These biscuits hit you with buttery layers, bold Hatch chile heat, and melty cheddar—breakfast, snack time, or dinner side—we’re doing biscuits with purpose.
What Are Hatch Peppers?
Hatch chiles come from New Mexico’s Hatch Valley. They’re mild-to-medium heat, smoky, vegetal, and dynamic. When roasted, skin blisters, flesh softens, and the flavor goes beyond spicy. They’re a culinary magnet for power-packed baking. Use fresh Hatch if you can; roasted and frozen work fine too. No Hatch? Use poblano or Anaheim—but you’re settling for second place.
Tips for How to Make Biscuits
- Keep everything cold. Flour, butter, buttermilk, even your bowl—cold = layered, flaky rise.
- Butter chunks = texture. Leave pea-sized butter pieces for pockets of steam-lift.
- Don’t twist the cutter. Press straight down and lift—twisting seals edges, blocking rise.
- Chill before bake. 15 minutes in the fridge helps biscuits hold shape and improves lift.
- Bake on preheated sheet or stone. Brown bottom = crisp base.
- Butter post-bake. Brushed butter = sheen, soft crust, irresistible taste.
- Adjust heat tolerance. Hatch vary in spice—start mild, taste, add more if needed.
Recipe Card
- Recipe name: Hatch Cheddar Biscuits
- Summary: Flaky cheddar biscuits infused with smoky Hatch chiles—bold, buttery, and packing flavor from breakfast through dinner.
- Prep time: 20 min (hands-on)
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Additional time: 15 min chilling
- Total time: ~50 minutes
- Servings: 8 biscuits
- Diet: Vegetarian
- Method: Cold bake → Roll → Chill → Bake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup (113g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup (115g) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2–1 cup chopped roasted Hatch chiles (seeded, adjust heat)
- 1 cup cold buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp melted butter, for brushing
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat & Preheat
Heat oven to 425°F. Place a baking sheet or stone in for even browning—biscuits love hot surfaces.
Step 2: Dry Mix
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until uniform.
Step 3: Cut in Butter
Add cold cubes of butter. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work butter into flour until pea-sized clumps form. Don’t overwork—some chunks = flaky layers.
Step 4: Add Cheddar & Hatch
Toss in shredded cheddar and chopped Hatch chiles. Toss to coat with flour mixture so they distribute evenly.
Step 5: Buttermilk
Make a well in center, pour in cold buttermilk. Stir just until dough comes together—shaggy and wet, no dry pockets. Overmix = tough biscuits.
Step 6: Turn & Fold
Turn dough onto floured surface. Gently pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold it over itself 3–4 times—this builds layers without kneading. Pat again to 1-inch thickness.
Step 7: Cut
Flour your cutter (3-inch round or biscuit cutter). Press straight down without twisting. Reform scraps, pat to ¾–1″ thick and cut again.
Step 8: Chill Before Bake
Transfer biscuits on parchment tangentially, close but not touching. Chill 15 minutes in fridge—it firm ups and improves rise.
Step 9: Bake
Place sheet on oven rack. Bake 15 minutes, until tops are golden and bottoms crisp. Rotate pan halfway for even browning.
Step 10: Butter Finish
Remove from oven, brush tops with melted butter. This boosts flavor and keeps crust tender. Serve warm.
Notes
- Check your heat: Hatch peppers vary—from mild-ish to rotary-mouth intense. Taste as you go.
- Biscuit size: 3-inch cutter = 8 biscuits. Want smaller? Use 2.5-inch for 10+ biscuits—reduce bake to 12 minutes.
- Cheese help: Grate it fresh for best melt and flavor. Pre-shredded = coated in potato starch; works okay, but freshly shredded is next level.
- Butter cubes: Should be cold—not melted, not soft.
- Extra flavor layer: Add scallions or minced chives at the cheese stage for green flavor pop.
Storage & Reheat
- Room temp: Airtight for 2 days—texture best day 1.
- Freeze: Cool, wrap individually in foil+bag. Freeze up to 3 months.
- Reheat: 350°F oven 8–10 minutes from room-temp or 12–15 from frozen—keep foil loosely to warm through without scorching top.
Troubleshooting
- Flat biscuits: Probably cutter-twist = sealed edges or no chill. Don’t twist, chill before bake.
- Dry/crumbly: Over-rolled, too much flour, too baked time. Reduce flour or bake 1–2 min less.
- Gummy bottoms: Sheet too cool? Bake on stone or preheated tray only.
- Spice too much/too little: Batch test a small biscuit—or roast chiles ahead and scale heat by taste.
Final Bite
These Hatch Cheddar Biscuits aren’t mere sides. They’re flavor bombs—cheddar, chile, butter, and layers of flaky dough that burst. You put in the time (even if it’s only 50 minutes). You handled temperature. You used real ingredients, not powders. You created biscuits that deserve a slow-drip cup of coffee or the next-level dinner plate.
These biscuits aren’t just baked—they’re executed. Eat them warm, split them open, slathered in compound butter or with eggs. Or just eat them plain and let flavor flex.
Want more unapologetically flavourful, technique-slick recipes to wow your audience? Email me at [email protected], and let me know what you’re craving next—cornbread? drop biscuits? artisan rolls? I’m ready.
