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A bowl of beef tallow cheddar biscuits with golden tops brushed with garlic parsley butter.
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Tallow Cheddar Biscuits with Garlic Parsley Butter

The trick to the flakiest biscuits is cold ingredients. Cold tallow, cold butter, cold buttermilk. That's what gives you the flakiest layers. And this combo of cheddar biscuits with herby butter basted golden tops lives up to the hype if you get it right.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time38 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 9 servings (1 biscuit each)
Calories: 2783kcal
Author: Dee Broughton

Equipment

  • 8 or 9 inch square metal baking pan
  • Parchment paper
  • Pastry cutter
  • 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter
  • Pastry brush

Ingredients

For the biscuits

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup beef tallow very cold, cubed or flaked
  • 1/4 cup butter very cold, cubed
  • 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
  • 1 cup buttermilk very cold

For the garlic butter finish

  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Instructions

Prep the Pan

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line an 8 or 9 inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix the Dry Ingredients

  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl until evenly combined.
    Flour topped with garlic powder and the other dry ingredients, with a whisk beside the bowl, ready to be whisked together.

Cut in the Fats

  • Add the cold beef tallow and butter to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to work the fats into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
    A pastry cutter working the cold beef tallow and butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Add the Cheddar

  • Add the shredded cheddar to the flour mixture. Toss gently until evenly distributed, making sure the cheese is lightly coated in flour.
    A wooden bowl filled with a mixture of flour and shredded cheese.

Make the Dough

  • Pour the buttermilk into the mixture and stir gently with a fork or spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Stop mixing once most of the flour has been incorporated. The dough should be slightly tacky with a few dry spots rather than smooth or sticky.
    A wooden bowl containing a shaggy dough mixed with shredded cheese, with small bowls of herbs and salt nearby on a green tiled surface.

Fold

  • Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Gently press it together into a rectangle, then fold one short end toward the center and fold the opposite end over it, like folding a letter.
    The cheddar biscuit dough folded over on itself like a letter on a floured counter to build the flaky layers.
  • Rotate the dough a quarter turn, gently flatten it, and repeat the folding process once more.

Cut

  • Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 1/4 inches thick. Press down through the dough with a 2 1/2" biscuit cutter without twisting. Lift the cutter straight up to release each biscuit. Cut the rounds as close together as possible to minimize scraps. Gently gather the remaining dough, press it back together, and cut additional biscuits without overworking it.
    A rectangular piece of biscuit dough with cheese pieces being cut by a metal round cutter on a green tiled surface.

Arrange

  • Arrange the biscuits in the baking pan in three rows of three. Make sure the biscuits are just touching rather than pressed tightly together.
    Nine unbaked cheddar cheese biscuits arranged in a square metal baking pan.

Bake

  • Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, checking at the 15 minute mark. The biscuits should have golden brown tops and the centers should be set rather than wet or doughy.
    Nine golden-brown cheddar cheese biscuits in a square metal baking pan.

Garlic Butter

  • Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley in a small bowl while the biscuits finish baking. Stir until evenly mixed.

Brush

  • Remove the biscuits from the oven and immediately brush the tops with the garlic parsley butter.
    A metal square pan filled with nine baked cheese biscuits topped with herbs, being brushed with a silicone pastry brush.

Rest and Serve

  • Let the biscuits rest in the pan for about 5 minutes before gently separating them. Serve warm.

Notes

  • Over kneading develops too much gluten and compresses the layers. Mix only until the dough comes together, then use gentle pressure when folding and shaping.
  • If the dough feels too soft or greasy, refrigerate the shaped biscuits for 10 to 15 minutes before baking. The fats need to stay firm enough to hold pieces in the dough. Some dry areas are normal before folding. Gently press the mixture together before adding more liquid.
  • Pale tops usually mean an oven that runs cool or a pan positioned too low. Verify the oven temp and bake in the upper middle portion of the oven.
  • All tallow biscuits: replace the butter in the dough with an equal amount of cold beef tallow. More pronounced beef flavor; may be slightly less flaky.
  • All butter biscuits: replace the beef tallow with an equal amount of cold unsalted butter.
  • Spicy version: fold 2 tablespoons finely diced fresh jalapeño into the dough with the cheddar.
  • Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerated up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 2783kcal | Carbohydrates: 271g | Protein: 90g | Fat: 149g | Saturated Fat: 85g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 38g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 418mg | Sodium: 4562mg | Potassium: 2220mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 4213IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 2077mg | Iron: 17mg