Cheddar-Chive Biscuits (The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

Here’s another of my favorite Easter recipes from my holiday cookbook that came out last fall. Wanted to share today in case you needed a last minute Easter recipe!

I love drop biscuits. My grandmother used to make them and there’s something about them that triggers the “I’m a little girl at Grandma Helen’s house and I’m wearing her velour slippers and her Oscar de la Renta perfumed body lotion and life is safe and warm” response in my brain. I just love them—the texture, the ease of making them, everything.

These beauties are a variation of my standby drop biscuit recipe, and I love them in the springtime.

I also love them in the fall.

You get the picture.

Grate up a whole bunch of cheddar cheese. I used white cheddar, but you can use sharp cheddar—anything you like! And as you can see, I used the fine grate…but it’s all going in the food processor in a minute anyway, so any grate is great.

Ha.

Next, slice up a whole bunch of chives. Truth be told, these are actually the dark parts of green onions, which I sub for chives in a pinch. But if you have fresh chives…splendid!

Throw some all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into the food processor with the cheese and chives…

And pulse them a few times to get everything largely mixed together. You’ll still see some flecks of chives, but you won’t be able to distinguish between the flour and the cheese.

Next comes the salted butter, which should be very, very cold! I cut it into uniform squares so it would all mix in evenly.

Pulse it several times, until the mixture mostly resembles coarse crumbs but still has a few chunks o’ butter visible.

Then pour in buttermilk, pulsing as you go.

Then stop when the buttermilk has all been added and the dough just barely comes together. You don’t want to keep mixing and mixing the dough, as it will make the biscuits tragic and terrifying. Also, the dough shouldn’t be overly wet. But if it seems ridonkulously dry/crumbly, just add a couple of tablespoons of buttermilk and it should be fine.

Next, just drop the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet in 1/4 cup (approximately!) portions. You can use two spoons, or you can use a handy scoop like I did here. (Or you can even use muffin pans. Grandma Helen used to!)

You can see that there are still like flecks of chive throughout. (If you want to have bigger flecks, just wait until the very end to pulse in the chives.) And the cheddar? Well, it’s part of the dough!

Then just bake ‘em for 12 to 15 minutes, until they’re beautifully golden!

And you don’t have to do this…

But I like to brush the tops with a leetle melted butter.

Then, to make ‘em purty, sprinkle on some extra sliced chives (or green onions!)

You’ll love these for Easter…or pretty much any day of the year.

And now I’m suddenly missing Grandma Helen. I might have to go track down some Oscar de la Renta perfumed body lotion next time I’m in civilization.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Here’s the handy dandy printable.

Recipe

Cheddar-Chive Drop Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 30

Print Recipe

Ingredients

6 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoons Salt
8 ounces, weight White Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1/3 cup Sliced Chives (or Green Onions)
1-1/2 cup Cold Salted Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces, Plus More For Brushing
2-1/2 cups Buttermilk

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cheese, and chives in a food processor. Pulse until everything is mixed together. Add butter and pulse until mostly incorporated, but with a few remaining chunks of butter. Pour in buttermilk while pulsing, stopping just when the dough comes together. (Add a little more buttermilk if dough is overly dry.)

Drop dough onto a baking sheet in 1/4 cup portions (bigger if you'd like!) and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with more chives!

If you do not have a food processor, cut together the dry ingredients with the butter, then stir in the other ingredients.

Note: Recipe can easily be halved.

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on April 18 2014