Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

Biscuits….mmmmmmm yummy!  I was asked by a co-worker to find a great biscuit recipe which inspired me this morning.  I believe he was thinking more of a plain buttermilk type biscuit, but one of my favorite little shops in Old Town popped in my head – The Twisted Baker.  Ann and I used to meet there for breakfast on the weekends before she moved in with Matt and it is such a cute little bakery (made me want to open a place of my own).  They have a breakfast sandwich using chipotle cheddar biscuits as the buns with bacon, egg and cheese on it.  Just thinking of it makes me want to squeeze my fingertips together, make a kissing noise and say “PERFECTO!” Okay, okay, I might be going a little overboard, but they are pretty darn good. 

 Unfortunately the first stop I made didn’t sell chipotle powder (not sure how a grocery store doesn’t sell it), but I bundled myself back up and walked down the street to another one of my favorite Old Town gems…the Spice Merchant…any spice you can think up, they have.   Spice crisis averted!

As I was reading different recipes online, many of them mentioned serving the biscuit with something to balance the heat from the chipotle powder.  If you decide to pass up the breakfast sandwich option, I would recommend whipping up some honey butter (super easy recipe at the bottom).  The combination of spicy heat with creamy sweetness comes together perfectly bite by bite.

Ingredients:

2 1/3 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 (cold)

1 large egg

Kosher salt for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°f. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together 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 it 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-cup 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). 

To balance out the chipotle flavor, adding something sweet like honey butter or jam are great ideas.  Or cut the biscuit in half and use it for the buns of a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. 

Honey Butter:

Stir together 3 parts room temperature butter to one part honey until combined.  Serve over the biscuits.

Picture Source: Lindsay Klindt

Recipe Source: www.acozykitchen.com