Black Pepper and Cheddar Biscuits + A Proposal

I have always wished I had an accent. Preferably one that was from the UK or the dirty south depending on my mood. Normally it's the UK one I'm craving because I would A. sound like a genius all the time (even dumb remarks like that would sound intelligent.) and B. I could be the next Keira Knightley. Very sensible reasons if you ask me. But the dirty south accent would be perfect during the summer time or anytime I bake anything I consider southern such as these. When I was making these I kept whipping out a Southern drawl to anyone in the house. It's amazing how quickly people can find a reason to leave when this happens. Consider me a human awkward machine.

Point is, you should make some biscuits and go whip out your own dirty south accent.. That way everyone will leave you alone to eat all the biscuits. Win win, baby.

Now this proposal is not for marriage or the movie. I have not been posting as frequently as I like. Lately, inspiration has not hit me. If inspiration won't hit me then I will hit it. My plan is to post every day for thirty days. This is day one of thirty satisfactory (Lowering expectations results in better reactions. Fact.) days. Let's do this baby.

Black Pepper and Cheddar Biscuits

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper + extra for top

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups heavy cream + extra for top

Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.* Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the grated cheese. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds. The key is to work the dough as little as possible. The more you mix, the more you develop the protein in the flour, which leads to a tough biscuit. Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with extra cream and sprinkle with extra pepper. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

* Once the biscuits have been cut, they can be placed on a baking sheet in the freezer. When they are completely frozen (about 6 hours), they can be moved to a sealed freezer bag. They can last for a month in the freezer. Do not defrost and baked as normal but for about 20 to 25 minutes.

The shaped biscuits can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.