A friend was having a birthday brunch potluck, so I was looking for a recipe that I could quickly make the morning of, would travel well, and of course be a tasty addition. I considered recipes I’d already made and were thus proven, and I considered sweeter items like muffins or scones, but I ultimately settled on these cheddar paprika drop biscuits from Joy the Baker. I think I’ve only ever made roll-out biscuits before, and the drop kind were definitely simple and delicious.

First the dry ingredients, including the paprika, go in the bowl and get mixed together.

Like a good biscuit, the cold butter is cut in with a pastry cutter (or forks or the end of a whisk) so that it is crumbly. It was pretty warm in my kitchen the morning I made these, so I definitely had to put the mix back in the fridge for a bit to keep the butter from getting too melty. I took the opportunity to prepare my baking sheets with parchment paper.

I finely shredded about 6 ounces worth of extra sharp cheddar and mixed it well with the flour and butter mixture, making sure it got pretty well coated and most of the big clumps of cheese got broken up.

The wet ingredients: only heavy cream, which is mixed well enough so that all of the flour mixture is incorporated, but isn’t overmixed.

The original recipe called for using a half cup measure for giant biscuits, or a 1/4 cup measure for smaller ones but as I attempted to use a 1/4 cup and was winding up with huge biscuits even then, I downgraded to a couple of tablespoons. These got sprinkled with paprika before going in the oven.

The biscuits spread out into little mounds. The cheese was present, but they didn’t have an overly cheesy flavor, nor was the paprika very distinct. All of the flavors kind of melded together for a delicious addition to a pot luck brunch!

Cheddar Paprika Drop Biscuits (from Joy the Baker, adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika, plus more for dusting
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 6 ounces cheddar, finely grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika.
3. Using a pastry cutter, fork or the end of a wire whisk, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.   
4. Add the cream and stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be sticky; don’t over mix.
5. Scoop 1–2 tablespoons of dough about 1 1/2-inches apart of the prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust with paprika.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool biscuits on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.