will guarantee recipe success!), but these biscuits bake up wonderfully.  Golden brown on the outside, soft on the inside, with a hint of cheese and garlic.  These biscuits are mouthwatering, and would make the perfect pairing for any meal.  Full disclosure: I ate three of them for dinner tonight!

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

from Food Network Magazine

makes 12 biscuits

Ingredients

for the biscuits

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening at room temperature

4 tablespoons cold butter, diced

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

for the garlic butter

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to combine.  Add the shortening and pulse to combine.  Add the butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until the butter is in small pieces.  Add the cheese and pulse again to combine.  Pour in the milk and pulse until the mixture comes together into a shaggy dough. 

Pour the dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead it until the dough comes together.  Then drop pieces of the dough onto the baking sheet, about small handfuls worth.  Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.

While baking, heat the remaining butter and garlic in a small sauce pan.  Once melted, cook for one minute.  Then remove from heat.  Brush the garlic butter onto the warm biscuits.  Sprinkle a bit more salt on top of the biscuits (optional).  Serve warm.