Cheesy Ham Biscuits
Leftover ham? No problem! These Cheesy Ham Biscuits are studded with chunks of ham and cheese…and they’re delicious!
This Cheesy Ham Biscuits post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
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March is always the hardest month for me in terms of weather. By the end of March, I’m usually done with Old Man Winter. He’s a nice guy and all, and I do love curling during the winter months…but I need some warm sunshine for a change. I need to be able to go outside without bundling up in 2 coats, gloves and 3 hats. Ok, maybe the 3 hats is a bit excessive. You get the point, though. Spring is around the corner, and I’m very happy about it!
As much as I love the return of Spring, I don’t look forward to the return of dandelions. Dandelions. Weeds. I spend the better part of 6 weeks trying to clear them from my yard. I suspect I’m not the only one. Who else out there wages war on dandelions each year?
Did you know that the dandelion isn’t native to North America? Nope, German settlers intentionally brought this “plant” (*ahem* weed) to America. And Spanish settlers intentionally brought dandelions to Mexico. Dandelions have a long history as a medicinal plant, so the colonists brought them along in an effort to cure all sorts of diseases. Dandelion plants have been said to cure eczema, warts, stomach aches, high blood pressure and even snakebites. And if you don’t have enough dandelions in your front yard, you can buy bunches of dandelion greens in some grocery stores. I’ll pass. I have plenty in my front yard.
In addition to warm days and dandelions, the return of Spring also means ham. Growing up, my family always had ham for Easter, and we always (always) had leftover ham once the Easter Bunny was gone. In fact, I look forward to leftover ham sandwiches more than the actual ham itself. (The same thing happens at Thanksgiving with leftover turkey sandwiches. Yum!) This year, I channeled those ham sandwiches…but with a twist. Cheesy Ham Biscuits.
Cheesy Ham Biscuits
These buttery, delicious biscuits are studded throughout with bits of cheese and smoked ham. Holy cow are these tasty! As a kid, my mother would make cheesy ham biscuits by cutting a biscuit in half and adding sliced cheese and ham. I put a twist on the concept by using the same flavors, but incorporating the ingredients into the biscuit dough itself. These biscuits were a huge hit! They’re perfect as a side dish with a late-season bowl of soup. They’re perfect as a snack by themselves. Heck, these would be perfect as a sandwich. Perhaps as an egg sandwich for a weekend brunch?
I love Cabot cheese. Cabot Creamery is a co-op owned by farm families throughout New York, Vermont and New England. The farmers who own Cabot Creamery are literally in our community – that’s pretty cool! We always keep several varieties of Cabot cheeses in our fridge, so I’m set when it comes to both baking and snacking.
Did you know that Cabot makes butter, too? Their butter is amazing! It’s rich, creamy and perfect for baking a batch of these Cheesy Ham Biscuits. In fact, Cabot Unsalted Butter won first place at the 2019 US Championship Cheese Contest – that’s saying something right there! I used Cabot Unsalted Butter for these biscuits, and I typically use unsalted butter whenever baking. However, I keep salted butter around for other purposes, like making grilled cheese sammiches on the weekends!
Of course, I used Cabot cheddar cheese for these biscuits, too. I went with my favorite – Cabot Seriously Sharp – but feel free to use other cheeses here, too. Cabot makes a delicious Pepper Jack cheese, and I suspect that would be delicious for these biscuits if you like a bit of a spicy kick. (Click here to find which stores in your area carry Cabot products.)
If you find yourself with leftover ham after Easter, then put these Cheesy Ham Biscuits on the menu. A good homemade buttermilk biscuit is almost impossible to beat…especially when you add chunks of cheddar cheese and smoked ham. Happy Spring, everyone!
Did you make a batch of these Cheesy Ham Biscuits at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Cheesy Ham Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup Cabot Unsalted Butter cold
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 cups cooked ham cut into ½” cubes (see note)
- 1 cup Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese cut into ¼” cubes
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set pan aside.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, sugar, thyme, salt, baking powder and baking soda; stir until well combined.
- Cut butter into ½” cubes and add to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter (or two table knives) cut in butter until it’s the size of small peas.
- Add buttermilk, ham and cheese; stir until well combined. (Note: The dough should be somewhat shaggy at this point. If there are still bits of unincorporated flour, add a tablespoon of water to the dough.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into an 8”x8” square. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces; stack each piece on top of themselves. Roll into a rectangle again. Repeat process 2 more times.
- Roll dough into an 8”x8” square. Using a 2½” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, press down without twisting cutter. Place biscuits 2” apart on prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps as needed until all dough has been used.
- Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp of water; brush egg wash on top of biscuits.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown in color.
Notes
Looking for more tasty cheesy recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
I’m with you on being ready for warmer weather – we had 2 inches of snow last Sunday, but it’s nearly 70 today. So maybe we’re getting there??
Fascinating history about dandelions – I had no idea.
And these biscuits! So perfect for Easter brunch this Sunday. They look decadent delicious!
Ok, so the 2″ of snow? What the heck? I mean we’ve had snow in April here, too, but it always annoys me! At least it warmed right back up to 70. That’s awesome weather!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Marissa. Hope you have a great rest of the week and Happy Easter! 🙂
ooh such delicious looking scones. a good use for your leftover ham indeed. Easter will be a very quiet one this year. the grocery stores had heaps and heaps of bunnies and eggs just sitting on the shelves this year. the pile never seemed to diminish. maybe now it is almost easter? have a good one. cheers sherry
You’re right indeed, Sherry. Easter is going to be so quiet this year. Usually Laura’s parents come up to visit, and we all enjoy the great Easter egg hunt in the backyard with Robbie. This year they are staying home. We’ll still have fun, and we’ll still have delicious eats (like these biscuits/scones), but it’ll be sad to not have family around. Hope you guys are staying safe!!
Oh my gosh, I haven’t made biscuits in way too long. These sound delicious! Any time I can pack cheese into my baked goods I’m very happy 🙂
Kelsie, you have one job for your homework assignment – make biscuits. 🙂 Cheesy biscuits are the best, right??
Oh, these look great! Anything with that classic cheese and ham combo, and I am in! This will be perfect to use up leftover ham.
Thanks so much, Alex! I’m with ya on the cheese and ham combo. I had a blast combining those flavors into these biscuits…and lemme tell ya, these are delicious! 🙂
Oh those dandelions bother me too! Don’t like to see any popping up, lol! Now, this biscuits? Cheese and ham and a buttery biscuit? What’s not to love! I could legit make a whole meal out of these and be quite happy. Bet these are also amazing with a generous smear of butter 😉 Have a great weekend ahead, David!
Don’t even get me started on those dandelions – ugh! But cheesy ham biscuits? Now that’s something I could talk about all day. Hah! These biscuits truly are a meal in and of themselves. I took a double batch out on a guys’ weekend trip (prior to the epidemic) and they didn’t make it very long! Hope you have a great weekend ahead, too, Dawn! (Yay, weekends!)
Those biscuits look amazing! I just pulled a huge ham out of our freezer that I’ll be making for Easter. We are going to have tons of leftover ham because it’s just us this year – no extended family or friends. We are keeping the distance right now to keep everyone healthy. These biscuits will be on my list to make with some of those leftovers!
Yeah, Easter is totally weird this year. Laura’s parents should be here right now, but they’ve stayed home. We’re still going to do an Easter egg hunt for Robbie, but it just won’t be quite the same. Either way, you should totally make some of these biscuits with that leftover ham. They’re SO good, Kathy!!
These look really tasty, David. A very happy Easter to you and yours.
Thanks so much, Frank! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter as well. 🙂
Can’t complain about the weather here because LA is finally getting the rain it needs. That said, we all do love warm weather. 🙂 I saw this recipe of yours on Instagram (or FB?) and wanted to grab one of them off the screen. So delicious sounding. Happy Easter. ~Valentina
Thank you so much, Valentina! These biscuits turned out amazingly well. They had SO much flavor packed into each bite. Glad to hear you guys are getting the much-needed rain out there in LA. It’s another rainy day here, too, but you know what they say – April showers bring May flowers…and more cookies. 🙂
I made the ham and cheese biscuits, I was a little leery about the cup of butter, which is way beyond the usual ratio of 3/2/1 for biscuits, but put it all in anyway. From the look of the amount of the butter left under the parchment paper, I decided to cut it back next time. So I made them again with 2/3 cup butter, and cut the ham back to 1 cup and cheese to 1/2 cup, this was much better, still had ham and cheese goodness, but more biscuit in between. Yay for Cabot cheese! I do cow breeding for a local Cabot farmer, so always have Cabot cheese and butter in the fridge.
I have to say that this is the first time I have been on a website where I printed out so many recipes to try! Anxious to try the Tiramisu cheesecake! The garlic Parmesan pasta was excellent with the Parmesan monkey bread!
Hey Barb! Thanks so much for stopping by. I agree that the ratio is a little different than the classic 3/2/1 ratio…but it produces one heck of an amazing biscuit! I appreciate you sharing that feedback on the slightly different version. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
In other news, that’s awesome that you do cow breeding for a local Cabot farmer. I’ve met quite a few Cabot farmers over the years, and they’re all such amazing folks! 🙂
These look amazing! Do they freeze well?
Thank you so much, Lisa! Yes, these biscuits do freeze well. I’d recommend putting them in an airtight container – we used a ziptop bag. Of course they didn’t stay in the freezer for long! 🙂 I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!!
We always have a ton of dandelions in our yard too. I never knew that the dandelions were not native plants, very interesting. These cheesy and biscuits look amazing. Yum!
Yup, I found that dandelion background quite interesting, too, Dawn. Who would’ve thought our ancestors used to cultivate them?! Now I do everything I can to get rid of ’em. Thanks so much for the kind words about the biscuits, too. This recipe is a keeper for sure! 🙂
Hmmm, I have a “tube” of the pillsbury buttermilk bisciuts that I use for “meat cupcakes. I wonder if I could make an opening halfway down and stuff it with ham and cheese, reseal it and bake. I know making your own biscuits would be better and I will definitely try it, but, this would be a fun experiment. These days, I think being creative with ingredients is a fun challenge…
You know, I think that might just work, Karleen! I’ve made a similar monkey bread using canned biscuits, so I think you’re onto something there. I agree that coming up with creative ways to use ingredients is fun these days. It’s crazy out there, and we’re going nuts cooped up in the house…but at least we’ve got fun baking projects to keep us going, right? I highly recommend making these biscuits. Let me know how the canned version turns out? 🙂
My husband is just like you and likes leftover ham sandwiches more than the actual ham itself so he would love these biscuits.
Awesome! Based on this comment and previous ones, I’m pretty sure your husband and I would be fast friends in the food department! 🙂 Of course, how can you beat cheesy biscuits stuffed with ham? These are delicious! Thanks, Karen!
Hi David
Can I omit the ham in this recipe, if so, do I have to do any adjustments to the recipe to compensate for the ham.
Hey Jackie! You may absolutely omit the ham here. I’ve made this exact recipe using just the cheese, and it turns out quite well. I hope you enjoy these biscuits as much as we do! 🙂