Cheddar Corn Biscuits (adapted from my popular cream scones recipe) made with cornmeal AND creamed corn, perfect for Thanksgiving! Now that we’ve moved to Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving pretty early… and let me tell you, this year, there was a new star on our dinner table. As much as we loved the oven roasted turkey breast, sausage stuffing, cranberry sauce, maple roasted brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie etc., these corn biscuits were especially popular, even to my surprise!
Cheddar corn biscuits
Instead of bread rolls or cornbread, this year I decided to make some flavor packed, flaky, buttery, delicious corn biscuits. They were a huge hit, and I’ve been asked to make them 3 more times since Thanksgiving already!
Why you’ll love these cheddar corn biscuits
Perfect combination of flaky and soft. Packed with cheddar cheese. Flavored with cornmeal AND creamed corn – for a robust flavor of corn, and the texture of cornmeal. You can make these ahead and freeze for later, and then bake from frozen! Step by step instructions for an easy and foolproof cheddar corn biscuits recipe. Uses a spice blend to add flavor, for easy and flavorful results!
Packing these cornmeal cheddar biscuits was easy. I used The Spice Hunter’s gourmet spice blends that have so much flavor, and a little goes a long way. This cheesy biscuits recipe was adapted from my cream scones recipe. Those buttery, flaky layers make these savory biscuits irresistible!
Using dried spices
Using dried spice blends makes it really easy to add flavor to baked goods. Drying spices like garlic, onions etc., concentrates the flavor more. So a little goes a long way. I was lucky enough to try The Spice Hunter’s gourmet spice blends. They have an extensive range of spices. As someone who absolutely LOVES to experiment with spices and find new pairings, I prefer high quality spices. Which is why I LOVE The Spice Hunter products. From their gourmet blends to global blends, they have 150 amazing varieties! With just one spice blend (The Spice Hunter’s Chefs Shake) I was able to add so much flavor to these biscuits, but I also added The Spice Hunter’s Spicy Garlic, and another time I added The Spice Hunter’s Garlic Pepper blend for some spice. Unlike regular cheddar corn biscuits, this recipe produces flaky biscuits that are studded with cheese and corn. The addition of creamed corn, yields the flavor of corn and a little sweetness too. And the cornmeal, gives them a lovely texture. These really are a unique and delicious alternative to bread rolls or cornbread.
How to make cheddar corn biscuits
First, get the ingredients ready. The butter, cream and creamed corn should be chilled. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chilled, cubed butter and cut it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, with few lumps of butter in the mix as well. Add cheese and toss the grated cheese to combine. Mix the 1/2 cup cream or buttermilk and 1 cup creamed corn together, and add this to the butter-flour mix. Stir the mix just until the liquid is absorbed into the flour – there will be big lumps of wet dough and some dry flour spots. Toss the dough with light fingers to help the dry dough spots cling to the wet lumps of dough. Line your work surface with parchment paper (ungreased baking paper), and lightly flour the parchment paper. Turn the lumps of dough out onto the lightly floured surface. Pat the dough together to make one block of dough. Handle the dough as lightly and as little as possible as you do this.
Creating the layers
To create the layers in the biscuits, you can either FOLD the dough over, or you can CUT the dough and stack the pieces. They both work equally well. Fold the dough rectangle in half, and then quarters (OR cut the dough in half first, then in quarters and stack the pieces). If there are any loose spots of flour, you can sprinkle a few drops of milk / cream to get them to stick. USE THE PARCHMENT PAPER to fold over the dough. This will keep your fingers from getting too sticky and messy. Pat the dough into a rectangle (gently) and repeat the folding (or cutting) once more. At this point, the dough should hold together with no dry flour spots. Again, remember to handle the dough as little as possible and be gentle. Gently flatten the dough into a rectangle that is about 1 inch high. Now that you’ve created layers in your cheddar corn biscuit dough, you’re ready to cut shapes!
Cutting the cheddar corn biscuits
Use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut circles out of the biscuit dough. Here are some tips to help you with cutting the biscuits perfectly.
Clean the cookie cutter each time after you cut the dough. Flour the cookie cutter so it doesn’t stick to the dough. Do not TWIST the cutter into the dough when cutting shapes. Push it straight down to get clean, straight cuts. Cut squares with a sharp, straight-edged knife. Do not cut the dough with a back and forth motion, instead push the knife straight down, as you would with a cutter. Clean the blade after each cut. To cut wedges, shape the dough into a 7-8 inch circle (1 1/2 inch high), and cut the circle into 8 wedges.
Place the cut cornmeal cheddar biscuits on a parchment paper-lined baking tray or plate and freeze the cheddar corn biscuits for at least 15 minutes, up to 12 hours.
Baking the biscuits
This is ALL you have to do on the day you’re serving the biscuits. They will be ready to be served in 20 – 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the biscuits on a parchment paper-lined baking tray, with about 1 – 1 1/2 inches of space between each. Bake the cheddar corn biscuits in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown on top. Serve warm with some salted butter or honey butter.
Storage
Freeze the biscuits. Once frozen solid, they can be placed in freezer bags and stored in the freezer for later. They can be stored for up to 3 months this way. The biscuits can be baked from frozen as well. They will need maybe a few minutes extra to bake all the way through from frozen. If you have baked biscuits that you need to store for later, place them in an airtight container for up to 1 day at room temperature, OR freeze them for up to a couple of weeks.
Recipe tips for making perfect biscuits
Make sure the butter is cold. The butter chunks in the dough will help create the layers in the biscuits, so it’s important that the butter chunks don’t melt. Using cold liquids (cream and creamed corn) can also help keep the dough nice and cold while working with it. Use baking powder, not baking soda. There aren’t any acids in this recipe to activate the baking soda to its full strength. Plus, if you add too much baking soda, it’ll taste salty and awful. You can add other herbs to these scones as well. Chopped parsley, chopped green onions, or some chopped thyme will go really well with these. Handle the dough as little as possible. The more you knead / mix / handle the dough, the more gluten develops, making the biscuits more chewy. Use a large bowl to mix the ingredients. Having a larger bowl makes it easier to toss dry ingredients and wet ingredients without overworking the dough. Use the parchment paper to fold the dough over, and to pat the dough to the right size as well.
These cornmeal and cheddar biscuits are going to be a huge hit at your Thanksgiving dinner table! I know this because they’ve been a hit every time I made them in the last couple of months. What’s going to be on your Thanksgiving dinner table this year?
More Thanksgiving recipes you’ll love
Sous vide turkey roll Slow roasted turkey roll Cranberry sauce Maple roasted brussels sprouts Thanksgiving leftover strata Crustless pumpkin pie Carrot cake Red velvet cake Butter pecan cake
