Sunday, June 30, 2013

Sunday Brunch...Eggs, Bacon & Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits

This morning we slept in again (yay)!  When I got up, I put a pot roast into the crock pot for later today and then we got ready to go out and do our walk before the heat got too unbearable.  During our walk, we go past a grocery store, so on our way back we popped in and picked up a few things (like uncured bacon) to make for our late breakfast/brunch.  I cooked the bacon in the oven on a baking sheet (in a single layer) at 400 degrees for about 12-13 minutes.  While that was cooking, I made an easier version of my Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits.  When I baked them, I didn't press them down at all -- I kept them in dough balls to see if that would help keep them a bit thicker...and it worked like a charm!  They turned out absolutely beautiful -- some of the best wheat/grain free biscuits I've made!  After I pulled the bacon out of the oven, I turned the temperature down to 350 degrees F and popped the biscuits in and baked them for about 18-20 minutes. While the biscuits were baking, I fried some organic eggs in Kerrygold butter.  I also mixed some plain Fage Greek yogurt with a bit of vanilla and freshly grated lemon zest and topped it with blueberries and a strawberry.  We enjoyed breakfast with a cup of hazelnut coffee. It was a delicious breakfast/brunch that will last us until dinner time.  I snapped a few photos below as well as the recipe for my Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits.  Enjoy!






Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:


2 cups blanched almond flour

3 tablespoons "cold" butter, diced
1 egg (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)
1 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 - 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 cup heavy cream 

DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a baking pan or line with non-stick foil or parchment paper.  

In a medium bowl, add almond flour, butter, egg, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, salt, black pepper, baking powdercut in with a pastry cutter/dough blender until crumbly and all flour is slightly moistened and cheese is pulverized into the mixture. Stir in cream and remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese; mix in lightly.  Divide and roll dough into 10 to 12  balls (I make 10) and place on a lined cookie sheet; do not flatten dough balls (this will result in a thicker biscuit).  Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown; be careful not to overcook.
  Remove from oven; brush tops with melted butter, if desired.

    

46 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing :)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Elizabeth! :-)

Adel said...

I just made these biscuits and I did not have any heavy cream so I used some greek sour cream, they spread out a bit more & don't really look like biscuits but boy are they good!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Adel -- I wonder if that was the reason they spread (the sour cream)? I would have thought that would make them thicker instead...but glad you enjoyed them anyway! :-)

Anonymous said...

Made these today and they are fabulous! Thank you so much for the recipe. I will be making these on a regular basis. My husband thought they were great also.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much -- so glad you enjoyed them. They are so easy to make, too aren't they! Also glad they passed the "husband" test too...they can be picky about change sometimes, can't they (I have some experience in that department)! :-)

bcat said...

Made these for the first time today and we were amazed how much we loved them. Only change was I used half-n-half as that's what I had. Our house still smells wonderful. This is another new favorite! Thank-you!
One question......are you cutting them in half when you make your egg/cheese sandwiches?

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi bcat! Yes, I do. I use a sharp serrated knife to cut them since they are tender. If yours are flatter, you could always use 2 as the top and bottom. So far I haven't had to do that. I keep them in balls when baking (instead of flattening like I used to do) and they turn out thicker. So glad you enjoyed them. Sometimes it is a simple little biscuit that makes your breakfast or meal feel special. :-)

bcat said...

Thanks!
Just as yummy for breakfast today too!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

So glad that you are enjoying them bcat! :-)

mcasey said...

We just made these biscuits tonight. Fantastic! Thank you for all your work.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi mcasey! I am so glad you enjoyed them -- thanks for letting me know! :-)

Tessa said...

I made these last night. I had two for my bedtime snack and then I used one this morning to make a bacon and egg sandwich. Yum! Finally a bread alternative that is actually satisfying! I think next time I will try adding a little garlic; these remind me so much of Red Lobster's biscuits and I think with garlic they'd be spot on! Thank you for sharing! I was wondering what the best way to store them is - and how long they last? Although, I have a feeling they won't last long around here! :-)

unter der laterne said...

Hi GG, I made these biscuits with almond meal in the past, today I prepared them with almond flour(just received 25 lbs.) They were so fabulous that I had to take them off the table, because my husband( he does not eat grain free) ate three of them and asked for a fourth one( Mama said NO!) It was really funny! They were just heavenly, I used medium Cheddar because that is what I had on hand. Sooooo good!
My question is :I want to freeze them - how would I handle them ounce defrosted?
Thank you , Barbara.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Barbara! That is tooooo funny about telling your husband no when he reached for the 4th! I can't stop laughing for some reason. When I freeze them, I wrap each one in wax paper (yes, wax paper so there is a little air space around them, not wrapped tightly with a saran-type wrap. I place each wax paper wrapped biscuit in a large Ziploc bag and seal it removing as much air as possible. I usually remove them 1 at a time and very briefly microwave on 50% power (no more than 20-30 seconds at a time (you don't want to turn them into hockey pucks). I have also used a sharp serrated knife and sliced them in half and lightly toasted them (very lightly) -- be careful because they can burn easily. If you have a toaster oven instead of a traditional toaster, that is better. I honestly could not enjoy a regular wheat biscuit any more than I do those. And even though the blanched almond flour is more expensive -- I use it exclusively to make these biscuits because it makes a big difference to me texture-wise. I actually had one of them with eggs for lunch today! I'm so glad you AND your husband enjoyed them! I have even used them to make mini sandwiches, too (with chicken salad) :-)

unter der laterne said...

gg, thank you for the advice! You are right about the almond flour!
When I received my shipment I felt like a squirrel (it being fall) trying to store all this flour. I divided it in 1.5 lbs. and vacuum-packed it and tried my best to find a home for all that flour. My freezer and fridge are *over weight* right now ! Husband not thrilled.(has no idea what I accomplished!)LOL.Have a nice weekend! Barbara.

I am off to see my grand children!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Barbara -- hope you enjoyed spending time with your grand children! LOL...I can't imagine having 25 Lbs of almond flour in my refrigerator and freezer! I think the most I ever had in there at once was 10 lbs (2 bags). When you eat all fresh foods and foods without preservatives...your refrigerator and freezer end up being more packed than your pantry and cabinets. Hope you are having a great weekend, too! :-)

Cilla said...

Is there a different between almond flour and almond meal? I have some in the oven and made them with almond meal.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Cilla -- they will definitely work using almond meal, but the texture will be a bit different (heavier). The almond flour is ground a bit more finely and doesn't have the skins and makes a finer grained baked good (in my opinion). I have made them using both and definitely prefer the almond flour -- but if meal is all you have, it will work. :-)

Unknown said...

GG, so do you use the almond flour for mostly baking? I am new at this and went ahead and ordered the flour due to your testimonial! Do you have a guideline of sorts for using different flours?

Thanks,
Jen

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Jennifer -- Yes, the blanched almond flour (which has no skins) is what I used most for baking. It really does produce a better quality (texture) baked good. If you want, almond meal (which usually has skins) is okay to use for breading things like chicken, fish, etc. You can also use it for denser items like pizza crust if you like. For baking, I use mostly almond flour and sometimes I use a combination of that with ground golden flax (I prefer the golden because it doesn't taste as strong as the regular brown variety). I just baked some muffins with a combination of the 2 this evening that I will post tomorrow. I use coconut flour a little -- it is the flour the most different -- you need to use LOTS of eggs when you bake with coconut flour. Some people really like it a lot -- I am not one of those people. I am trying to use it more in some things -- I add a little to recipes using other flours. It is the hardest to convert because you use very little of it compared to other flours. There are some good sites for using coconut flour if you are interested let me know -- I can post them for you. I hope you enjoy the almond flour you ordered -- I have tried several different kinds and the Honeyville is my absolute favorite. :-)

Cammie said...

Thanks for the advice on how to freeze the biscuits, though I don't think I will have the chance to use it, because I made them last night and only one was left!! These were shockingly good. They passed not only the husband test, but the son in law test as well! We could not even wait for the rest of the dinner to be ready before we began munching.

I subbed half/half for cream, and asiago instead of cheddar (because that's what I had) and baked them at 400 for 15+ min because that's the temp the chx was cooking at, and oh my my my. At some point I will follow your directions on toasting the lovely little left over and have a blissful few moments (when no one is home so I don't have to share.) Thanks for your creative efforts and hard work creating these fabulous recipes!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Cammie! So glad everyone enjoyed them. Another tip...when I serve them for dinner, sometimes I brush some melted Kerrygold Garlic & Herb Butter on top before removing them from the oven and it is awesome! Very much like the Red Lobster style biscuits so many people rave about (only I think these are better...LOL). Glad you liked them. :-)

Joanne Lowe said...

Hello Gourmet Girl, How I have been enjoying your recipes (found you on the Wheat Belly FB site--thanks SO much!!!). I have been following a wheat-free lifestyle for about 18 months after taking a Canadian course (Ontario) called Life-Watchers where the first night of 10 we were introduced to wheat-free eating and introduced to the "Wheat Belly". We were still able to eat some grains on a limited basis like quinoa. For the first year I simply gave up bread, etc and it worked OK, but now I am missing those foods and have needed some better options like your recipes and those in the WB cookbook. This recipe REALLY interests me, I LOVE biscuits!!! Just wondering if I could make some without cheese or use a mild-tasting cheese (or use less cheddar). I have in the past tried the Red Lobster biscuits and liked them but my grandmother made THE best biscuits growing up and they were just the plain variety. I'm sure I'll also love your recipe as is, but thought I'd ask your opinion on a plain variety. As well if garlic was added as one reader wanted to do, what form would you add? Another question (sorry to ask so many, all new to me), how much do you use swerve, and where do you buy a sugar-free maple syrup sweetened with xylitol? I use the regular organic maple syrup but it is full of sugar, and I don't like stevia. I cannot find any stores that carry Swerve near me, so info will help if I mail-order it, as to have reasonable shipping, I will have to drive and pick it up across the US border before it's blizzard season in Buffalo. Thanks so much for your amazing recipe, you give me hope that I'll be able to follow this longterm. By the way I am single, live alone and have severe chronic illness and have days often when I cannot do anything, so freezing food is key for me to eat this way.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Joanne -- I would suggest if you want to try a more plain type biscuit (rather than cheddar), you could try substituting some cream cheese in place of the cheddar (cut it in with a pastry/dough cutter as you do the cheddar (you won't be able to stir it in at the end...so cutting it in along with the butter is how I would add it). For garlic flavor, I would probably add garlic powder to melted butter and brush it on top after removing them from the oven while they are hot. I usually use Swerve for my baking. I have found it at Whole Foods locally and have ordered it both from Amazon and directly from Swerve. I would suggest ordering it wherever you get the best price -- they discount it periodically which is good time to stock up. If you check their web page they give you the names of stores that carry it (there is an ad on the right side of my blog with my affiliate link or it is here:http://www.swervesweetener.com/118.html I would buy it wherever you get the best price though. It is easy to use in recipes because it measures like sugar. I bought Nature's Hollow Maple Syrup from Amazon -- just be very careful using it if you have animals/pets since xylitol is toxic if they consume any. I don't use it much for that reason (I have a small dog that is used to tasting almost everything I eat). Most of what you need can be ordered from Amazon for convenience (you mentioned blizzards). Check to see if you might be able to find Swerve locally in a store you shop at first -- that would save you shipping. Hope that helps! :-)

Rose1957 said...

When I bought my big bulk bag of almond flour it was more of a meal consistency to. What I do is when I need a flour and not a meal consistency I put it in the food processor and give it a whirl or two and this makes it a finer flour. Thank you GG for sharing recipes!!! :D

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

What a great idea, Rose! You are more than welcome...I hope you enjoy them! :-)

KWAK said...

Oh my! It may just be because I was starving (though I know that's not the real reason) but these are ABSOLUTELY delicious! I made them completely according to directions. And yes: mine also passed the husband test. Thank you so much for this recipe. I'm just waiting for my salmon to finish cooking so I can have another biscuit.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi KWAK -- So glad you and your husband enjoyed the biscuits -- it's always a good thing when something passes the "hubby test" isn't it? I'm happy you enjoy them...thanks for letting me know! :-)

Andrea at Opulent Cottage said...

We just made these and they are incredible! I don't know why anyone would want to biscuits made with wheat after trying these :) Thanks for a great recipe! Happy 4th of July !!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Andrea!

Thanks so much! I am so happy you enjoyed the biscuits. I like them better than the "real kind". Even my family that is not wheat free say they like them better than wheat made biscuits. I hope you had a wonderful 4th! Thanks again! :-)

MB said...

Hi...love your recipes!!!
I can't find the one I saved from you where it was a chicken breast, slighly breaded and covered with cheese. I made them and put them on these black cheddar biscuits and...what a GREAT sandwich! I cannot locate the recipe for this chicken...can you please tell me where I can find it on your site??
Thanks!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi MB,

I'm wondering if it might be this one: http://www.gourmetgirlcooks.com/2014/03/chicken-biscuit-sandwiches-parmesan.html

Here it is in another post: http://www.gourmetgirlcooks.com/2013/11/sweet-spicy-peanut-dusted-chicken-and.html

Or this one: http://www.gourmetgirlcooks.com/2013/08/chicken-cheddar-biscuits-chopped-salad.html

Let me know if any of those are what you remember saving. If not, I'll keep looking! Thanks! :-)

MB said...

Awesome...it was the Caprese style cutlets!!
I have it saved once again and look forward to another caprese style chicken black pepper cheddar biscuit sandwich!!
Thank you tons!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

You are welcome MB -- that sounds like an awesome sandwich! ;-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

You are welcome MB -- that sounds like an awesome sandwich! ;-)

Unknown said...

This was so easy and good. Thank you!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks Màrcelle,

So glad you liked it. Easy is always a good thing! :-)

Mollmie said...

These remind me of those Red Lobster biscuits but are a thousand times better! Wow! I think the heavy cream makes all the difference. I'm living the Wheat Belly lifestyle and when I want to bake something this is the place I come! Please never stop with these magical recipes or I simply can't survive! Thank you!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much Mollmie! They are one of my favorites too. So happy you're enjoying my recipes. You are very welcome. :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow! I just made this and I loved them. They turned out flatter than your picture but so tasty. I cooked 20 min at 350 then anther 10 at 400, my oven is not too good. Thank you so much for coming up with these recipes. So glad I found this site.


Kathy

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks Kathy! So happy you enjoyed them. :-)

Unknown said...

I made them for the second time today, but had only 1 cup of almond flour so subbed in 1/4 cup of coconut flour and it was uhhmazing! So light and fluffy! Really good recipe! Thanks for posting it!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Suparna G,

So happy you enjoyed the biscuits. Thanks so much for letting me know. :-)

Amy said...

Hello :) these look awesome and I wanted to make them for my hubs and who is diabetic and trying to watch his weight some. Do you think I’d be able to substitute Greek yogurt or 2% milk for the heavy cream? I’m sure it wouldn’t taste as good (which I’m fine with), but I wonder if it would mess with the consistency.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Amy,

Either of those substitutions should work. Let me know how they turn out of you try them. :-)