French Onion Biscuits

Chill the Ingredients!

1. One to two hours before making the biscuits, place the stick of butter, the gruyere cheese and the bowl in the freezer.
2. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, as your biscuits might not rise if your ingredients are not cold.

Caramelize the Onion

1. Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, slice the onion very thin.
2. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Pour in the olive oil, too, until the fats have combined.
3. Add the onion to the skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 20-30 minutes, or until the onion has browned and caramelized.
4. Pour in the beef stock, and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook until the stock has soaked completely into the onions.
5. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme, then remove from the heat.
6. Transfer the cooked onions to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so that they are not warm when they go into the biscuit batter.

Make the Biscuits

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet, and set aside.
2. Grate the 6 tablespoons of butter using a cheese grater, and transfer back to the freezer until it’s time to use.
3. In the chilled bowl, combine the dry ingredients—the flour, the sugar, the baking powder and the fresh thyme. Whisk until combined.
4. Add the chilled butter, completely cool caramelized onions and shredded gruyere cheese. Using a plastic spatula, fold the ingredients into the dry ingredients.
5. Pour in the milk and beef stock, and stir using the spatula.
6. Turn the biscuit batter out onto a floured surface, and knead until combined. (You don’t want to knead this for a long time. Just press the dough together until no scraps remain, moving quickly so the ingredients don’t get warm, and shape into a 1” tall rectangle.)
7. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits. (I like my 1 ½” biscuit cutter for these, as these biscuits are super savory, but you can use any size you’d like.)
8. Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet. When the rectangle is just scraps, reshape the dough into another rectangle and cut more. Repeat until all the dough has been cut and placed on the baking sheet.
9. Transfer the biscuits into the freezer, and freeze for 20 minutes. (This step will help ensure your biscuits don’t spread!)
10. While the biscuits chill, preheat the oven to 450°F. (Make sure that the oven completes it’s preheat before the biscuits go into it, as a hot enough oven is imperative for fluffy, tall biscuits!)
11. Once the biscuits have chilled for the allotted amount of time, remove from the freezer. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown.
12. Let cool, then enjoy!