You no longer have any excuse to make biscuits from a can. Ever.
Because these amazing little Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits are so fast and simple, you can whip them up in 5 minutes flat. Twelve minutes in the oven, and voila! – fresh, homemade, super-delicious biscuits. And, while biscuits will never be health food (and if they ever are, they probably don’t deserve to be called biscuits anyway), at least these are made with simple ingredients you already have at home, without the shortening or preservatives found in the canned type.
I’ve included this recipe in my Chili January series because these biscuits are a great alternative to cornbread as a side for chili. Of course, cornbread reigns supreme as the perfect chili accompaniment (and don’t worry, I have a great cornbread recipe waiting in the wings!), but every now and then you may want something different, or (gasp!) realize you are out of cornmeal at the last minute. Well… Simple Cheddar Garlic Drop Biscuits to the rescue! 
Now, I have always been a drop biscuit fan. In fact, I would probably forgo traditional biscuits for a drop biscuit about 90% of the time. While this may sound like blasphemy to some biscuit lovers, let me explain my drop biscuit love: 1) They have a gorgeous craggy, crisp outer crust surrounding a warm, fluffy, tender interior. 2) You can break them apart and eat them piece by buttery piece. 3) They don’t have to be perfect or uniform, and the fact that they aren’t contributes to their casual, homey appeal. 4) They are much easier and faster to make than traditional biscuits. 
I guess I have to admit that I am truly a food nerd when I find myself so ridiculously excited about a recipe as simple as this one. In fact, it’s simplicity is what I love, love, love about this recipe. Drop biscuits are, by nature, already simple. But, usually you have to cut your butter or shortening into your dry ingredients. And while this isn’t hard to do, it takes a little time and extra effort. This recipe uses an even simpler technique with outstanding results.
These cheddar garlic biscuits were actually a happy accident. I had discovered a recipe for plain drop biscuits with this new simpler technique of incorporating the butter a while ago, and they immediately became my go-to recipe. On a whim one night I decided to add some shredded cheddar cheese I had left over and a little garlic powder, and boom! recipe magic happened. These amazingly flavorful, delicious, tender-inside-crusty-outside biscuits were the result. And I’m never going back….
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, chilled
- 8 tbsp butter, melted and cooled + 2 tbsp melted butter for brushing the biscuits
- Garlic salt, to taste, if desired
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, baking soda and garlic powder together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir the cheese into the flour mixture; set aside.
- Place 8 tbsp of melted butter in a medium bowl. While briskly stirring the butter with a fork, slowly pour the chilled buttermilk into the butter. Continue to stir the mixture briskly until the butter solidifies, forming small clumps.
- Immediately pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold with a spatula, just until incorporated and the batter begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Do not overmix; batter will be clumpy.
- Use a ¼ cup cookie scoop to drop batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1½ inches apart.
- Bake at 475 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and crisp.
- Brush the biscuits with the remaining 2 tbsp of melted butter. Sprinkle lightly, if desired, with garlic salt.
- Serve warm.
You can easily make these drop biscuits plain, just leave out the cheddar cheese and the garlic powder; otherwise prepare the biscuits just as written.
I usually make a half recipe, which consistently yields 8 biscuits, plenty for most weeknight dinners.
These biscuits are best fresh from the oven and served warm. If you happen to have leftovers, heat them in a 300 degree oven for 5-8 minutes, or just until heated through.
Slighty adapted from Best Drop Biscuits recipe from the Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001/2014, page 546.
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