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These tall, flaky, Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits are melt-in-your-mouth-delicious. They'll have you quite smitten, at the first bite!
Growing up in the Midwest, I was never a biscuit aficionado. There was a good reason; the only biscuits I ever tasted were the kind that popped out of a tube. You know, the ones found in the dairy section of every local grocery store. They were nothing like these tall, flaky, Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits that will melt in your mouth and have you smitten with the first bite!
All that changed when Scott and I moved to North Carolina in the early 80's. At first, we laughed when we discovered that, in the South, there were entire restaurants devoted just to biscuits! How crazy is that, we thought. But the laugh was on us, because when we tasted our first southern biscuits (at a fast food chain, of all places!), we loved them. We had to (literally) eat our words. The biscuits were tall, flaky, super light and incredibly delicious.
My mom was a big bread maker so I was familiar with yeast baking, but not biscuit making. I tried the "biscuit thing" a couple times over the years, but the results were not stellar (at all). I began to think that perhaps you needed a bit of southern lineage to a be a good little biscuit maker.
Easier, quicker and just as delicious!
But a few years ago, I discovered an amazing technique created by the smart folks over at Cooks Illustrated. They figured out a way to simplify biscuit making that blew me away the first time I tried it.
The traditional biscuit technique calls for combining flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt, then “cutting” in cold butter with a knife, a pastry cutter or between your fingers. The liquid is then added and everything is gently combined. If done correctly, the tiny pieces of butter are evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture, giving classic buttermilk biscuits their lightness, flakiness and layers of peelable, buttery deliciousness. This might not seem like a difficult task, but it was one I just couldn't seem to master.
The Cook’s Illustrated technique is totally different… and ridiculously easy! The first time I tried it, I squealed a little when I opened the oven door to check my biscuits. Tall, golden, beautiful biscuits greeted my eyes and I've had the same results every time since. These days, I'm feeling like a bona fide southern girl, finally a legitimate biscuit maker!
What's the technique? So easy! Just place a cup of buttermilk (one of the secrets of delicious biscuits) in the freezer for a few minutes while you melt butter in the microwave. Let the melted butter cool while stirring together the dry ingredients. The melted butter is then combined with the super cold buttermilk. This is where the magic begins!
When the warm butter hits the cold liquid, small, buttery globules form. When this buttermilk mixture is added to the dry flour mixture and it’s all stirred together, you’ll notice tiny pieces of pale yellow butter dotting the simple dough. Yup, it will look just as if you spent the time to cut them in!
I shared this technique several years ago in this post called Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits.
Since then I've gotten many emails and comments from happy readers who have become expert biscuit makers too. Here are a few I received just in the past couple weeks:
In my family, I am the biscuit baker. Everyone asks me to bring biscuits to family events. I tried your recipe yesterday for Thanksgiving – oh, my! I have a new recipe. What a hit!
These biscuits are genius!!!! I have tried making biscuits twice in the past (using other recipes) and they have not risen at all…more like hockey pucks than biscuits and I followed the recipes exactly. However, when I tried your recipe today, the biscuits turned out fantastic!
I have made these a few times and I am amazed at how much easier the buttermilk and butter method is compared to cutting in butter which I never really liked doing. Definitely the easiest recipe for biscuits I ever used, excellent!!
One of my favorite comments came from a reader in Holland:
Hello Chris,
I did the same thing you did; I got up and ran to the kitchen after reading your recipe/method!
With one difference: I’m Dutch, live in the Netherlands and it happened to be 4 a çlock in the night and I couldn’t sleep… So I had an early breakfast… Thank you thank you for sharing this recipe.
Here in Holland people are not familiar with biscuits and we don’t eat bread with our supper unless we eat chili or soup… but I after eating them in the States AND watching “the Waltons” a lot I always wanted to make them. They Always turn out tough or dry! I altered your recipe a little... I only put in one teaspoon of Sugar and perhaps a little extra buttermilk because it seemed to dry at first. And I was afraid of kneading it too much, so I just picked up the dough, put it on some flour and formed a disk and cut them out.
They are fantastic! never ate anything like it! Such a crispy thin crust and almost cake-like on the inside… Now I know what was meant when someone said to Olivia Walton: these biscuits melt in the mouth!! Best wishes from Christine
Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits, brand new clothes for an old classic!
For these Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits, I decided to adapt the original recipe to include cheddar cheese and finely sliced chives. Oh my! Another delicious biscuit, perfect for serving with soups, salads and/or just about any main entree. It's just as easy as the original recipe, the cheese and chives are simply added with the dry ingredients. Just like in the original recipe the final step is a brush of butter just as the fragrant biscuits emerge from the oven.
Pick up some cheddar cheese and a bunch of fresh chives next time you're grocery shopping. If you're like me, you might want to run to the store right now! It will take less than 15 minutes to throw these amazing Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits together. Your kitchen will smell incredible, and you too might find yourself squealing a bit when you open the oven door!
Cafe Tips for making these Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits
- You can use packaged shredded cheese or shred your own. Either way, make sure it's finely shredded. The biscuits will come out prettier that way.
- If purchasing fresh chives at the grocery store, you may find them in nice big bunches in the produce section. Most of the time however, they'll be sold with other herbs in little plastic packages. One package should be fine. If it's not quite ¼ cup, as the recipe calls for, you'll still have delicious results.
- Don’t have any buttermilk? It's easy to make your own. 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! Use in recipes in lieu of buttermilk.
- Biscuits can be cut with aluminum cans, overturned glasses, and even Mason jar rings, but using these types of cutters (with rounded edges) can compress the sides of the dough and lead to misshapen biscuits. For tall, beautiful biscuits, use a sharp rimmed cutter. I really like the ones that have a little handle to hold on to (see picture below).
- You can make these Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits any size you want. Miniature ones are really nice for a dinner party, but if you're making breakfast or lunch sandwiches, larger biscuits are nice. I love these sturdy but reasonably priced biscuit cutters that come in a set of four, allowing you to choose any size you want.
- Don’t skip chilling the buttermilk (step 2). It's one of the secrets to good success in this recipe. If the buttermilk is not really cold, the little butter globules won’t form.
- If you add the melted butter to the cold buttermilk and you don't see the little butter globules, your buttermilk may not have been cold enough. You can remedy this by placing the mixture in the freezer for another 5-10 minutes, then stir again and you should see the magic globules.
- I made the original Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits several years ago while visiting my daughter in London. I learned the all-purpose flour (Plain flour) in Britain is a bit different and it seemed that I needed more, probably closer to 2 ¼ cups.
- These Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits freeze well. If freezing for later use, underbake them by a few minutes, then cool completely. Then place the biscuits on a sheet pan or a plate. Freeze till frozen, then transfer biscuits to a ziplock bag or air-tight storage container.
- If I’m feeling a bit pinched for time or just plain lazy, I’ll just pat the dough into a 6-inch circle and use a bench scraper to cut the dough into wedges. I either put these wedges on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or in a 9-inch cake pan lined with parchment.
These tall, flaky, Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits are melt-in-your-mouth-delicious. They'll have you quite smitten at the first bite!
- 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
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
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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.
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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.
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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 ½-2-inches in height.
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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 ½ inches apart. (See Café Tips in post for an even easier cutting technique).
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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.
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Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Sprinkle with more finely sliced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated via Serious Eats.
Elsa Moore says
I made these for dinner today, the were amazing. I didn’t need to use all the buttermilk/butter though, thank you again for such a wonderful recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your review, Elsa! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Lara says
These were phenomenal! My son (almost 3) and I made them to have with chili, which was great, but the next morning we used the leftover biscuits and made breakfast sandwiches. The only change I made was that I used bread flour instead of AP because I didn’t have enough AP on hand (how does that even happen?? Lol). These are absolutely delicious, and I can’t wait to try the plain buttermilk biscuits with my sausage gravy.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed these biscuits, Lara! Thanks so much for sharing your results!
Tamara O’Brien says
These are easy and so delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Tamara! I'm so happy you've enjoyed them!
Tamara O’Brien says
I will be making a double batch of these delicious scones and freezing them before baking. The ones I made yesterday, were all gone by last night. Amazingly delicious and so easy to make. Thank you again for sharing this recipe. I will be trying a few more from your site!
Chris Scheuer says
That's awesome, Tamara! I'm so happy you enjoyed them 💕
Cynthia Cuff says
Simply amazing!! I have made them twice this week...My 29 year old son asked for them instead of his traditional Birthday Cake 🙂 Thanks so much...
Chris Scheuer says
Wow! Instead of birthday cake! That's amazing! Thanks for sharing your review, Cynthia! 💕
Tammy says
These are so good. I never liked working the cold butter into the flour. I love how easy these come together. I am hoping I can make these with raisins and cinnamon.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Tammy, so glad you enjoyed them! You could try this recipe: https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-cinnamon-raisin-biscuits/
Kathleen says
Hi Chris
Making these today even though hot here in NC! I've made your plain buttermilk biscuits and they are wonderful so can't wait to try these! Am sure will be hooked.
I also made your strawberry tarts or tartlets? recently for company and everyone loved them! SO easy to make although were not quite as beautiful as yours! Need to work on my crimping I guess. Also made your recipe for the pasta salad with roasted tomatoes - again everyone went nuts over that salad and wanted recipes for both. Huge hit.
Thank you for bringing us your fabulous recipes - I click you on every time I get an email from you and have so many recipes I've saved and need to try. I will get to it!
Enjoy the NC heat!
Kathleen
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Kathleen, for this kind comment, so much appreciated! I'm so happy you've enjoyed our recipes!
Janet says
Hi Chris, Have made these several times and always great. Last time got lazy and just made into wedges. Just as good. Everyone loves them fresh out of the oven or split and lightly toasted the next day , (of course with a dab of butter) - if they last that long! Wondering if I could double the recipe? Have an abundance of chives in the garden.
Love your ridiculously easy recipes.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Janet, you can definitely double the recipe! I've done it lots of times.
Catherine Lively says
These biscuits are required for every family vacation and holiday. Have already made 2 batches for our beach week -thank you
Chris Scheuer says
That's so awesome, Catherine! Makes my day! 💕
LORNA HOPCROFT says
Is this American biscuit the same as a scone? I haven't tried it yet and am a bit confused. It's called a biscuit, but the picture looks like a scone. Thanks.
Chris Scheuer says
Such a good question, Lorna! My daughter lived in London for seven years so I understand the confusion. Biscuits in America are tender, light and fluffy with lots of layers. They're usually made with buttermilk and butter. They are totally unlike the biscuits in England which we call cookies. Scones, here in the states are similar to our biscuits in that they have lots of layers, but they are usually richer and made with cream.
Lorna Hopcroft says
Thankyou. I have made them a couple of times now, but the inside has not been cooked through, while the outside is done. I plan to cook on a lower temperature next time. The taste is lovely.
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, every oven is a little different so I would lower your oven temperature a bit and let them bake a little longer. Enjoy!
Denise Hansen says
I had the same problem. Cooked on the outside, undercooked on the inside. I am trying a longer time at a lower temperature.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Denise, so strange. I've never had this problem. I would try starting at the regular temp to give the biscuits the heat boost to help them rise nicely then lower the temperature.
Elizabeth says
Easy and delicious! It was so nice to find a use for our windowsill chives, too. For those without a biscuit cutter, a jar lid can work well as a form to cut around. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Elizabeth! So happy you enjoyed these biscuits!
Jessica says
So my biscuits turned out very flat and dense what did I do wrong?
Chris Scheuer says
Hmmm... it's hard to say without having been there in the kitchen with you.
Jenna says
Super, super tasty! It's typical for me to add a lot of butter to recipes and I didn't feel the need here (even the glaze at the end). The cold buttermilk with melted butter thing was amazing since I don't have a pastry cutter. I halved the recipe since I live solo, and that worked well.
I was wondering if you knew the calorie count on these. I saw you have that for a couple of other recipes I glanced at, so it'd be super helpful to see.
Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Jenna! So happy you enjoyed this recipe. I will check on the nutritional information.
Jenna says
Thank you!
Jen says
Your recipes are getting me and my family through tthis pandemic. My parents are quarantined with us and we all enjoy cooking so it has given us something to do together!
These biscuits were super simple and delicious!
I paired them with a rump roast recipe from Ina Garten and it was the perfect Sunday supper.
The pine nut Irish Soda bread was also incredible!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Jen! I really appreciate your kind comment and love that you've been using our recipes to help you through this crazy time. How fun that all of you enjoy cooking!
Rondi says
First time making biscuits and no cutters so I used the wedge-cut method. I also used dried chives as we had no fresh.
These were very easy and super-delicious. They also froze very well.
I will most def be making these again!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Rondi. I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing your results.
Dre says
Turned out great. Thanks 🙂
Evonne Lyn Lee says
Good morning from sunny Singapore Chris & Scott,
I baked a batch of Cheese & Dill biscuits based on your Cheese & Chive recipe as I could not get any chives (I have some chives growing but it was not sufficient). Secondly, I used skimmed milk instead. Although the nearest shop is 5 minutes away and I didn't want to delay making them for dinner. I didn't have enough cheddar so I topped it up with parmesan. When the scones emerged from the oven, I couldn't wait to dig in. The aroma is incredibly irresistible ... literaily. So to rein my fingers from grabbing a scone, I set the timer for 4 minutes. Well, you guessed it ... before the buzzer went off, my fingers alreay pried open the biscuit ... Wow, what a beautiful light and fluffy crumb! And that crust ... golden and crisp!
In short, skimmed milk works. So does dill. So does parmesan cheese. The technique of mixing melted butter & chilled buttermilk works. Is this your technique or Cooks Illustrated's?
This, by far, is my favourite biscuit/scone. And it's recipe no. 18 that I've baked. Yes, I've tried & tested recipes from celebrity chefs in USA. My scone journey begin early in my childhood days but as I didn't own an oven then, I had litle opporunity to bake them often. Fast forward to 2011, I started recording comments for each & every recipe - jotting down tasting notes on freshly baked scones, 1 day after (left at room temperature) and 2 days later (frozen & thawed).
Tasting notes on your recipe. Oven fresh - scrumptious! 1-day old - still so aromatic, and good. 2-day old - still good even though crumb looks dry. I didn't toast them, deiberately. Overall, very good. This recipe is a keeper. Oh yes, 5 stars!
Chris, this brings me to a request- would you like to reproduce your recipe on STORM ASIA: https://storm-asia.com/category/food/whip-it-up i'm handling the recipe site called Whip It UP! To get an idea on how we've worked with other establishments, click on https://storm-asia.com/seafood-bouillabaisse-lemongrass_/ You will notice that we've included the chef's profile, a para on the restaurant and also included its url.
Let me know if you'd be keen to work with STORM Asia - it's mutually beneficial - you get exposure to our Asian audience while we open up our magazine tthe American foodies loking for Asian recipes. Look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely.
Evonne
Chris Scheuer says
Greetings all the way to Singapore, Evonne!
Thanks so much for your wonderful and very detailed review. I’m so happy that you enjoyed these scones and love that they work with skim milk. That’s awesome!
Jennifer says
Best tasting recipe I’ve tried!
However, mine keep “sliding” over/toppling while baking and I can’t seem to figure out why. Any tips?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for sharing your review.
Regarding the sliding problem, try refrigerating the biscuits after forming them but before baking.
Marsha says
The best recipe! Delicious! Super easy and a great tip with milk and butter. I will definitely make this again!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Marsha. I love that you love these biscuits as much as we do!
Elle A says
I'd like to bring these to a potluck. How do I keep them warm?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Elle, I would just bake them right before the potluck and then serve them in a towel-lined basket. They won't stay warm the whole time but will stay fresh.
Matthew says
Hey, i was wondering if you could make these the night before you want to cook them and leave them in the fridge overnight. Would this be good or bad?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes! That actually works great! Biscuits like to be cold when they go into the oven!
Therese says
If I freeze them and then want to reheat them, do I thaw completely and then reheat? When I reheat should I brush more butter on the top?
Can't wait to try these for Thanksgiving and the repeat on Saturday.
Chris Scheuer says
You can freeze them unbaked then pop them right in the oven frozen. They will take a few minutes longer but they are wondeful. If you want to bake them ahead, you can freeze them but then thaw completely and brush them with a little more butter before warming for dinner.
Aisha Visram says
Hi. Possible to use almond flour instead? Recipe is awesome, turns out super fluffy and works great even if frozen. Thanks, Aisha.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Aisha, I haven't tried this with almond flour. It would definitely alter the texture and flavor. If you wanted to try these GF, I might use an all-purpose GF flour instead of almond flour.
Suma says
Can I use beaten yogurt instead of buttermilk? I live in Indian where we mostly make our own yogurt on a daily basis and I am not sure buttermilk is available to buy! . If the fat in the milk is the criteria, I could use full cream milk to culture the yogurt?
Waiting for your reply
Suma Jacob
Chris Scheuer says
You could definitely use beaten yogurt instead of buttermilk! That should work fine as long as it's not too thick. You don't need cream, a whole milk yogurt should work just fine. Enjoy!
Sonja says
If I’m freezing them, can I pop them back into the oven frozen or should I thaw first? Have you tried freezing the dough before baking?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sonja, yes you can definitely freeze the dough before baking. I really like doing that because then I can just bake as many as I need. It's also great for entertaining as there's no last-minute mess. Enjoy! ❤️ Chris
Sasha says
Made these tonight with my 4yo son and he loved them. Quite simple to make, though with a 4yo's help it does take a bit longer. My husband ate 3 of them and he is very picky, so definitely a big hit. Thank you! Keeping this recipe and blog bookmarked.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Sasha! So happy you enjoyed them! You're making great memories for your son!
Fong Chong says
We always buy our favorite cheese&chive biscuit at our local market hall bakery, they were so good. I told my husband I like to find a recipe to make it at home. I found your receipt and made my first time home made cheese & chive biscuits, it was a huge success, better then the market hall’s. It truly is very easy to do, too.
The second time I made double order, it’s even better looking and fluffier then first time. This now is our favorite biscuits recipe. Thank you 🙏 🙏 🙏
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your results! You may become famous for your wonderful biscuits 🙂