Smoked Sausage-Cheese Biscuits

Besides sweet pies and BBQ, biscuits are my favorite American stuff, I love them so much that I loose any control when I see them, which means I can eat a great number of those. 

My excitement already starts while the biscuits are in the oven, that smell of butter is so promising. When they get out, I like to brush them with melted butter, just a final touch, and then I eat them layer by layer. 

I don't know the number of biscuits that I made, it is definitely a huge one, but I really know the best recipe for them. Over the time, I created very nice versions adding different ingredients, so far my favorites are biscuits with smoked sausage and cheese (the recipe follows), then those with goat cheese and za'atar, and biscuits with cheddar cheese. Also, I like to eat them with homemade herb butter.

For the wet ingredient, I usually use buttermilk, but I have to tell you Kefir is even better, although more expensive. However, if I don't have any of those at home, you can use sour cream with some milk, and that works as well.

Smoked sausage and cheese is a combination that cannot go wrong in biscuits. Surprisingly, I have never saw that combination here in US before, I got idea from my sister-in-low from Serbia who made the similar stuff. I gave it a try and outcome surpassed my expectations.

In my opinion these biscuits are great for breakfast, as an appetizer, and they also make a great snack. Also, they often end up in lunch boxes of my children.

You need for about 24 biscuits:

4 cups all purpose flour + some for dusting

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter, very cold + 3 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups buttermilk or Kefir

1 cup smoked sausage, cut into small pieces

1 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Mexican mix)

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 400F (205C). Line the large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a big bowl mix flour with salt, baking powder and soda. Add cold butter cut into small pieces. Rub the butter into flour mixture using your fingertips. After few minutes when you get crumbly mixture, make a well in it and add cold Kefir, or buttermilk, cut smoked sausage and shredded cheese and mix everything with a big metal spoon until you can form a very rough ball.

Move the dough onto floured surface, and form it into rectangle shape by patting. Fold it over, just like letter, and then pat it to get rectangle shape, and do folding and patting five more times, that helps to get flaky biscuits. While you work with the dough use flour generously for dusting top and bottom.

When you finally shape the dough into rectangle 1 inch tick, cut it into round shapes using floured glass or 2-inch diameter cookie cutter. Push the cutter straight down the dough. Gather the scrap dough and cut it too.

Place the round shapes on the baking sheet, slightly apart, and bake for 15-18 minutes, until biscuits' tops become golden brown.

When they are out of the oven, brush the biscuits with melted butter. They are the best when fresh, but if they are one or two days old you can always toast them.