A sweet and savory, tender biscuit with bits of apples and creamy gouda cheese. Plus, be in the know of the difference between biscuits vs. scones!
Oh my goodness, I just realized after I shot and edited these photos, I once again gave another recipe with apples. I hope you can forgive. I promise, I will let the apples go for a little while; at least a couple of weeks, okay? Because I’m now suddenly getting tired of seeing it too. But, I can’t let this recipe go to waste because I truly do love it so much!
Plus, I feel like I have to school you a bit on what I thought I sort of knew already, actually came back to me after experimenting with this recipe and with a little help from my old college text book. And that’s biscuits vs. scones.
You may have seen many scones shaped in an isosceles triangle such as these but did you know, they can be made to any shape? They can look and taste just like a regular biscuit so now you may wonder, what’s the difference? Do you know?
It’s been at least 5 years since I studied dietetics. If you’re not sure what “dietetics” is, it’s a BA or BS degree (depending on the college program) of nutrition. There’s a lot more to it than just taking a bunch of classes but to simplify things, I’ll just leave at that. I’ve taken several courses in food science, the biochemistry of food and blah-blah-blah, all interesting stuff. No really, it was! I still love the subject of nutrition although on the contrary, this blog speaks nothing but pure fat, sugar and gluttony! Shh! Don’t judge, okay? This may change and this just might be your warning #kiddingnotkidding.
But then, it dawned on me during my attempt in making scones that my quick bread (no yeast) was more of a batter than a dough. There was absolutely no way I would be able to roll the batter out. It was too wet. I swear, as I stood there scratching my head, it was as if the gears inside my brain were struggling to turn, trying to trace back to 5 years ago when I sat in Food Science 101 listening to Professor Consiglio’s lecture about the difference between drop biscuits, regular (aka rolled) biscuits and scones. That annoying little itch of absolutely needing to know became more of a never-ending pain in the rear, sort to speak, when I couldn’t remember for the life of me what the difference was. Like the nerd that I am, I dusted the binding of my old text book, Introductory to Foods 12th Ed. and cracked it open to page 394. Oh, you better believe it. I sure did! And what a relief!
Just as I thought, scones are similar to biscuits. They are made via the biscuit method therefore, the dough can be rolled out. They usually contain eggs, butter and half-n-half or cream and tend to be “richer” than a biscuit.
On the other hand, the characteristics of a rolled biscuit tend to be uniform in shape and evenly browned with either a flaky or light and fluffy interior (dependent on the kneading and rolling process prior to baking). There is usually a tender and fine crust and crumb, cream in color. Most importantly, the most recognizable and desirable characteristic of a biscuit would be its flaky sheets of dough. The layers of dough should easily separate and can be seen when the biscuit is broken open.
Drop biscuits are irregular in shape which may cause uneven browning of the crust. The crumb remains tender but more course and not as fine as a traditional biscuit. There is usually more liquid in the recipe hence, no kneading is involved. To make drop biscuits, a spoon must be used to scoop batter onto a lined baking sheet.
So there you have it, a brief discussion of the difference between two kinds of biscuits and scones! I hope you enjoyed it.
PS: Did you know, gouda cheese is named after a city in the Netherlands? According to several sources, “Gouda” is now referred to as a style of cheese-making based on its age of maturity ranging from 6 gradations from 4 weeks to greater than 12 months old. As the cheese ages, its texture and flavor changes from semi-hard to hard and in increasing caramel sweetness, respectively. See more here.
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Apple and Gouda Drop Biscuits
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 – 12 biscuits 1x
Description
A sweet and savory, tender biscuit with bits of apples and creamy gouda cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (2 medium) tart apples, peeled and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup gouda cheese, shredded (I used Kerrygold’s Blarney Castle)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with baking spray or line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
- In a medium microwaveable bowl, precook apples on HIGH for 2 minutes. Note: readiness is determined when a fork is able to glide through the cubes without much force. Continue to microwave apples at 30 seconds intervals if additional time is needed. Do not microwave for more than a total of 3 minutes. Set bowl aside to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile in a separate medium bowl, whisk flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cheese, butter, 1/4 cup heavy cream and eggs until just combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually mix in flour mixture and cubed apples. Continue to mix until no dry air pockets remain but do not over mix batter. Note: batter will be wet and not dry as in a dough.
- Drop about 2 tablespoonfuls of batter on prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the top of each mounds of batter with heavy cream and sprinkle a pinch of sugar from the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown and center is cooked throughout.
- Cool drop biscuits on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
If gouda cheese is unavailable, you may substitute using the same quantity of mild or sharp cheddar cheese. Biscuits are best stored in air tight container and should be lightly toasted when ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: apple biscuits, drop biscuits, gouda cheese
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