Garlic Cheddar Biscuits (Soy, Fish, Egg and Nut-Free, Can Be Milk and Wheat-Free)

Hello, everyone!  I cannot tell you how awful I feel that I have not been able to get up a new recipe post before now.  June was crazy insane (I had at least 2 medical appointments of some type every week), and July is proving to be even crazier (we have tent meetings this week at church, my daughter has surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids and have tubes put in both ears next week, the week after that is teen VBS which my oldest is a part of, the week after that is our regular VBS which we normally help out with and my other 2 kiddos (well, maybe just my middle kid if the wee one is not fully recovered yet) will be a part of, and we are cleaning the upstairs of our church this month).  PHEW!  I'm already tired just thinking about it all!  I think I'm looking forward to back-to-school already so that it can slow down a bit! LOL :D  Anyway, if you wouldn't mind praying that our daughter's surgery goes well (she will be 4 the end of this month, and there is a slight increased risk of complications due to her age) and that none of us get sick, especially her, between now and then and including during her recovery.  Thanks so much!  Her surgery is on Monday, July 14th, so because of that and the craziness of the rest of the month, you may not see me much.  I'll do my best, but I can't promise.

(7-16-14 Update on my daughter:  Her surgery went perfectly, though they did note a lot of congestion.  She's been doing well, though she has developed a slight fever today and wants to cough sometimes.  She also really cries when she has her ear drops.  I called the doctor and am waiting on a call back.  All of these things can be quite normal, but I always like to double check. :) Continued prayers appreciated, thank you!!

7-24-14 Update on my daughter: A lot has happened since I last updated!  Check out the full story on Fibro, Fit and Fab! here.)

Before I share today's recipe, I also wanted to point out that there are some new pages up!  These are the new pages that have been added:

• Life Saving Anaphylaxis Info
   
  
• Alternative Names for Milk and Eggs and Helpful Links
     
• Alternative Names for Fish, Seafood and Shellfish and Helpful Links
   
• Alternative Names for Tree Nuts and Peanuts and Helpful Links

It is my hope that these pages can be of help to you.  If you have more information that I can add to any of these pages or pages like them, recipes you'd like help making allergy-friendly, recipes you'd like to share, or need help finding any information on allergens or such, please feel free to comment below or email me.  I'm here to help. :)

Now, onto the recipe!



If you have never had a garlic cheddar biscuit, you are missing out!  They are out of this world awesome!  This particular recipe (which is my adaptation of a recipe I found in my Betty Crocker cookbook and this one on Allrecipes.com by Chaney) is a winner!  I made them for a bridal shower, and they were a huge hit!  They are soy (if you use all soy-free ingredients), fish, egg and nut-free, and can be milk and wheat-free (see variations).  They are perfect for get-togethers and parties.  I doubled my recipe and got over 50 small biscuits, so you want to make bigger ones, you should get at least a dozen from one batch of dough.  No matter the size, be prepared for oohs and ahhs and demands for more!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

  

2 Cups soy-free flour (all purpose or white whole wheat are fine)
   

1 Tablespoon white sugar

 

3 teaspoons baking powder

   

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

   

1 teaspoon salt

   

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

   

1/2 Cup lard, plus more for greasing the pan

  

1/2 to 1 Cup cheese (cheddar is normally used, but you can use mozzarella, Mexican 4 cheese blend, Italian blend, etc. with success)

  

1 Cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450^oF and grease a cookie sheet VERY well with extra lard and set aside.  (Note: It is VERY important that you grease the cookie sheet very well as these biscuits will stick to the pan if you don't.  You will need to re-grease the pan between each batch if you need to reuse the pan, as well.)
      
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, parsley flakes, salt and garlic powder until well blended. (Note: Amount of garlic powder you use is based on how garlicky you like your biscuits.  If you like less garlic flavor, use the lesser amount.  If you like more garlic flavor, use the greater amount.)
      
3. Add the 1/2 Cup lard to the dry ingredients and cut the lard into the mixture by criss-crossing 2 knives or by using a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly.  (Note: You don't have to get the mixture super fine, but you definitely want the lard evenly distributed so that you don't have large clumps of it.  I mix mine to the same consistency I do my pie crust (which is evenly distributed with no lumps of lard bigger than a pea), and they turn out beautifully. You can mix yours to fine crumbs, though, if you wish.)
         
4. Stir in the cheese (amount of cheese based on personal preference) until evenly distributed.
      
5. Add in the milk and mix with a fork until the dough is moistened throughout.  (Note: Be very careful not to over mix the dough.  You'd be better off to slightly under mix than over mix.  A hint that it is mixed enough is that you will not see any dry ingredients or very little of them and the dough will start to pull away from the side of the bowl.  The dough will be very soft.  If you find that there is not quite enough liquid to moisten the dough sufficiently, add a teaspoon of milk at a time until you get the right consistency.)
     
6. Drop the biscuit mixture by teaspoons for smaller biscuits and by Tablespoons for bigger biscuits onto the greased cookie sheet (you should be able to fit 12 biscuits on the sheet) and cook for 8 to 10 minutes (smaller biscuits will cook closer to 8 minutes and bigger biscuits will cook closer to 10 minutes) until golden brown on the bottom and lightly browned on top.  (Note: Do not wait for the biscuits to be golden brown on top.  They won't be.  They will just slightly brown on top and look dry.  It is the bottom you will be going by more than the top.  Once the bottoms are golden brown, the biscuits should be done.  You will need a sturdy spatula to remove the biscuits, too, as even with well-greasing the pan they can stick a little.)
     
7. If you have more dough leftover, re-grease the cookie sheet (Yes, you MUST re-grease between each batch) and repeat step 6 and 7 until all the dough is used.

Recipe makes at least 12 large biscuits or 24 small biscuits.

Variations (Please keep your individual allergen needs in mind when using substitutions and variations!):

•  Milk-Free: Use a non-dairy milk in place of the milk and a non-dairy cheese in place of the cheese.  If you don't like cheese, you can leave it out completely and just have garlic biscuits.
    
• Wheat/Gluten-Free:  Use a gluten-free baking mix or flour in place of the flour.  Keep in mind that if you use only flour you may need to use up to 1/2 teaspoon of ground flaxseed or xanthan gum for textural purposes.
   
• Other Herbs:  If you don't like garlic, you can sub rosemary, thyme, dill or basil for the garlic or add it in addition to, though I wouldn't use more than 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of any added in herb.  You can leave the parsley flakes out, too, if you wish.
     
• No or Other Cheese: You can always leave the cheese out, as I mentioned above, or use other hard cheeses, as I mentioned before.  Use whatever cheese appeals to you as long as it is a hard cheese.  Soft cheeses, such as cream cheese or Brie, will not work for this recipe.
         
• Buttered Tops: If desired, you can brush the tops with melted butter before baking.
    
• Other Flavors: You can combine any herb and cheese together that you think will work well together.  You could do an Italian blend of herbs and cheeses, Swiss cheese and rosemary, basil and Parmesan - the possibilities are endless!  Have fun experimenting! :)
   
• Other Fats: If you don't like the idea of using lard, you can sub shortening, coconut oil, butter (dairy or non) or any other solid fat for the lard.  Just note that if you use coconut oil, you may get a slight coconut oil taste to your biscuits unless you use one that is more highly refined.

 Looks good, right?  So good, I promise!

~*~*~*~

What's your favorite biscuit recipe?

What's your favorite party food?

What's your favorite go-to recipe for a crowd?

(This recipe was originally posted on my original site, Natural and Free.)