Cheddar Bay Biscuits... AKA The "Cheesy"

Earlier this month I wrote about how I'm on a quest for the perfect biscuits. I want to find recipes for what I'm calling The "Fluffy," The "Flaky," The "Lazy," and The "Cheesy." So far I found a recipe for The "Lazy." Next, my tastebuds have me craving The "Cheesy." Many of you e-mailed me and recommended I try a copycat recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits. If you don't know what Cheddar Bay Biscuits are, then good for you. It means you've never wasted money at a Red Lobster restaurant. You'll have to excuse me, but I have a slight distaste for chain restaurants (with Olive Garden as my only exception... oh and Ruby Tuesday, but only because of the croutons!). I've been to RL once or twice with my parents, and the only thing that left any sort of good impression were their Cheddar Bay Biscuits. The biscuits come to the table warm, fluffy, and cheesy with a nice hint of garlic. They're quite delicious, and they're definitely what I want The "Cheesy" to be! While googling for a recipe, I noticed that all the copycat recipes I saw called for Bisquick. Hurray for shortcuts! Recently while throwing together a quick Sunday breakfast, I discovered that I really do like the flavor and texture of Bisquick biscuits. Shoot me if you want to, but they're so easy to throw together, how can you not love them? Don't worry. I'm sure someday soon I'll browse my cookbooks for cheesy biscuits from scratch. But today I'm SO craving these easy Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

Of course when I typed Cheddar Bay Biscuits into google I got about 38,900 results. I chose the first five and compared them. I eliminated the recipes that required rolling and cutting the biscuits. I eliminated the biscuits that called for italian seasoning (I don't remember that from the biscuits at RL). I chose the winning recipe because it calls for cutting in cold butter to get more lift and texture from the Bisquick mix.

The biscuits were delicious. Soft and cheesy with a good punch from the garlic. However I thought they were a bit too greasy with the addition of the butter in the dough AND brushed on top. Next time I'll make them sans the butter in the dough. I also think they could benefit from fresh grated garlic instead of garlic powder, which kinda had a weird flavor. All in all, for being extremely simple biscuits, I give them a 4 out of 5!

I found this recipe online. It actually comes from a book called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits I got 8 biscuits using a #30 disher

1 1/4 cups Bisquick mix
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cold whole milk (I needed an extra Tbsp or 2 of milk)
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork (I froze the butter first, then grated it with a box grater to eliminate this step). You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Drop approximately 1/4-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 1 tablespoons butter in a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter.