I should have done this ages ago: easy cheddar-chive biscuits

I lived in Tennessee for eleven years, so I got used to good biscuits. I also became very fond of biscuits and gravy, which I originally thought looked gross, but once I tried it, damn! I was hooked. My uncle up in Massachusetts just discovered them so we were able to share that in a recent conversation.

I made chili recently, and I'd had it on some rice, and I had it over spaghetti, and it occurred to me that cheddar biscuits might go well. Everyone's stress baking, but these wouldn't need yeast, just baking powder and baking soda, which were available. 

So I found a recipe with two delightful shortcuts. First, instead of buying buttermilk, you can make your own--the info is on the recipe link, but I thought I'd copy it here.

Place 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Fill with milk to measure 1 cup and stir well. Allow mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. The mixture may curdle a bit, that’s okay!

The other shortcut is to stick the buttermilk in the freezer for a bit, and melt the butter in the microwave. When you add melted butter to the very cold buttermilk, you instantly get little globs of butter that will be evenly distributed.

The rest is easy:

• 1 cup cold buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons butter plus one more for brushing
• 2 cups all-purpose flour more for counter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely sliced fresh chives extra for garnish, if desired

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F. Line a  sheet pan with parchment paper or spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.

2. Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place the cup in the freezer while prepping other ingredients (you want it to be in the freezer about 10 minutes).

3. Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel over the top and heat on high for 30 seconds. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.

4. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
5. After buttermilk has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules.

6. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a sturdy spatula just until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and not super wet. If the dough is wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine, until dough is fairly stiff.

7. Generously spread flour over your work surface. Dump biscuit dough from bowl onto prepared work surface and turn to coat all surfaces with flour. Knead on counter 5-6 times (about 20-30 seconds). Flip over on work surface to coat with flour then pat into a 6-inch square. It should be 1 1/2-2-inches in height.

8. Cut as many biscuits as you can with a biscuit cutter (this will depend on what size cutter you use). Place biscuits on the prepared sheet pan. Knead scraps a few times till they hold together, then pat into a small circle and cut more biscuits. Transfer last biscuits to the sheet pan, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. (See Café Tips in post for an even easier cutting technique). I used a jar that I happened to have in the cupboard. The dough made a nice satisfying pop as it rose.

9. Place in oven and bake until tops are a medium golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Start checking after about 8 minutes, as every oven is different.

10. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Sprinkle with more finely sliced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!

These went great with the chili, and beside some scrambled eggs for a different meal. They froze well, and also made good snacks. I'm thinking of seeing if I can add chorizo and green onions for the next experiment.