Not From a Cardboard Tube

Cheese Biscuits
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced Swiss cheese
1 cup half and half
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal in texture. Stir in cheeses until coated with flour mixture. Add half and half and mix just until dough holds together. Turn out on a floured board. Roll gently to a disc 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut into circles or diamonds and place on an ungreased baking sheet with biscuit sides touching each other. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve hot, plain or with butter and marmalade.

Hints: You can use all white flour or all wheat flour if you like. I prefer the combination. Dicing the Swiss cheese makes for bites oozing with melted cheese which I really like but you can shred it as well as the cheddar and get a slightly different texture in the end product. Other semi soft cheese may be substituted for the cheddar and Swiss, such as Gouda, Stilton or even blue cheese. Adding some fresh or dried herbs works great too; like rosemary or thyme or dill. Left overs need to be refrigerated because of the cheeses. Reheating them in a microwave oven works great. Be sure to have the biscuits thick enough so they don't dry out during cooking. Orange marmalade is heavenly but any other jam will be good too. Great for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, tea time or dinner. Or a late night snack. I guess I'm saying they are good anytime!

Sophie and I had a discussion a few days back about my realization that I may be a bit of a food snob. She agreed with me but wasn't too concerned by it. It is just that I generally don't use convenience items like biscuit dough in a tube or pre-made pie crusts, etc. Most of the time these items cost a bit more than making them from scratch and I find the quality and variety is not all that great either. However, I always buy boxed Brownie mixes, jarred mayo, canned split pea soup and store bought croissants. I have attempted to make all of these from scratch and, time-wise, found them all better manufactured by someone else. But, come on--biscuits? They only take a few minutes and are far tastier when they are homemade!