Cheese and Buttermilk Biscuits

This is a home-made version of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  Now, I have made the knock-off recipes before and have always been pleased with the results.  This recipe is very similar, but it's they're completely all homemade....no Bisquick, no shortening.  Since these biscuits use butter instead of shortening, they won't rise as high, but they're absolutely light and fluffy (camera position poor here....they look more like cookies, but they do indeed come out looking like biscuits!)

I'd like to try this recipe again adding some garlic into the dough, not just the butter on top.  But they're wonderful, just as they are.  And they freeze wonderfully.  This recipe will make 12-14 biscuits, depending on how much of the extra dough you use after cutting the original 12.

Cheese and Buttermilk Biscuits (makes 12-14 biscuits)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cold
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 baking soda
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
about 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 450.  Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Cut butter into flour mixture using pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in cheese then stir in enough buttermilk so dough leaves the sides of the bowl.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead very lightly until dough forms a soft ball, about 10 times.  Do not overwork the dough to result in fluffier biscuits.  Roll or pat 1/2" thick.  Cut with floured 2 1/2" biscuit cutters.  Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Mix together melted butter, garlic salt, and parsley flakes.  Brush the tops of the warm biscuits with the garlic butter and serve hot.