Tangy Chèvre Biscuits with Lemon and Fresh Thyme

SHARED BY Holly Aker, founder of Local Goods Gathered and Broken Arrow Restaurant in Portland is also the President of the Maine Cheese Guild. The Maine Cheese Guild is the oldest of the American Cheesemaker Guilds, founded as an education focused not-for-profit in 2003 to support and encourage the Maine cheese making community.

INGREDIENTS

•2 cups of flour

•1 tablespoon of baking powder

•1 teaspoon of salt

•1 tablespoon of sugar

•2 tablespoons of fresh thyme

•2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

•6 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter

•4 ounces of fresh Maine goat cheese

•3/4 cup of milk

Tip: Holly topped her flaky biscuit with a dollop of goat cheese and a drizzle of Maine honey. You could also try lemon curd or chèvre whipped cream!

DIRECTIONS

• Heat your oven to 450ºF. Cut the butter into small cubes and put it back in the freezer while preparing the dry ingredients.

• Mix the dry ingredients and thyme together.

• Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until well blended, the butter should be the size of a pea.

• Add in the goat cheese and the lemon juice and stir until incorporated evenly in the mixture. Mixture should be crumbly and you should visibly see chunks of butter and goat cheese.

• Finally add very cold milk and blend into the mix to incorporate all the dry ingredients into an even mixture. Do not over mix. You want to keep the small bits of butter throughout the dough.

• Gather up the dough and drop onto a clean dry surface. Using the palm of your hand push out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the rectangle into thirds and layer on top of each other. You can gently press the rectangles together but you do not want them to be completely incorporated. This will help your biscuits have nice flaky layers.

• Cut into squares or rounds about 2 inches across.

• Place on a baking sheet close to each other but not touching.

• Bake on the center rack for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top.