Okay lets agree the name of this recipe is a bit of a mouthful and its not particularly elegant either, but there’s really nothing else to call it. I love an everything bagel, with its pungent garlic and onion, but I don’t always have time to whip up a batch of bagels. When the craving for that flavour hits but the time doesn’t permit these biscuits are the perfect thing. I wanted to replicate the bagel flavouring a little more than just sprinkling on the everything seasoning so the dough has two extra additions, cream cheese and chives, both helping with the bagel illusion. The cream cheese adds flavour, obviously, but it also adds tenderness, as unlike butter the water content in the cheese doesn’t really evaporate, giving flakiness, the fat melts into the dough instead. For the big punch of flavouring though I was recently given a couple jars of Trader Jo’s ‘Everything Bagel Seasoning’ and this is what I used, but for those of you not in the US I have also given a recipe for a homemade version. Whilst I love these biscuits on their own, simply split and slathered with plenty of butter, these would make the most delicious breakfast sandwiches filled with scrambled egg, bacon and cheese. In fact, since I am writing this at 8am on a Saturday morning, maybe that’s what I should make for breakfast today!

'Everything Bagel’ Buttermilk Biscuits
65g salted butter, diced and frozen, plus a little extra for glazing
65g cream cheese, chilled
350g self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp finely chopped chives
200ml buttermilk
1 large egg yolk, for egg wash
2-3 tbsp everything bagel seasoning (see recipe below)

Everything Bagel Seasoning
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp dried minced garlic
1 tbsp dried minced onion
2 tsp flaked sea salt

For the everything bagel seasoning mix everything and store in a small jar. It can be used in a whole host of recipes or used as a finishing spice, used to spinkle over dishes like fried eggs, in a salad, on vegetables or even on fries. I tend to use it simply for making bagels or other bread like dishes.

To make the biscuits place the flour and baking soda into a large bowl and mix together. Add the cream cheese and use a rounded blade knife to cut the cheese into the flour, until it is smaller pieces. To rub the cheese fully into the flour you make need to get your hands involved and finish it off manually. Once the cream cheese has all but disappeared into the flour add the diced butter and toss to coat in the flour. Use your fingertips to rub the butter briefly into the flour until the butter is in large flat flakes. Place the bowl into the freezer for 15 minutes or until the butter is solid. Remove the bowl from the freezer and drizzle in the buttermilk a little bit at a time, using the knife to stir to combine. Once all the buttermilk has been added you should have a shaggy dough.

Tip the dough out onto a well floured worksurface and use your hands to bring the dough together, using a folding motion to make sure there are no dry pockets. Roll the dough out into a rectangle that is roughly 20cm x 50cm and fold the dough in thirds, as if your folding a letter. Turn the dough so the folds are facing you and repeat the rolling and folding a second time. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined baking tray and place into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill briefly.

Remove the dough from the fridge and on a well floured worksurface roll the dough out until it is about 1 inch thick. Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter, which has been dipped in flour, cut out as many biscuits as possible. It is best to use a firm downward pressure, avoiding any twisting as you cut the biscuits, which can inhibit the rise of the biscuits. Place the biscuits onto a parchment lined baking tray, nice and close together so they are almost touching. Contrary to what you might think we want them close together as they because the steam released hits the biscuits next to them and helps prevent the biscuits from setting before they’ve fully risen (in a very similar way to how a lot of breads are baked).

You can press the scraps together and cut out more but I don’t like to do this more than once otherwise the biscuits will end up being tough. Brush the tops of the finished biscuits with the egg yolk and sprinkle liberally with the everything seasoning. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool a little before serving warm.