Cheese Garlic-Herb Biscuits

These are the famous biscuits served at a certain seafood chain, made from scratch in twenty minutes with Bisquick, sharp cheddar, and pantry seasonings. Drop-style biscuits skip the rolling and cutting entirely. Spoon mounds of the cheesy dough onto a baking sheet, bake at high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, and brush them with a garlic-parsley butter the moment they come out of the oven.

The brush-while-hot step is where the magic happens. Cold biscuits reject melted butter and it pools at the base instead of soaking in. Brushing while the biscuits are screaming hot lets the butter penetrate the porous surface and infuse the seasoning deep into the crumb. Use sharp aged cheddar, not mild. The sharper flavor stands up to the bake without melting into bland greasiness.

Pro Tips

• Use cold water in the dough. Cold liquid keeps any pockets of fat in the biscuit mix firm and gives you flakier biscuits.
• Don’t overmix. Stir just until the cheese and water are incorporated. Overworked dough gives you tough, dense biscuits.
• Use a heaping spoonful, not a level one. Bigger biscuits stay tender in the middle. Small ones bake into dry hockey pucks.
• Brush quickly while they’re still steaming. The butter soaks in only during the first minute or two out of the oven.

Variations

• Stir in a tablespoon of crispy bacon bits for a richer, smokier biscuit.
• Use shredded pepper jack cheese for a spicier version.
• Add a teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning to the butter wash for a Chesapeake-style finish.