A Year of Gratitude: Day 34 (and a Tasty Tuesday to boot!)

Today I am grateful for these amazing cheddar biscuits I made for dinner tonight. They are one of my go-to recipes as of late, and tonight I think I really perfected the nuances of the recipe.  It's recipes like these that make me feel like a competent cook and make me feel proud of something I've done; so much of the day I spend breaking up fights, wiping tushies, doing laundry, and taking a deep breath when I can get it, and it's nice when I can feel like I've really accomplished something concrete that our family can enjoy.

I love this recipe so much that I want to share it with you guys.  It comes from my favorite low sodium cookbook, 500 Low Sodium Recipes by Dick Logue; it's not as low sodium as I'd like it to be as I haven't been able to find sodium free baking powder and low sodium cheddar cheese, but it's still better than average.

Cheddar Biscuits

2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (14 g) sodium-free baking powder
4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter
2/3 cup (157 ml) skim milk*
1/2 cup (58 g) shredded low sodium cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (55 g) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder**
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Combine flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in milk and cheese and beat until combined.  Spread on a greased baking sheet (or put parchment paper on a baking sheet for easy clean up later) and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned at edges.  Combine melted butter and parsley and spoon evenly over hot biscuits; sprinkle garlic powder on after that.  Cut into squares and enjoy.

*I have found that more milk is needed than is called for; your dough should be evenly moist and should hold together well.  Add milk little by little until all the extra crumbs incorporate with the rest of the dough.

** I don't actually measure out the garlic powder anymore.  The original recipe calls for you to mix the garlic powder in with the butter and parsley, but it doesn't keep in suspension and ends up being left over in the bowl.  So I just sprinkle it liberally over the top of the biscuits after I spoon on the butter.  We like garlic ... a lot, so it works out well this way for us.