Sunday Brunch - Scrambled Pepper Jack Eggs, Sausage & Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits

Happy Sunday! This morning we slept in late. We awoke to a bright and sunny morning, although there are clouds that float by on and off. Unfortunately, it is oppressively humid...almost sauna-like. I made a big Sunday brunch late this morning and we ate around lunch time. It has been a while since I've made my biscuits. I have several biscuit recipes and I was torn between making my Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits and my Buttermilk Biscuits. I decided on the cheddar-black pepper version. They are SO easy to make. I usually make the dough and then roll scoops of dough in my hands to place on the baking sheet. I decided there must be a less messy way than getting dough on my hands so I rummaged through my gadget drawer and grabbed my 3-tablespoon size scoop. It worked like a dream. I proceeded to scoop out 12 beautiful balls of biscuit dough. The dough balls get baked without any flattening. They stay thicker that way. These are some of my absolute favorite biscuits...and that includes the regular kind as well as the grain free kind. They are buttery, cheesy, and I love the little burst of black pepper flavor. If you don't like black pepper, you can easily omit it. 

While the biscuits were baking, I diced some Cabot pepper jack cheese to make scrambled pepper-jack eggs for brunch. It is some of the best pepper jack cheese I have ever eaten. I buy it in large blocks at Costco, but you can find it in smaller sizes at many regular grocery stores. I cracked the eggs and rinsed some fresh strawberries and blueberries. I started browning some Applegate chicken sausage links. I've used both their chicken apple and chicken maple flavor. They are nitrate and nitrite free and I really like them. As soon as the biscuits came out of the oven I scrambled the eggs and "Voila"...we were having a beautiful and delicious brunch in no time. When I went low carb and grain free over 2 years ago, I never ever thought that I would be eating a breakfast or brunch like this again...surely not one that included BISCUITS! Even my hubby, who is not grain free, enjoyed our brunch. He actually ate 2 biscuits with his meal. I snapped some photos below as well as included the recipe for my biscuits and some step-by-step photos of what the dough looks like at various stages. Enjoy!

Flour, butter, egg, half of the cheese (salt, pepper & baking powder) cut in making a crumbly dough

Cream and remaining cheese added; ready to stir in

Final dough is ready to be scooped onto the baking sheet

Scooped into dough balls and ready to bake

Fresh out of the oven...cooling a bit on the rack

Easy Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour
3 tablespoons "cold" butter, diced
1 large egg (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)
1 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup heavy cream 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a baking pan or line with non-stick foil or parchment paper.  

In a medium bowl, add almond flour, butter, egg, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, salt, black pepper, and baking powder. Cut in with a pastry cutter/dough blender until crumbly and all flour is slightly moistened and cheese is pulverized into the mixture. 

Stir in cream and remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese; mix in lightly until dough forms. Use a 3-tablespoon retractable scoop to make 12 even sized biscuits or divide and roll dough into 10 to 12 balls and place on prepared baking pan. Do not flatten dough balls (this will result in a thicker biscuit).  

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown; careful not to overcook. Remove from oven; brush tops with melted butter, if desired. Cool about 5 minutes or so (they are fragile when hot out of the oven).