Cheddar Corn Biscuits

Marcus gave his TEDx talk. "The Kitchen as Classroom." He stood on a stage in his magnet school auditorium and he talked about Mama. About the Folgers can. About Set the Table. About a woman who died on Easter Sunday and told her daughter not to stop cooking and the daughter didn't stop and the cooking became a program and the program became a movement and the movement started in a kitchen with six girls and scrambled eggs. He talked about Isaiah's collard greens. About Jasmine's cornbread. About Destiny at culinary school. About a table that seats eight and a line that runs from rural Alabama through Cascade Heights through a church kitchen to every girl who ever held a spatula and said "I made this."

He was magnificent. He spoke for twelve minutes without notes. He argued the way he argues in debate — with evidence and passion and the controlled fire that makes judges lean forward and audiences hold their breath. He ended with: "My grandmother taught my mother. My mother taught me. I will teach someone. The kitchen is not a room. It is a relay race. And the baton is a spatula." The audience stood. I was in the front row. I was crying. Derek was crying. Curtis was not crying (Curtis does not cry in public). But his hands were gripping the armrests. The hands were crying. The rest of Curtis was maintaining. The TEDx talk went on YouTube. It has three thousand views and counting. My son. Mama's grandson. Standing on a stage with no notes, talking about a Folgers can, changing the argument about what kitchens are for.

Marcus talked about Jasmine’s cornbread on that stage — said it like it was scripture, because in our kitchen it is. When we got home that night, after the standing ovation and the YouTube upload and Derek and I sitting at the kitchen table just looking at each other, I didn’t want anything complicated. I wanted something that tasted like everything Marcus had just described: corn and warmth and hands that know what they’re doing. These Cheddar Corn Biscuits are the closest thing I have to Jasmine’s cornbread in biscuit form — the kind of thing you make when the kitchen needs to feel like the classroom again, and the lesson is simply that we are still here, still cooking, still passing it on.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 12 biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 tablespoon honey (optional, for a touch of sweetness)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper until evenly combined.
Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbles with pea-sized pieces remaining. Do not overwork — those cold butter pockets are what make the biscuits flaky.
Add the cheese. Stir in the shredded cheddar until distributed throughout the mixture.
Add the buttermilk. Pour in the cold buttermilk (and honey, if using) and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together. It will be shaggy — that is exactly right. Do not overmix.
Shape and cut. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat it to about 3/4-inch thickness. Use a 2-inch round biscuit cutter (or the rim of a glass) to cut out biscuits, pressing straight down without twisting. Gather scraps, pat again, and cut remaining biscuits.
Bake. Arrange biscuits on the prepared baking sheet so they are just touching. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden and the edges are set.
Serve warm. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve while still warm. Butter optional. Joy mandatory.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheddar Corn Biscuits — The Baton Is a Spatula