Country ham biscuit bites with cheese

Buttermilk biscuits and salty country ham are a match made in heaven. Kick it up a notch by incorporating the ham directly into the biscuit and adding a layer of cheese.

My love for biscuits is well documented (13 recipes on The Runaway Spoon at last count), and my love of country ham equally evident when you peruse my recipes. I have always enjoyed a warm, buttery biscuit with a slice of salty country ham tucked inside, so the next logical step seemed to be incorporating the ham directly into the biscuit. And these are heavenly morsels of Southern flavor.

Cut into small biscuits, these little rounds make a wonderful brunch bite or party snack with their cheesy filling. But they are just good biscuits, so use them how you will. Cut them large and serve with butter or gravy for breakfast, or spread a little mustard instead of butter before you melt the cheese.

I buy already ground country ham, sometimes online and sometimes I find it at local markets. If you can’t find it, grind some country ham slices in a food processor until you have a crumbly mixture, but not a paste. To add the delicious, melty center, I use thick cut sandwich slices of sharp cheddar cheese for ease, but feel free to cut slices from a block.

Country ham biscuit bites with cheese
Makes about 2 dozen 2-inch biscuits 

2-1/2 cups soft wheat flour (such as White Lily)

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes

4 ounces ground country ham

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup buttermilk

14 thick slices cheddar cheese

softened butter for spreading

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Shuffle the butter cubes into the flour, then crumble in the country ham. Beat on low speed until the butter and ham and mixed in and the mixture looks damp and crumbly. Add the mustard, and with the beater moving, slowly pour in the buttermilk. Beat just until the dough comes together. Knead the dough a few times in the bowl to get all the flour worked in. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a round 1/2-inch thick. Press a 2-inch biscuit cutter into the dough and lift out. Do not twist or the biscuits won’t be as tall.  Place the biscuits tightly together in the prepared pans.

Bake the biscuits for 10 to 12 minutes or just until firm to the touch. Remove to a wire rack until they are cool enough to handle. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. When the baking pans have cooled, spray them with cooking spray again.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut rounds of cheese the same size as your biscuits. When the biscuits are cool enough to handle, carefully slice them open and spread both sides with a little soft butter. Place a piece of cheese in the center, close the biscuit up and tuck back into the baking pans. Spread a little butter on the top of the biscuits. Cover the pans tightly with foil and place back in the oven for about 5 to 8 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately

To make these biscuits ahead, here are a couple of options. Freeze the dough rounds on a waxed paper lined baking sheet until hard, then transfer to zip-top bags. Bake from frozen, increasing the cooking time slightly. You can also bake the biscuits, add the butter and cheese, cover and refrigerate for several hours before the final baking, again increasing the cooking time slightly.