Wednesday 22 November 2017

My Cheddar Biscuits Disaster


This is what Americans call biscuits. Why do you call this muffin-like thing biscuits? Over here in Malaysia, biscuits refer to crackers, those flat crunchy things.

You see, I used to be very confused as to why Americans ate fried chicken with biscuits (thinking that it was our type of biscuits). It was much later that I learnt what this biscuit thing was all about.


My first ever taste of a biscuit was the one from Texas Chicken. I liked it except that it was brushed with honey butter.  I would have preferred a savory one.

So when I came across this recipe from Sally's Baking Addicton, I jumped at the chance of finally baking me some savory biscuits.


Well, I am not very familiar with pastry making, you know, rubbing cold butter into flour and all that jazz. It's one area of baking that I am not comfortable with, just like baking bread and buns. I much prefer cakes, muffins and cookies where the proceedings is less fussy.


After mucking about with the butter and flour (using two forks), I poured in the whole cup of buttermilk. I seemed to have left my common sense in the garden and should have known that the amount of liquids varies in different situations. One cup may have worked for Sally but not for me.

So I ended up with a very wet dough. Again, my faculties  failed me. I could have have added more flour to save the situation but I did not. Crap!

See that bowl with extra flour in it? Now why didn't I use it?? Duh!!!

So this was how it looked like after I cut the sticky wet dough with a cookie cutter and placed them on a lined tray (with much difficulty). Messy, messy, sticky, sticky. 

Miraculously, the wet biscuits rose in the oven but I had to return them to the oven again after discovering that they were still a bit raw on the inside.


Well, they don't look too bad, eh? Not such a disaster after all. As for taste, I thought they could use more cheddar cheese and less salt. I would also omit honey as I could smell it even though only 2 teaspoons went into the dough.

Texture wise, they were crusty on the outside and tender inside but I could taste flour. Obviously, I didn't quite get it right. But never fear, they will be a re-attempt real soon.

31 comments:

  1. Hi PH..
    Kalau tak baca behind the scene ni tak tahu apa jadi..becoz final product look so yummy..melting in mouth gitew..tambah ada cis plak lagi sedap..biasanya cheddar masin siket la kann

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    1. Lina mesti pandai buat benda ni sebab expert uli tepung hah..hah... Sedap kalau lebihkan cis.

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  2. They look so good leh? Oooo...I love your basket!

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  3. I like the taste of raw dough like in those hand torn pan mee so your cheddar biscuits with some flour taste, please send them all to me. They look so delicious! Hahahaha, you have been converted to be a cheese lover as you thought they could use more cheddar cheese, hehehehe. Ok, so what happened to all these lovely cheddar biscuits? Deep freeze? Any left to send them my way? Hahahaha, I am beginning to sound like TM now.

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    1. You are a strange one, Mun :) I find the taste of raw flour yuks hee..hee... I am OK with cheddar cheese but no so OK with strongr smelling cheeses. I ate 4 or 5 of the biscuits but threw the rest away. Not good enough to freeze for later.

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    2. Oh No!!!! I will give you my number so that whenever you want to throw food away, you just whatapps me and I will be at your doorstep to collect them, ok?

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    3. You are worse than TM wahahahaha!!!

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    4. Eh!! my eyes twitched and someone calling my name.

      I won't give my number cos my phone would never ring. I have to lie down by her kitchen's back drain and buka mulut. She might safely throw them into my mouth la.

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    5. Hahahaha, TM, I think you are right! The hp would never ring. :(

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  4. Those biscuits definitely look with nice browning!

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    1. Yes, the browning was good but the taste need improvement.

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  5. I looked at the first picture and I said to myself....what disaster?! If disasters look like that...have more please...kekeke! ;D I don't really like biscuits but I love what Americans call biscuits like these (you should try Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits). ^o^ Actually a wet dough, if cooked well, gives rise to a more moist and fluffy biscuit, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing! ;) I love your generous sprinkling of parsley(?) in the well browned biscuits. P/S: Where's the photo of the wet, messy and sticky biscuits?

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    1. Yes, those are parsley, which I love :) The biscuits may look good but taste wise, it needs improvement. I could not take pictures of the unbaked biscuits because my hands were covered with sticky dough >.<

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  6. Boleh sawan tengok hidangan PH ni😆
    Kalau dekat dah hulur pinggan kat PH ni😉

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    1. hah..hah...Kalau CH jiran, boleh gak PH passing sepinggan :)

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    2. Hey double standard!! You so generous to others but not me!!!!

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    3. Eh, if you my jiran, I also pass to you lah...

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  7. Cheddar biscuits sound appetizing to me. I could take some.

    Lol. American fried chicken with biscuit!

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    1. LOL! I actually thought it was our type of biscuit :D

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  8. you're right, they don't look like a disaster at all! they look homemade with love :D

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    1. Why, thank you! Am thinking of a re-attempt this weekend.

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  9. Look a bit like minced meat patties to me, don't worry PH, I am sure you will do better the next round as practice makes perfect.

    And by the way, they don't look like disaster, they look good.

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    1. Thanks, Libby! I will make another batch this weekend.

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  10. I find the texture of "biscuits" are more similar to that of a dense scone that what I call a biscuit.

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    1. Ah, scone! That's something I have yet to make or taste :)

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  11. I don't know about the taste but your cheddar biscuits look great to me! I am sure your next attempt on the biscuits will turn up well!

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  12. I prefer to use the food processor to cut the fat into the flour - fast and less messy.

    some cooking terms Americans vs British.

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiejones/food-questions-britain-has-for-america?bfsource=relatedauto


    https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/784/translating-cooking-terms-between-us-uk-au-ca-nz

    https://world-food-and-wine.com/american-to-british-cooking-terms

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