Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

One thing to be said for the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook is that they don't do anything halfway. I'm also realizing that these guys love their salt. Hence, the Sweet and Salty cake is one of the recipes in the cookbook. Every recipe I have made so far could have had the salt cut in half. These are some seriously cheesy biscuits. We will be making these again, soon! I'm just wondering how they would turn out if the cheese was reduced. Let me know if you try.

Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups grated and tightly packed sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

Kosher salt for topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, pepper, chipotle powder, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and the 1 teaspoon of salt. 

Add the butter, and using your hands or the back of a wooden spoon, work the butter into the dough. The mixture should look like coarse sand. Add the cheese and stir to thoroughly incorporate into the dough.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix.

Use a small ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the dough and drop it in mounds onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through the baking time, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit comes out clean.

Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack. The biscuits can be served slightly warm or at room temperature (we like them slightly warm).

Store the biscuits in an airtight container for up to 2 days.