The fourth annual International Biscuit Festival was held a few weeks ago in downtown Knoxville. Over 20,000 folks meandered around Market Street and Krutch Park sampling twenty varieties of biscuits from participants such as Southern Living and Rel Maples Institute of Culinary Arts to Pillsbury. There were many types of biscuits ranging from the deep fried to smothered in gravy.
This year’s event marked the first time we entered the festival. Flour Head Bakery made a Sweetwater Valley Farm Smoked Cheddar and Onion Biscuit Pie. And, we’re proud to say Mahasti took second place in this year’s competition for her creation. The response was overwhelmingly positive and many of you have asked for the recipe. We’re happy to now share our winning recipe with you.
As always, share your results with us on Twitter and Facebook. Enjoy!
For the biscuit:
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tbl sugar
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ stick unsalted butter
¾ cup buttermilk
In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. Cut butter into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or 2 knives. Stir in buttermilk until a soft dough forms. Pat dough down into a greased 11 inch pie dish. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
For the topping:
2 cups sliced onion
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 ½ cup heavy cream
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup Sweetwater Valley smoked cheddar cheese, shredded.
Cook onions in ¼ cup of vegetable oil over medium heat stirring occasionally until caramelized about 8- 10 minutes. Add heavy cream to pan and cook until cream thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
Melt ¼ cup butter over low heat. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter. Set aside.
To assemble pie:
Spread onion mixture over biscuit. Cover with shredded cheese followed by bread crumbs. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 – 12 minutes, until golden brown and cheese has melted. Serve with a side salad as a meal, or as a side dish with chicken or steak.
Serves 6 – 8
(Photo courtesy of Kara and Remington Brown from http://www.kandradventures.com/)
