Whole Grain Cheddar Cornbread Biscuits

There are certain things that innately go together in my mind, like television marathons and sweatpants, baking and my Norah Jones Pandora Station, or Friday and after-work wine. These things just should never be apart. It would be cruel and wrong.

Another soulmate combo? Soup and carbs. I realize that some people eat soup without bread…I know in my mind that’s a reality of this world, but that does not mean that I approve. That does not mean that I think it’s okay, or even a sane decision. For instance, the chili that saved my life after yoga class last week would not have been the same without the large nutty seven-grain roll I used to soak up every last bit of chili in my bowl. The white bean vegetable soup I made a few weeks ago would be a whole different animal without the creamy gouda dumplings breaking up the broth goodness. It’s carbs like these that make soup worthwhile, and that’s the hard truth, folks.

Which brings me to the copycat chili I made last week, and the inevitable carb deliciousness that had to accompany it. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not that big of a cornbread fan, but the idea of buttery, flaky, sharp-cheddar cornbread biscuits just felt right in this situation. Going with my gut feeling paid off; The slightly sweet-salty dichotomy pairs perfectly with the spicy, chunky chili.

Although biscuit recipes are always filled with butter, I like to make them a bit healthier by using whole wheat flour whenever possible. In addition to the fiber and nutrition boost, the slight nuttiness you get from the whole wheat works well with the cornmeal. These do not rise quite as much as they would with all-purpose flour, but they are definitely flaky enough to satisfy your most severe biscuit craving.

I love biscuits for their taste, but I also love them because they’re the impatient girl’s bread-making dream. There’s no need to wait for silly things like dough rising, and you only give the dough a few good kneads before it’s cohesive enough to roll out, cut, stick into the oven, and move on to more pressing things…like eating said biscuits…with soup.

Whole Grain Cheddar Cornbread Biscuits

Adapted from Food Network.
Makes 9 biscuits.

• 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes and then refrigerated again
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
• 1 cup buttermilk, divided

Process

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea-sized pieces.
4. Stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk and cheddar to make a loose dough.
5. Knead about 15 times, until the dough comes together into more of a cohesive ball.
6. Roll out the dough until it is around a half-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or be cool like me and use a wine glass) to cut out the biscuits. Form the scraps into another ball and roll out for a couple more biscuits.
7. Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the remaining buttermilk on top, and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

While hot, break the biscuits in half and slather on some butter. Or break off biscuit chunks to dig into the soup. Whatever you do, don’t let your soup go through life without its soulmate.