Buttermilk Chive Biscuits
Brent's southern, so no biscuits are quite as good as his Mom's or Memaw's are. But we try our best. These biscuits, made with fresh local butter and young spring chives are delicate and light. Perfect for soaking up gravy from lamb or pork main dishes. Like our pie crusts, we make ours in our stand mixer using a beater attachment. We find it makes them flakier than using a food processor.
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1.5 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, very cold, cut into pats
2 cups buttermilk, very cold
1/3 cup chopped chives
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into mixer bowl of stand mixer. Add chopped butter. Using beater attachment, beat on low speed until butter is incorporated into flour. Don't over-beat. Mixture should look like flour-coated flakes of butter. While beater is still running, slowly pour in butter milk. Mix to incorporate, again being careful not to over-beat. Dough should be sticky and shaggy. Add chopped chives and beat minimally until chives are mixed throughout.
Refrigerate dough for 1 half hour to chill.
Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Roll out mass to 1/2 inch thickness. Fold over on itself four or five times, and roll out again until dough is about 3/4 inch thick. Use round biscuit cutter, or empty tuna fish can to cut out biscuits. Cut closely together to not waste dough. Dough scraps should not be reworked.
Place cut biscuits on ungreased, unlined cookie sheet. We prefer to have ours nearly touching. It helps them rise higher. But if you like crispier sides, keep them about 2 inches apart. Brush the tops with more buttermilk, and place in oven. Immediately turn oven down to 325F. Bake approximately 20 minutes, but begin checking them for done-ness at about 15 minutes.
Serve with:
