Paula Deen's Famous Cheese Biscuits

For dinner the other night, I made these cheese biscuits.  I have heard that if you make reservations at Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, they bring you these biscuits while you are waiting for your table.  

What you will need:
2 cups of self rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup buttermilk


Her recipe book says this will yield 8 large biscuits.  I cut the recipe in half and still came out with 8 biscuits.  I can't imagine how big these suckers are in person.


If you don't have buttermilk, then there are a couple of things you can use as a substitute.  Take a cup of fresh whole milk and mix in either a teaspoon of white vinegar or a teaspoon of lemon juice.  The mix can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to sour.  Just stir really well before using.  Or you can take 1/4 cup of fresh whole milk and 3/4 cup of plain yogurt and mix.


Now on to the biscuits!  In one bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar together.  Next, you are going to cut in the shortening.  Some people use a pastry cutter, but I was taught to use my hands. Just pick up a handful of the flour and shortening and rub your hands together.  The result should be a mix that resembles lumpy cornmeal.  

Add in your cheese and pour in your buttermilk.  Stir in the buttermilk until it is JUST blended.  The mix should be lumpy.  

Drop the biscuit dough onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.  

This picture doesn't do them justice.  But before I could get the camera to retake some photos, they had all mysteriously disappeared.  

Paula Deen's Famous Cheese Biscuits - Print Recipe