Cheese Biscuit Mix

At first, I was misled by the name of this recipe. As I read through the instructions I thought to myself, “Oh! They’re scones!” And then I laughed at myself. Because the first time I read through a scone recipe years ago, I thought to myself, “Oh! They’re biscuits!” Whatever you call them and however you identify them, these biscuits are lovely.

I chose this recipe because we have lots of bellies at the table that are hard to fill up. My usual strategy is to provide a reasonable amount of quality protein, a really large amount of veggies, and then some kind of starchy carb to fill in the cracks in the tummies. I really liked the idea of having a starchy carb ready to go in the freezer.

At the dinner table everyone smeared thick pats of butter on warm biscuits and were quite content. This recipe gets the thumbs up from everyone.

Cheese Biscuit Mix

Source: Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

Grocery List

• 2 pounds sharp cheddar cheeseshredded
• 16 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) buttercut into 1″ cubes
• 8 one-gallon freezer bagslabeled
• 3/4 cup milk (on hand for baking each batch)

1. Combine cheese, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter; rub into flour until the butter is in tiny pieces. Divide the mixture evenly among the freezer bags.

I used whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour. Our family likes the texture and nuttiness. But if you’re looking for a softer biscuit you’ll want to use all-purpose. I also used coconut sugar in place of the sugar, which seemed to work out just fine.

If you’re not experienced at cutting in butter, it requires a bit of patience, especially with quantities this large. Your hands are the best tools with which to do it. Gently massage the butter pieces into the flour until the mixture is mealy, like cornmeal. It can take a while, so find a friend to talk to, or a radio program to listen to, or something to keep you entertained while you rub and rub and rub. I like to leave a few larger chunks of butter that melt when they bake and make nice little pockets in the biscuits.

2. Seal and freeze.

TO BAKE ONE BATCH:

1. Completely thaw one batch in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

3. Put the mixture in a medium bowl. Add milk and stir to form a dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough holds together. Pat into a circle 2 inches thick. Cut into 8 wedges.

4. Place wedges on an ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.

I actually do this process slightly different, because I think it goes just a little bit faster and keeps the biscuits a little bit moister. I knead the dough in the bowl until it holds together, then turn it out onto my lined baking sheet where I pat it into a circle. I score the dough deeply to make wedges, but I don’t cut all the way through. After baking, I separate them into wedges.