Cheddar Yoghurt Biscuits

So these are the easiest thing ever.  I always thought biscuits were pretty painless – cutting fat into flour has never struck me as an especially onerous chore – but this recipe eliminates even that minor step.  There is no butter.  Repeat: no butter.  Nor is there any lard, shortening, margarine, or other solid fat ingredient.  With this recipe, you just whisk together the dry ingredients, dump in yoghurt or cream and cheese, and stir.  Well: there is some light kneading at the end, but it’s very de minimis.  I actually kneaded the dough in the mixing bowl instead of turning it out because I’m lazy that way. 

Despite their lack of solid fat, they really taste like biscuits.  They are, perhaps, slightly less flakey than a traditional biscuit.  However, they’re still far superior to anything that comes out of a cardboard cylinder.  If you’re put off of biscuits because they seem too fussy but are loathe to expose your family to whatever it is that goes into those refrigerated “biscuit” packages, then this might just be the recipe for you.

I do feel that the cheese, being rich and fatty, helps mask the fact that this dough isn’t shortened with fat.  I’d recommend including it, but if you don’t, you can just label this a “scone” instead of “biscuit” and call it a day.  If you don’t include the cheese, you might want to add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to the dough. 

This makes a half recipe, but you can easily double it.

Cheddar Yoghurt Biscuits
Very generously adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼-1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
¾ cup whole fat plain yoghurt (or heavy cream, which is what the America’s Test Kitchen people recommend)
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450.  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Mix together yoghurt and cheese and add to flour mixture.  Stir until it comes together  Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times until it comes together, and pat into a 1 ½” thick rectangle.  Cut out biscuits.  (I have a biscuit cutter, but you could also use a lightly floured glass or just cut them into squares if you’re not fussy.) 

Place on a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Makes about 6.

Printable recipe here.