recipe-a-week #1: cheese biscuits

I didn't formally make this as a resolution, but I'm hoping to make one new recipe each week this year, all from print sources. No allrecipes ones for these, folks! It's really to get me using some of my excellent cookbooks more. I also like reading recipes from books - it's much nicer than a printout. (In no way am I disparaging allrecipes - it is my go-to site for recipes. Hmm... maybe I should make a resolution to not use any new allrecipes recipes this year and rely solely on what I have in books and print... now that would be drastic. I'll think about it.)

Regardless, this recipe is from The Globe and Mail, the weekend issue from either this past weekend or the one before. So it's not technically from one of my books, but it is from a print source. YUM.

Cheese Biscuits (with my notes in parentheses)

2 cups flour (I used a bit of whole wheat, which kept these from the fluffiest perfection)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
2/3 cup butter (no wonder they're good)
1 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup chopped dill, chives, or coriander (I omitted this)
freshly ground pepper
1 cup buttermilk (just add 1 tsp vinegar to 1 cup milk for buttermilk)

Glaze: 1 tbsp buttermilk, 1/4 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cheese, herbs, and pepper. Add enough buttermilk to bring together into a sticky dough (slightly less than 1 cup). Scrape dough onto a well-floured surface . Sprinkle with flour and pat or roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured 2 inch cutter (a glass works well), cut dough into rounds and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle each with a bit of cheddar cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 16 biscuits. (I only got 12 with a large round biscuit cutter.) Enjoy!