A “Not-So” Valentine’s Bombs (Cheese & Garlic Butter Biscuits)

“Anytime, any day, with these light tasted biscuits, actually.”

With the recipe’s name, you know it was for the day. Oh, sorry.. it’s just butter biscuit, actually. Since today’s Valentine’s Day which coincides with Lunar Renri (Human’s birthday in Chinese), it seemed like a big day that I had to do something.. Simple baking, but I tried to make some of my biscuits into heart shape, just for the sake of the festive. :D

Crispy on the crust, and cottony soft inside. That’s the wonder of using buttermilk in the recipe. To make cottony soft texture of a bake. Yes, that’s the trick.

I had to confess, too, that I did not create this recipe on my own, but rather getting the idea and adapting it from a food website. I liked this because I wouldn’t need to bring out all my baking equipments to do this impromptu activity today. Thank you so much. :D

Yes, you need only an oven. Not even a handheld blender is needed, this time.

Yields about 20 golf ball sized biscuits
Ingredients
250g of self raising flour
80g of cold unsalted butter, diced
15g of raw sugar (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
180g of cold buttermilk (or use fresh milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar/ lemon juice)
1 – 2 tablespoons of garlic powder

50g of shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese (or cubed)

Brushing the tops:
1 tablespoon of garlic & herbs spread, melt in microwave for 30 seconds

Method
(1) Preheat oven to 180deg Celsius for 15 minutes. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to blend cold butter into flour mixture until it turns sandy texture.

(2) Drizzle in buttermilk in batches, knead until soft dough is formed. Dough should be pliable but not sticking on your hand and mixing bowl. Keep in refrigerator for 25 minutes.

(3) Dust the surface of countertop with flour, roll dough into large flat sheet, with lightly floured rolling pin. Cut flattened dough into card-sized pieces.

(4) Wrap a small amount of cheeses and in a small piece of dough. Seal all edges and roll in palms to form a ball (or heart shape :)). Place the ball on a lined (with baking paper) baking tray. Repeat step until all dough pieces are used.

(5) Bake in the middle rack for 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and brush melted garlic spread on the tops. Serve warm.

Well, this bake was made for my toddler son’s snack time tomorrow in school, actually. He loved it with strawberry jam. So, unlike the (round) bomb biscuits, the heart shaped biscuits were baked plainly without garlic powder and cheese filling in it.

1 golf ball sized cheese garlic butter biscuit counts about 100kcal.

P/S: One of the readers questioned about having garlicky stuff on Valentine’s Day? She was right, and so, I think a “not-so” to the title would be more appropriate, in that case. Thank you. My bad. :D

Tips: Garlic powder is optional, depends on your liking. If you preferred to have these biscuits tasted more plain and to be eaten with fruit jam, it’s ok not to put garlic powder. On contrary, add up to 2 tablespoon of bake garlicky cheese butter biscuits instead.
* It’s fine to use cheese block to cut into cube, or cheese slices to bread into smaller pieces, for the filling.
* I used the store-bought garlic butter spread and melt it to do the brushing of the top of the biscuits. If you do not wish to get a new jar just for this, simply melt 20g of butter, handful of mixed herbs (fresh or bottled), and 1 clove of minced garlic. Cook with low heat on stove, or microwave the mixture for 30-40 seconds (cover mixture with lid).
* Buttermilk in packet is available in the chilled compartment at major supermarkets. Alternatively, simply mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar (any type) to 200g of fresh milk and wait for it to turn cuddly milk mixture. Store in the fridge for later. I used only about 180g.
* Need not to grease the baking paper that lines on the baking tray. Simply place dough balls on it and they would not stick.
* Store biscuits at room temperature will last up to 5 days. Warm biscuits to serve each time.