These Cheddar Chive Biscuits have flaky layers packed with white cheddar and fresh chives and are very delicate. The ideal side dish for your Christmas feast!
Making superb biscuits is an art, and this post will teach you all you need to know to consistently produce flawlessly light and fluffy biscuits. Cheddar chive biscuits are ideal for breakfast, paired with your favorite chili, or served as a Thanksgiving side dish.
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Cheddar Chive Biscuits
One of the first things I learned while working in restaurants was how to make amazing biscuits. I’d be in charge of preparing hundreds of biscuits at a time for brunch service!
All of that experience and expertise has lead me to share these fantastic cheddar chive biscuits. They’re fluffy, flaky, cheesy, and just the right height!
These biscuits are delicious smeared with butter, eaten with gravy, turned into breakfast sandwiches, or served with turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving!
Making homemade biscuits is simple and only involves a few techniques, which this post will go over in detail. In no time, you’ll be baking fluffy biscuits like a genuine pastry master!
How to Make Cheddar Chive Biscuits
I love to make these cheddar chive biscuits with a stand mixer, but you can also prepare them by hand or in a food processor. If you’re preparing these for Thanksgiving, be sure to read the make-ahead directions!
TOOLS NEEDED
Cheddar Chive Biscuits Ingredients
- Flour. I recommend using all-purpose flour instead of another flour in this recipe.
- Butter. The secret to making these cookies incredibly flaky is to use just butter.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk gives a pleasant tang. You can create your own buttermilk using milk and vinegar, but I prefer buying the actual thing.
- Leaveners. To make the biscuits extremely tall and fluffy, I combine baking powder and baking soda.
- Cheddar. I used white cheddar in this recipe, but you may use yellow cheddar if you want.
- Chives. Fresh chives are preferable, however dried chives can be used in a pinch.
- Onion that has been dehydrated. I like how this adds onion taste! You can leave it out or use 1 teaspoon onion powder if preferred.
THE PROCESS
- Cut the butter into cubes. The key here is to slice the butter into 1/4′′ pieces. Place the chopped butter in a bowl and place in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- The dry components should be combined. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dehydrated onions, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine the chives and cheddar cheese.
- Incorporate the butter. Remove the frozen butter from the freezer and stir it into the dry ingredients. Mix on medium-low with the paddle attachment until the material resembles clumpy sand.
- Incorporate the wet components. Stream in the buttermilk while the mixer is running, and mix just until the dough clumps together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a 913 rectangle.
- The dough should be laminated. Fold the rectangle in thirds and press to create a 1-inch thick rectangle. Repeat folding and pressing three times more. Form the dough into a 9-inch square that is about 1 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake and cut. Cut the biscuits into 9 equal squares with a sharp knife and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 30 minutes. Brush with the remaining buttermilk and season with flaky salt. 18-20 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Cut the butter into tiny cubes. This makes it easier for the butter to incorporate into the dough. Aim for pieces that are approximately 1/4′′ square.
Refrigerate your ingredients. The key to making delicious biscuits is to keep everything cool! Freeze your butter while you prepare the rest of your ingredients and chill your biscuits before baking. Cold biscuits imply cold butter, and when cooked, cold butter produces steam, which gives the biscuits their lift.
Make sure to use genuine buttermilk. While milk combined with vinegar can be substituted, it will not be the same. The buttermilk adds texture and tang to the biscuits, while the acid activates the baking soda and helps them rise.
Avoid overworking the dough. Only stir the dough until it begins to clump together, then push it together by hand. When combining biscuits, less is always more to avoid hefty and dense biscuits.
Make squares out of the leftovers. Most people expect round biscuits, but I’ve always baked square biscuits. Then you won’t need a special cutter, and you’ll waste no dough cutting out the rounds.
Make Ahead Instructions
Cheddar chive biscuits may be made ahead of time in a variety of ways! Here are all the ways to make cheddar chive biscuits ahead of time:
Make the biscuits and place them in the freezer. Follow the recipe directions until the biscuits are cut into squares. Freeze the cut squares for 2 hours on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag and keep for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost overnight in the freezer before baking as indicated.
Make a bag of ingredients. This is a whole restaurant ruse! In a big ziplock bag, combine all of the ingredients except the buttermilk and place in the fridge overnight. Then, in the morning, simply throw the bag into the mixer and proceed as directed.
Making Cheddar Chive Biscuits without a Mixer
While I make cheddar chive biscuits in my stand mixer, there are several ways to create them.
In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and dehydrated onion, if using. 2 to 3 pulses until mixed. Pulse in the chilled butter, chives, and cheddar until pea-sized bits appear. Pulse 6-8 times, or until a shaggy dough develops, to include the buttermilk. Continue with the rest of the recipe as suggested.
Hand mixing: If you don’t have a food processor, mix the dough with your hands! When adding the butter, pinch the mixture until the crumbles are the same size as peas, or use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. After incorporating the butter, place the flour mixture in the freezer for 20 minutes before including the buttermilk and continuing with the recipe as suggested. Because your hands will warm the butter, chilling the ingredients before baking will assist.
Storage & Reheating
After baking, keep the biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 1 week. Before serving, toast or bake for a few minutes.
The cooked biscuits can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then toast or bake shortly in the oven to re-warm before eating.
More Side Dishes You Might Like
- Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
- Homemade Irish Soda Bread
Cheddar Chive Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups 410 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons 30 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons 20 g baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons 10 g kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion
- 2 sticks 8 oz, 227 g unsalted butter, cold
- 4 oz 113 g white or sharp cheddar, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
- 1 cup 260 g buttermilk, cold plus 2 tablespoons for brushing the biscuits
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Cut the butter into cubes. The key here is to slice the butter into little 1/4″ cubes. Place the chopped butter in a bowl and place in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- The dry components should be combined. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dehydrated onions, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine the chives and cheddar cheese.
- Incorporate the butter. Remove the frozen butter from the freezer and stir it into the dry ingredients. Mix on medium-low with the paddle attachment until the mixture resembles clumpy sand with pea-sized chunks of butter.
- Incorporate the wet components. Stream in the buttermilk while the mixer is running, and mix just until the dough clumps together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into an 811 rectangle.
- The dough should be laminated. Fold the rectangle in thirds and press to create a 1-inch thick rectangle. Repeat folding and pressing three times more. Form the dough into a 9-inch square that’s about 1″ thick.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake and cut. Cut the biscuits into 9 equal squares with a sharp knife and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 30 minutes. Brush with the remaining buttermilk and season with flaky salt. 18-20 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown.