The original sausage cheese biscuit. Scone. Biscuit. Whatever.
I have a confession to make. I’m a fool for melted cheese. The lava-flow of Gruyère oozing from a just-cut stuffed loaf; the stretchy strings of mozzarella dangling from a hot slice of pizza; warm Parmesan and fontina enclosed in cannelloni. I admit, they all make my heart beat just a little faster.
And not from cholesterol overload. I’m one of those fortunate people genetically programmed to eat cheese, and lots of it. I’m Norwegian, from Wisconsin; a certified Cheesehead. My grandmother drank her coffee with heavy cream, never shied away from a creampuff (Wisconsin’s unofficial state dessert), and enjoyed cheese in every imaginable fashion, 7 days a week. She lived to be 102 years old.
Not that I espouse a high-fat diet. Though I enjoy cheese every day at breakfast, it’s low-fat cheese. And at lunch, the cheese on my salad is feta or part-skim mozzarella. That tempting triple-crème St. André or oozing Camembert? Reserved for special occasions.
But what about regular full-fat (but not ultra-high-fat) cheese? Like extra-sharp cheddar, or Asiago? You don’t want to overdo, quantity-wise. But their assertive flavors make them the perfect “baking condiment”—a delicious enhancement to savory muffins, biscuits, or breads. A shower of Parmesan atop hot focaccia isn’t going to bring the nutrition police to your door; but oh, what a happy burst of flavor it adds to that bread!
The following biscuits—a.k.a. scones—are a great example of cheese as condiment. With just 1/5 of an ounce of cheese per serving, these are well within what your diet can handle. Even the sausage (less than 1 ounce per serving) isn’t a deal-breaker. And their flavor is out of this world.
Oh, and what about this scone/biscuit confusion? Here in America, scones and biscuits are pretty much the same thing (we’ll leave Great Britain out of this discussion for the time being). Scones are basically a dressed-up biscuit: sweetened, often including extras (nuts, chips, fruit), and usually cut in wedges, rather than circles. But in the end, butter-enriched, baking powder-leavened siblings under the skin.
Are you hungry? Let’s make Sausage and Cheese Biscuits. Or scones.
I know, I know, I show you this Pizza Dough Flavor all the time. And that’s because I use it all the time. It’s a truly wonderful ingredient for all kinds of savory baked treats, from pizza crust (obviously) to bread to scones and rolls and bread sticks and, yes, biscuits.
I’ve always loved the look of this Colby/Monterey Jack clone from Cabot. Which, if you haven’t seen it, is a farmer-owned cooperative here in Vermont, producing a wide range of award-winning cheeses. Including low-fat cheeses that are, surprisingly, quite tasty.
Cut the cheese in slices.
Then stack the slices, and cut them in sticks. Turn the sticks 90°, and cut them into cubes. Does it matter how big you make the cubes? No. Clearly you don’t want huge 1” chunks in your scones, but don’t fuss too much; 3/8” to 1/2” is a nice size.
So here’s your cheese. The Holstein pattern is kind of cute, yes?
And here’s 3/4 lb. of link sausage, nicely browned.
Cut into slices. Again 3/8” to 1/2” is a good size. And a pair of scissors will make quick work of this chore.
Cheese diced, sausage sliced… let’s make biscuits.
Whisk together unbleached all-purpose flour (King Arthur, of course; it does make a difference); baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add cold butter, cut in pats or chunks.
Once the butter has been roughly mixed in (leaving a few largish, marble-sized chunks), add the cheese and sausage.
Then the dairy—you have your choice of buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream. Here, I’m using homemade yogurt. I find homemade isn’t as assertively acidic in your baked goods as store-bought.
Stir it in to make a sticky dough…
…which you can deposit right onto a piece of parchment. Or, barring that (but if you don’t yet have any parchment in your kitchen — why not?!), onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Pat into a rough rectangle. It’ll be about 8” x 10”, slightly smaller than a standard sheet of paper; about 3/4” thick.
Take a knife, rolling pizza wheel, baker’s bench knife, or your other favorite cutting implement, and cut 2” squares.
I decided to do an experiment. Separate half the squares; leave the other half connected. Here are the ones I pulled apart.
Brush with melted butter. Or not. I’m a fan of melted butter on top of just about anything.
Bake. The cheese will ooze; that’s just fine. In fact, it’s aspiration, not aggravation.
And here’s the result of the experiment. No difference in pulling them apart, other than that the scones on the right had crispier sides, and the oozing cheese had a chance to get crusty.
Nice, light texture, tender and moist.
Serve warm with your breakfast eggs or grits. Or a fruit salad. Or just grab one as you’re heading out the door—consider it a shortcut breakfast sandwich. A warm, melty-cheesy, spicy sausage-y right out of your own oven sausage biscuit.
Read, rate, and review (please!) our recipe for Sausage Cheese Biscuits.
Buy vs. Bake
Buy: Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit, 4.9-oz., $2.99, 61¢/ounce
Bake at home: Sausage & Cheese Breakfast Scones, 15¢/ounce
May 14th, 2009 at 11:40 am
One of those with a glass of O.J. would really hit the spot! I”d have a hard time choosing between baking them closer together or farther apart. No doubt I would love them both ways, and then I would have to sample both ways. And, then I’d have to work off the extra calories I consumed from all the sampling.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Why no parchment? Silpat! I use silpat for most baking, with very few exceptions (lining circular cake pans being the only one I can think of right now). Much less expensive, and ecologically sound.
Other than that, those biscuits (scones?) look amazing. In my little world, a biscuit should be round. I never have much luck with biscuits, actually. Not sure why. Maybe I’ll give these a shot.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Gonna get right on making these beauties. I will use the square biscuit cutters from KAF that I just got in the mail for this job. Keeps a uniform size and makes sure there is no waste.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/pastry-and-biscuit-cutters-square-set
Sounds like a good plan, having a “square meal”.
~ MaryJane
May 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
And for those of you that are undecided:
Parchment:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/parchment-paper-half-sheet
Silicone mat:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-cookie-baking-mat
I have them both and use them both. Typically if I’m doing a lot of baking (read: cookie time!) I use parchment. For one batch of cookies, or scones, I use the silicone.
These look soooo good PJ!!! I’m still doing my nutrition program, but it allows for cheese and meat (well, I can get away with the sausage if I’m extra good that day), the only issue is all of that flour. What would you suggest for a whole wheat variant? 20% white whole wheat? 25%?
Mike, I think maybe 1/3 would be a good sub; they’ll be somewhat denser, but should be OK, esp. if you use white wheat. Thanks for the links!! Hope you had a good trip home - PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Oh my goodness!! Those look fantastic!! I know what I’ll be baking this weekend! I know my family will flip for these. I did have a couple of questions. How do you get your dough to separate so cleanly? Whenever I make scones, the dough always sticks to the parchment when I go to separate it. Of course, this causes it to lose it’s shape and I have to try to reshape them. My wedges usually turn out as blobs, tasty but not very attractive.
Also, this may be a dumb question, but would you refrigerate any leftovers since it has sausage in it? Could you reheat them in the microwave?
I can’t wait to try this out!
Hi Denise - spray your parchment with non-stick vegetable oil spray, or flour it - either will work to prevent sticking.
And, NOT a dumb question; I often wonder myself whether, say, pepperoni pizza should be refrigerated. I’d refrigerate any leftovers of these, and microwave for maybe 8-10 seconds or so to “refresh,” RIGHT before serving. Enjoy - PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
These look delicious. I am also of the school of thought that there’s no harm in adding a little extra butter.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Oh good grief I need to read this in the morning or late at night so I stand a chance at baking the delicious recipes instead of fogging up my laptop screen.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Oh…my…that looks fabulous.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Anther great use for my homemade fat free yogurt! When I do use it in a scone recipe, I add a bit of dried buttermilk because I like the buttermilk taste.
I used to make something similar to these in my “super snacker”. Remember those gadgets, first on infomercials and then in stores, that cook and seal food into triangle shapes? You can make sealed sandwiches or apple pie filling in bread slices with them? My kids loved that machine.
I made breakfast biscuits by making a bisquick mixture that was thicker than pancake batter but looser than bisuits. I’d put half in the super snacker, and then add (low fat) cheddar and (low fat turkey) breakfast sausage, cooked and sliced or crumbled. Then more batter, then seal and cook. Delicious and i think a very similar end result to your breakfast biscuits. They were a huge hit with the kids and easy to eat while languishing with the Sunday paper.
hmmm….. I think my oldest kid took that super snacker machine to college……..
Thanks for another great recipe!
Cindy, I do indeed remember that snack machine. I never had one, but always wanted to try it. Bet it’s getting a good workout at college! PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Yes. I’m going to make this somehow. Someway. Thank you.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Excellent. Breakfast ideas are hard at my house. Typically I make and freeze waffles. We recently got started on scones, which seem to be a great hit. This takes them to a new level. I think my kids will like these. We’ll be trying this out! Thanks!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Yummy. Could you use shredded cheese? It’s a staple in our house, but we buy sliced and shredded, not usually block. Just wondering if I need an extra trip to the store, or if I could just use the shredded. Thanks.
Sure, Patti, shredded will just disperse more evenly (and be less melty). AND just as delicious! Go for it - PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
We are vegetarian, but I have very fond memories of sausage gravy & biscuits growing up. I’m not a big fan of fake meat, but I think we’ll try this with veggie sausage for a treat. Thanks for the great idea.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
How cool are you? I’ve been kinda looking for a sausage and cheese breakfast scone; we used to be able to stop for ham and cheese scones on the way to work, but a schedule change made that impossible. I think I’ll be trying these this weekend with bulk sausage and shredded cheese (since I have those on hand). Yay, you!
YAY, you back, Susan. Bakers RULE. PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Whoa. These look absurdly delicious! To tell you the truth, I like melted cheese 100% more than non-melted!
May 14th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
These do look tasty, and a great quick morning meal– are they very crumbly while you’re eating them? Like, could they be an eat-and-go item, or do you need to have a plate to avoid crumbs all over your work clothes?
I’ll make them either way, just the answer might determine sooner rather than later.
Jackie, they’re more chunky-crumbly than crumby-crumbly, if you get my drift (of crumbs…) They’re more likely to break off in chunks rather than little crumbs. I think you could manage one on the drive to work, with a napkin in your lap. But don’t quote me - you’re not supposed to eat breakfast while you’re driving, right?
PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Hmm, hadn’t thought of that (Super Snacker)…. I have one and I’ve used it for various things like cheese and sausage sandwiches… But, I think they would compress the scones instead of letting them become light and airy… Hmmm, I may take a small bit of the batter and…. Hmmm….
May 14th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I have some of the Pizza Dough flavor in my cupboards but it has clumped up. Any suggestions for “unclumping” or should I just order a new supply?
Nicole, that sometimes happens to mine if I haven’t used it for awhile and it’s been humid. I chunk it up with a cleaver or knife, and put it in a mini food processor - that “powders” it up again. I’ve also found that transferring it to a glass jar (like a small pickle jar, or anything with a tight screw-on lid) keeps it better. Hope this works for you - PJH
May 14th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
I make these with crumbled sausage and sharp cheddar. They are fantastic and never last long. When I am in a hurry I don’t take the time to shape the dough, I just drop by the tablespoon onto the parchment paper and bake.
May 15th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Thanks-I had planned to do at home chores today,BUT now I must fit in a grocery store run. I think it’s going to be omelettes,salad and these beautiful scones for dinner tonight-YUM Sounds like a great comfort food meal. Mary @ KAF
May 15th, 2009 at 5:41 am
This looks terrific & thanks for the mention and photo - we’ve posted this recipe on our Facebook page. (And I am going to make it this weekend! Yum!)
May 15th, 2009 at 9:07 am
I make a similar item with very sharp cheddar cheese and bacon, adding a bit of Worcestershire sauce to the liquid ingredients. They always go over well.
I’m going to have to try your sausage variation - sounds pretty darned good!
May 15th, 2009 at 10:07 am
MMM…Sausage and cheese and buttery biscuits. Great recipe, I will make this for my wife tomorrow morning! You just helped me score a ton of points. THANKS!
May 15th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I’ve just peeked at the pizza dough flavoring nutritional information on your website and was very, very sad to see that the first ingredient is “autolyzed yeast extract”. That is just another name for MSG (monodsodium glutamate) which is one of those ingredients that so many people have problems with. (check out truthinlabeling.org for a complete list of MSG names in food labels)
Lee, while autolyzed yeast extract and MSG derive from the same source (inactive yeast), they’re not the same thing. That said, folks who are allergic to MSG may experience the same symptoms with AYE; as well as with other free-glutamate-producing foods, such as peas, corn, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, etc. Thanks for pointing this out. PJH
Lee, here’s what our test kitchen director, Sue Gray, has to say:
AYE is a flavoring made from dead yeast cells.
It does contain free glutamate. It is not the same thing as MSG. Autolyzed yeast is a dough relaxer and
gives flavor; we’re not trying to hide MSG.
Autolyzed yeast or autolyzed yeast extract consists of concentrations of
yeast cells that are allowed to die and break up, so that the yeasts’
digestive enzymes break their proteins down into simpler compounds.
Glutamate is an amino acid, found in all protein-containing
foods. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. This
amino acid is one of the most abundant and important components
of proteins. Glutamate occurs naturally in protein-containing
foods such as cheese, milk, mushrooms, meat, fish,
and many vegetables. Glutamate is also produced by the
human body and is vital for metabolism and brain function.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I’ll be making these for the weekend. I am searching for snacks for my 12 year old eating machine. She’s ALWAYS hungry. These seem like they would pack a fat and protein punch.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I do want to say Yay! for a great sounding recipe (other than the pizza dough thingy) and Kudos for recommending Cabot cheese. I’ve had some dealings with their company - super nice people and mighty tasty cheese!
About once a week or so I buy a pound or two of hormone-free ground turkey and make up a batch of sausage using (per pound) 1tsp each sea salt, sage, thyme and 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cayenne. I make it into patties and freeze them to fry up in the mornings with breakfast eggs. I think that just browning up 3/4 lb. of that mix would work just fine for this recipe. What do you think? It doesn’t have to be link sausage does it?
This sounds like a good breakfast idea but also I think we’ll be using it to hand out to kids who need something before afternoon sports activities so they don’t get so famished before dinnertime!
That homemade sausage sounds delicious, Lee - go for it! And I like thinking of these as a “hold me till dinnertime” snack - great idea, thanks. PJH
May 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I’m going to try with our local Portuguese sausgage - Linguica. My son comes home from school Monday and I need to refill the house.
May 15th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
These look yummy……can they be frozen? There are just the two of us and that would be a lot to eat at once. If so before baking or after? and if baking them after they was frozen how long to bake them?
How about bacon, cooked and diced before added them to this?
I make a cheese and garlic biscuit like those ones you get at that famous seafood restaurant, I just kept making them till I got the right taste.
Yes, Kimberly - freeze before baking, then bake frozen. Eyeball them - they’re done when they’re golden brown, which will take a few minutes longer, since they’re frozen. And bacon sounds like a great addition - go for it! - PJH
May 15th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Oh these sound sooooo good! We have a small family; would these freeze well, do you think?
Yes, Peony - freeze BEFORE baking, then bake frozen, just adding a bit more time. They’ll be just fine. PJH
May 15th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Oh–My–Arteries!!! :-O Oh well, all things in moderation.
May 15th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Oh My Goodness!!! From the looks of these, I don’t think I’d be able to eat them in moderation.
My husband would probably have to wrestle me for them!
May 15th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
PJ -
OH MY!!! Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly top yourself I found this! I will be making these early tomorrow morning. And, since I can just about guarantee that they’ll be my new favorite weakness, I’m going to hold you responsible for having to put off my diet for a little while longer. Oh well, life’s too short not to eat fabulous food from the KAF gurus.
Patty
I often use the “life’s too short,” line, Patty - and it’s true! Life’s too short not to enjoy an ice cream cone, chocolate cake… or sausage cheese biscuits. Go for it - PJH
May 15th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Yes this is a keeper for those who haven’t had them. They do
freeze well. We often make double or triple batches in “ball”
form, lay out on cookie sheet, freeze, then pop them in bags
and take out and bake however many you need -as PJH said-just add to baking time. The squares would work the same way. It’s fun to experiment, too. My son’s fav…salsa in the mix…hotter the better:)
Ah, next time I’m adding salsa… thanks for the inspiration, AJ! PJH
May 16th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I made these for breakfast this morning, and they were excellent! Instead of using regular sausage links, I cut up some turkey sausage patties to reduce the calorie count a bit. Yum!!!
May 16th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I don’t have the pizza flavoring. Will they be too bland without it? Is there something else I can/should be adding for flavor? We’ll be trying them tomorrow with turkey sausage either way. I’m sure they will be very flavorful either way. You could add some Parmesan cheese or asiago cheese and some herbs like oregano or basil if you wanted too. Mary @ KAF
May 16th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
OOOOOOHHHHH! I can’t wait to try these! I love savory scones and appreciate your sharing this recipe. Would love to add calamata olives and feta for a mediteranean twist. Love the fact that you can shape & freeze these and bake off as needed - You all rock!
Thanks, Cindy - love how your imagination is already working and changing the recipe - PJH
May 16th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
What a great way to use leftover Saturday breakfast sausage on Sunday morning. I’m thinking of making them a bit larger , splitting them and putting a fried egg in the middle.
Now there’s a sausage, cheese, and EGG biscuit for you - YUM! Thanks, Al - PJH
May 17th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I made what I guess you can call a variation of these biscuits this morning, but also based on a recipe by Marcia Adams from her “Heirloom Recipes” for “Cheese Biscuits.” I would have added the pizza dough flavor if I had thought about it, but instead I used 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. Her recipe called for thyme and rosemary, which didn’t sound appetizing to me, so I left that out. Her recipe (which uses 2 cups of flour not 3), calls for 1-1/2 tablespoons minced onion, and in addition to 1 cup of grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, also 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Instead of buttermilk (or yogurt/sour cream), her recipe called for 1 cup of heavy cream. I was short about 1/3 cup of heavy cream, so made up the balance with half-and-half.
The biscuits turned out great. I think the addition of the minced onions put these over the top (I used dried not fresh onions, by the way). My husband suggested adding cut up pepperoni slices next time. I bet they would be good, especially if I remember the pizza dough flavor . Pizza biscuits!!
Ooooh, Beth - pizza biscuits? You go, girl! PJH
May 17th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
YUM!! I must make these, and soon! Here in NC we have the wonderful Neese’s brand sausage so plan to use this sausage and will cook up some slices and then cut them into smaller pieces. Neese’s Extra Sage sausage would be so good in these! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
May 18th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Make it this weekend & was as easy as it looks. However, I used “regular” supermarket sausage & cheese & I think I’ll up grade the quality of both & might use a apice of two next time, which will be soon.
May 18th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I made this using half the recipe and small pieces of ham steak instead of the sausage, and they came out great. My husband had some for breakfast and I also had a piece. I’m sure that they will be gone by the time I get home from work as that he likes to have a small afternoon snack.
May 18th, 2009 at 10:16 am
We had these for breakfast yesterday. I used bulk turkey sausage and 2% cheddar to cut the fat content a bit. I threw in some parmesan per your suggestion. Everyone at the table was happy with the results. Thanks for a quick and easy breakfast treat!
May 18th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi PJ,
Scones are my favorite things to make. I have tried making them with many different things but never thought about sausage and cheese. How yummy those must be. How lucky am I that I have some sausage meat all cooked and crumbled. I will try these tonight. I make all my scones in the Scone Pan that I bought from King Arthur. I’m sure they will be fine baked in the pan. As always, Thanks for another great idea.
Joyce
May 18th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Those biscuit/scones look delicious ! I am thinking of adding some chopped onion or even green onion to make it even more savory,
do you think that will wiped out the sausage/cheese flavor too much ?
Leaving the butter out is really good , I am counting the calories !!!
I think green onion would be just fine, Bernard - go for it! PJH
May 18th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
These are so good, I’ve made them2x since I read about them here. We all love them here at our house and will be making them fairly often. (Growing teenage boys need their bellies fed)
May 29th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I’ve made Scones like these for years, usually use grated cheese and cooked Jimmy Dean sausage. I’ve even added chopped apple which is yummy.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I’ve also made these scones with chorizo, and also with Italian sausage and substituted a mix of grated mozzarella and romano cheese -they are delish in all variations.
I much prefer parchment to Silpat for most of my baking - Silpats don’t properly brown the bottoms, and are disappointing for anything that is enhanced by a crustier bottom.