Cheddar biscuits are one of the easiest ways to get freshly baked bread on an ordinary weekday. These American biscuits have a golden, slightly crisp top, a soft and fluffy inside and small pockets of melted cheese hidden in the crumb. Here I make them as drop biscuits: the dough is stirred together in one bowl and spooned in dollops onto a piece of baking paper in the basket, so you can skip the rolling pin, the cutter and flour all over the kitchen counter.
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From bowl to table it takes 35 minutes, and finally the biscuits get a brush of garlic butter with fresh parsley while they are still warm. Serve them with a bowl of soup, a pot of chilli or the weekend barbecue food.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I love Cheddar biscuits in the air fryer
The air fryer is made for small batches of baking. The hot air circulates closely around every dollop of dough, so the top turns golden and crisp while the inside has time to rise and stay soft. There is no big oven to heat up, and the first four biscuits are done after 10 minutes. While the second batch bakes, you melt the garlic butter, so everything is ready at the same time.
I also like that the dough only needs basic ingredients, and that the garlic powder in the dough and the fresh garlic in the butter give two layers of garlic flavour without overpowering the cheese.
American biscuits are not cookies
In British English, biscuits are crisp cookies or crackers, but in the US they are something completely different: soft, buttery little breads that rise with baking powder instead of yeast. Classic biscuits are rolled out, folded into layers and cut out, but drop biscuits skip all of that. The dough is so soft and sticky that it is spooned out in dollops, and the uneven surface gives extra crisp edges in the air fryer.
My kitchen test of Cheddar biscuits
I have baked these biscuits in my Cosori Dual Blaze, which has one basket with heating elements both above and below. That is an advantage here, because the underside browns at the same time as the top. At 180 °C, 10 minutes per batch was just right: the top was golden brown, the cheese was bubbling at the edges, and the inside was cooked through without being dry. Two batches of four dollops give eight biscuits, and with 15 minutes of preparation they are ready in 35 minutes in total.
In my Philips XXL there is plenty of room for four dollops with 3-4 cm between them. In an air fryer that heats only from above, however, the bottom can be a little pale after 10 minutes, and then I give them 1-2 minutes extra. One important tip from the test: never put the baking paper in the basket on its own while the air fryer preheats, because without dough on top the air can lift the paper up against the heating element.
Melt the garlic butter during the second batch, and brush all the biscuits while they are still warm. That way the butter soaks into the crisp top instead of just sitting on top.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common mistake is soft butter. If the butter gets warm, it disappears into the flour, and the biscuits turn flat and greasy instead of fluffy. Cut it into small cubes, put them in the fridge while you mix the dry ingredients, and rub them in quickly until the lumps are the size of peas. The second mistake is kneading the dough. The more you work it, the tougher and heavier your biscuits get, so stop as soon as there is no dry flour left in the bowl. The third mistake is an overcrowded basket. If the dollops sit too close together, they grow into each other and get pale sides, so put in four at a time at most, with 3-4 cm between them, and don’t shake the basket while they bake.
How to serve Cheddar biscuits
Cheddar biscuits are best served warm, and they go with much more than the bread basket:
- With a bowl of hot tomato soup
- Alongside chilli con carne
- With pulled pork or other barbecue food
- On the brunch table with scrambled eggs and crispy bacon
- As warm bread with a big green salad
Storing and reheating
Biscuits taste best on the same day, while the cheese is still soft inside. If you have any left, they keep for 1-2 days in the fridge when covered. Reheat them in the air fryer at 160 °C for 3-5 minutes, so the top turns crisp again. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, and then reheat them the same way.
After you have baked them once, Cheddar biscuits quickly become a regular fixture on soup nights and at barbecue dinners. Feel free to swap a quarter of the cheese for Parmesan, or add a little finely chopped chives once you have developed a taste for them.
FAQ
American biscuits are soft, buttery little breads that rise with baking powder, while cookies and crackers are drier and crisp. Drop biscuits like these are spooned out in dollops, so the dough never has to be rolled, folded or cut out.
Yes. Stir 1.5 dl milk with 2 tsp lemon juice, and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before you pour it into the dough. It turns slightly thick and tangy and gives almost the same tender crumb as buttermilk.
Four at a time is right for a standard basket, with 3-4 cm between them so the hot air can circulate around them. If your air fryer is smaller, bake three at a time in three batches.
Recipe
Cheddar biscuits in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Airfryer size
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Recommended equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Kitchen scale
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Grater
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Dough scraper
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Parchment paper (for air fryer)
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Garlic press
- 1 Pastry brush
Shopping list
Ingredients
How to make it
Preparation
- Grate 125 g Cheddar coarsely. Cut 80 g butter into small cubes and put them in the fridge while you mix the dry ingredients.
- Rub the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture with your fingertips until only small, pea-sized lumps remain. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t soften.
- Stir the grated cheese into the flour mixture, then pour in 1.5 dl buttermilk.
- Stir the dough together with a dough scraper, just until there is no dry flour left in the bowl. The dough should be sticky and uneven. Don’t knead it – that makes the biscuits heavy and tough instead of fluffy.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 °C fan.
- Place air fryer baking paper in the basket. Using a spoon, drop 4 dollops of dough onto the paper, each about one eighth of the dough, with 3-4 cm between them so the hot air can circulate around them. Meanwhile, keep the bowl with the rest of the dough in the fridge.
- Bake at 180 °C for 10 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling at the edges. Don’t shake the basket while they bake, so the dollops keep their shape. If the bottoms are still pale, give them 1-2 minutes more, then lift them out with the baking paper.
- Repeat with the last 4 dollops on a fresh piece of baking paper and bake them at 180 °C for 10 minutes.
Garlic butter and serving
- Melt 30 g butter in a small saucepan over a low heat while the second batch bakes. Take the saucepan off the heat, crush in 1 clove garlic and stir in 1 tbsp parsley.
- Brush all the biscuits with the garlic butter while they are still warm.
- Serve them warm. They are best on the same day, while the cheese is still soft inside.
Our notes for the recipe
Keep the butter and buttermilk cold right up until the dough goes into the basket. The little lumps of butter melt in the heat and create steam, which makes the biscuits fluffy with a crisp edge. Stir the dough only until the flour is moistened – if you knead it, it turns tough. Never put the baking paper in the basket on its own while the air fryer preheats; it is the dollops of dough that hold it down. Variation:
Use an aged, strong Cheddar for the most flavour, or swap a quarter of the cheese for grated Parmesan. A pinch of cayenne pepper or a little finely chopped chives in the dough adds an extra kick. If you don’t have buttermilk, stir 1.5 dl milk with 2 tsp lemon juice and let it stand for 5 minutes. Serving:
Serve them warm with tomato soup, chilli con carne, pulled pork or barbecue food – or on the brunch table. Portion size:
The dough makes 8 biscuits, 2 per person. If your air fryer is smaller, bake them 3 at a time in three batches. What are biscuits?
American biscuits are soft, buttery little breads – not cookies or crackers. These are drop biscuits, where the dough is spooned out in dollops, so you never have to roll, fold or cut it out.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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