About 90% of the time, when I bake, I bake something sweet. But these Pimento Cheese Biscuits are worth a detour. They have a fantastic flavor to them, thanks to the pimentos (obviously!), cheddar cheese and buttermilk — one of my favorite unsung kitchen heroes.
My friend Maria is the one who introduced me to Pimento Cheese — she’s from Louisiana and knows how to make a mean batch of the stuff. After polishing off a tub of her secret recipe, I was inspired to bake something up that would have the same flavor. I came across this recipe on Southern Bite and gave it a whirl — yummy! I’m not a cheese biscuit expert (you won’t get a lecture from me about flakiness-enhancing techniques), but I found these easy to make and consider yourself warned: They go quickly. You may want to make a double batch.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups self-rising flour (don’t have self-rising flour? You can make your own — take a look here)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 (3-ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained well
- 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
STEPS
- Preheat the oven to 475°. In a large bowl combine the self-rising flour, salt, and sugar.
- Add the butter, and cut it into the flour using a pastry cutter or large fork. The mixture should be crumbly.
- Stir in the buttermilk, pimentos, and cheese and mix until everything is just combined. Don’t over-work the dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough lightly, being sure to fold the dough in half 3 or 4 times. This helps create flaky layers.
- Gently roll the dough out to about ¾-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut the biscuits by pressing the cutter straight down. Do not twist the cutter.
- Transfer the biscuits to a baking pan. Bake the biscuits for 14 to 16 minutes or until just golden brown. Makes a dozen biscuits.
