Just Like Red Lobster® Cheddar Bay Biscuits

This is especially for my son, Patrick, who loves these biscuits. Over many years, I have read and tried many recipes, trying to get these biscuits just right. The two recipes from Robbie and Kathy (see end of recipe) came the closest.

When I made these last week, I decided to try some techniques I saw on Alton Brown’s Good Eats for making light biscuits – keep butter cold until it hits a very hot oven and cutting the butter into the flour. I also made a few changes of my own – adding more baking powder, adding baking soda and using buttermilk for the liquid. I also added seasoning to the dough, used more cheese, and upped the flavor with extra sharp cheddar.

The biscuits at Red Lobster are very flavorful. They use yellow cheese and are brushed with butter with tiny green flecks. They are not real big, a couple of bites, and were rather oblong shaped with pointy ends.

These biscuits are exceptionally light and flavorful. Be careful not to bake too long. They are probably richer than Red Lobster’s with real butter and more cheese.

Yield: 12 Biscuits

2 cups Flour

4 tsp. Baking powder

½ tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground Italian seasoning (try a mortar and pestle, if unavailable)

¼ cup (4 Tbsp. or ½ stick) cold Butter
2/3 cup cold low-fat Buttermilk
1 cup (4 oz.) yellow extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. butter, melted
¼ tsp. parsley flakes, rubbed (measure and rub over the melted butter)

1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly coat baking sheet with canola oil spray.

Sift flour into medium mixing bowl. Gently fold in baking powder, baking soda, garlic and Italian seasoning.

Cut butter by ½ tablespoon pieces and drop on top of flour. Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or two knives until mostly crumbly, like cornmeal with some bigger lumps.

Stir in buttermilk and cheese and beat quickly with fork for 30 seconds.

In small bowl, mix together melted butter, rubbed parsley flakes and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Scoop the dough sideways with a tablespoon (not a measuring tablespoon – a table spoon), creating a large walnut size lump with pointy ends. Drop dough onto prepared baking sheet at least an inch apart. Twelve biscuits should easily fit on baking sheet. Dip spoon into hot water between dropping biscuits to keep dough from sticking to spoon.

Bake about 10 minutes. Bottoms should just be golden and tops should spring back with a light tap. A light tap should sound hollow, not dull. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter mixture while still warm.

Sources:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits like Red Lobster's®

Notes: Red Lobster® uses their Shrimp Scampi butter mix (a powder) to flavor their biscuits. 

http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/R/89.htm

FIDO, Cooking Echo by Kathy Pitts from Dec 1, 1994 - Jul 31, 1995.
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/kpitts.zip

Banana Bran Bread

My family has been making this recipe as long as I can remember. Grandma, Mom, my sister and brother all made it. I guess that makes it a family favorite for over 50 years! It’s a great way to use up those leftover bananas, no matter how black they are.

¼ cup canola oil (I use canola, I think they used Wesson)

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup milk

1 ½ cups (2-3) mashed banana

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup All-bran cereal

½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 5” x 9” loaf pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together oil, egg, milk and banana.

In a large mixing bowl, fold together flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and bran.

Pour liquid mixture over flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Fold in nuts.

Turn into loaf pan. Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pan. Turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

Delicious sliced warm and slathered with butter.

Quick Dumplings

2 cups Home Made Biscuit Mix
2/3 cup of milk

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine milk and oil in a cup.  

With a fork, vigorously stir milk mixture into flour mixture. Drop by spoonfuls on top of simmering soup or stew. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Additions: ½ cup grated or shredded cheese and/or 1 tsp. various dried herbs added to the flour mixture.

Home Made Quick Biscuit Mix

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

Dash salt

3 Tbsp. canola oil

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in oil with fork.

Use immediately in place of 2 cups of Bisquick in your favorite recipe.