What's better than a hot cheesy biscuit straight from the oven? A hot cheesy biscuit with an egg baked right into it! This recipe makes enough to feed six hungry people, so it's perfect for a hearty breakfast or brunch.
- Level: Easy
- Total: 40 min
- Active: 40 min
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and frozen
4 ounces pepper jack cheese, grated
1 small bunch fresh chives, thinly sliced
1 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking sheet
6 round slices Black Forest ham
6 large eggs
Directions
Special equipment:
a 2-inch round cookie cutter- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
- Pulse together the flour, baking powder, sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and pepper in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces form. Add the cheese and chives and pulse until just combined. Add the buttermilk and pulse a couple of times until the dough just comes together but is not fully incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat together gently into a ball. Use your hands to divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Generously coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Using the baking sheet as your work surface, pat each piece of dough into a 3 1/2-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Arrange 3 dough rounds along the top long edge of the baking sheet, spacing them out evenly and making sure there is a 1/2-inch space between the dough rounds and the edges of the baking sheet. Arrange the remaining 3 dough rounds in the same fashion along the bottom long edge of the baking sheet. Cut the center out of each round with a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Arrange these smaller rounds evenly across the middle of the baking sheet.
- Brush the tops of all the dough pieces with buttermilk and bake until the smaller biscuits are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove them and transfer to a plate.
- Lay a piece of ham over each of the large rounds. Push each ham piece down into the hole so that it forms a cup. Crack 1 egg into each of the ham cups. If a little of the egg white spills over, it's okay. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. Bake, rotating the pan front to back after 5 minutes, until the whites are just set and the yolks are still jiggly when you lightly shake the baking sheet, 8 to 12 minutes more.
- Use a spatula to remove them to individual plates and top each with a smaller biscuit piece for dipping into the egg.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)
