sourdough biscuits with cheese

Looking for a spur-of-the-moment and maximally simple recipe to make use of the excess sourdough starter I was about to discard I found this recipe for Amish sourdough biscuits. Thinking I'd make them less simple -- perhaps more of a Mennonite sourdough biscuit -- I added some cheese.

At first I thought I'd use Parmigiano, then thought cheddar would be fine, then realized that the cheese drawer was still clotted with Mini Babybels.

I bought a bag thinking that they would be a fun and tasty snack for the boys. Well, half right. They do enjoy opening the wax casing. Too bad they don't like the contents. I coarsely grated four of them and modified the recipe as I saw fit:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the starter and oil. Fold in the cheese. Mix in the baking soda. Add the flour and mix well. Drop ping pong ball sized globs onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes about 16 biscuits.

The boys loved them. They are very light and subtly cheesy. This is a fairly salty and mildly sour semisoft cheese, so I reduced the oil and omitted the salt from the original. I can imagine some people wanting the salt back in. This is a great use for the starter you're about to pour down the sink or into the food scrap bin.