Keto Cheddar Biscuits

Readers of Kitchen Tapestry, both of them, may recall me promoting cheddar biscuits as an accompaniment to such dishes as Shrimp Étouffée Over Cheesy Biscuits, found here, and Crock Pot Beef Stew, located here.  Specifically, I touted a commercially prepared product by a national restaurant chain, Red Lobster.  The last time I ate at a Red Lobster was in the mid 1990s and then, only because a hotel I supervised in Beaumont, Texas had leased out space to one and I felt politically obliged to dine there. 

I am not a fan of corporately run, publicly traded, nationally advertised, branded restaurant chains whose menus are created in a bunker-style test kitchen by a cabal of food scientists, nutritionists, food stylists and culinary school graduates with soulless eyes and black hearts. That isn't what the culinary arts are all about.  But Red Lobster does make a damn good signature cheddar biscuit and their marketing folks had the wherewithal to commercially produce the boxed ingredients to promote the brand and allow you to make them at home.  And I was fine with that.  Except that, if you're wanting to limit your carb and calorie intake, they're not exactly a wise menu choice.

I found a Keto-friendly version on a website called The Girl Who Ate Everything. To say that I was dubious that the Red Lobster version of a cheddar biscuit could be recreated without flour would be an understatement.

I was as wrong as I was amazed.  My Number One Fan and I were stunned these biscuits, which are grain-free and low carb, tasted very nearly the same as the original Red Lobster version.  The only variation in the recipe was that at my high altitude, and because I made my biscuits a little larger, they took an additional 4 minutes to finish baking.

Ingredients
For the Biscuits
2 extra-large eggs
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond flour (like, Bob's Red Mill Super Fine)
1/2 tsp baking powder (like, Clabber Girl)
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (like, Kraft or Sargento)

Ingredients
For the Butter Topping
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp fine sea salt

The Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees with a rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In one mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder and sea salt.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and melted butter.  Blend well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well with the whisk.  The mixture will be wet and a little runny at this point.

Add the cheddar cheese and stir in with a spoon.  The batter will come together at this point and no longer be runny.  If it still is a little too wet, just add another teaspoon or two of almond flour, but I didn't need to do this.

Drop the batter into dollops onto the parchment lined sheet pan or cookie sheet.  The original recipe was to make ten biscuits, but I like a larger biscuit and made eight.

Pop the sheet pan or cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from the oven when the biscuits begin to turn golden brown.  At my altitude (above 5,000 feet) and because I made eight biscuits, not ten, I baked a total 18 minutes.

While the biscuits are baking, combine the melted butter, garlic powder, dried parsley and sea salt.  When the biscuits come out of the oven, use a basting brush to slather on the butter topping.  Serve immediately.

The biscuits will keep a couple of days without any deterioration, but make sure they are completely cooled, placed in a zip lock plastic bag and refrigerated.  When it comes time to put them back on the menu, place them wrapped in a paper towel or paper napkin and zap in your microwave on high for 10-15 seconds.