Buttermilk Chive Biscuits

These buttermilk chive biscuits take the basic Southern buttermilk biscuit and fold in two tablespoons of chopped fresh chives for a savory upgrade that pairs with everything from fried chicken to soft scrambled eggs. The chives flecks turn each biscuit a faint speckled green and add a mild oniony note that complements the tang of the buttermilk without overwhelming it.

Cold butter is the technique that earns these biscuits their flaky layers. The butter goes in cold, cut into small pieces, and gets worked in by hand only until the mixture looks like irregular crumbs. Some pieces of butter should still be visible. Those visible chunks melt during the bake and leave behind steam pockets that puff up into layers. Warm butter blends too completely and the biscuits come out cakey.

Light kneading is the second key. Twelve gentle folds is the recipe’s sweet spot. Underwork and the dough won’t hold together; overwork and the gluten develops and the biscuits get tough. Pat (don’t roll) the dough into a half-to-three-quarter-inch round, cut straight down with a cookie cutter, and don’t twist as you cut or you’ll seal the edges and stop them from rising tall.

Pro Tips

• Freeze the butter cubes for 10 minutes before cutting in. The colder the better for flaky layers.
• Cut straight down with the biscuit cutter and lift straight up. Twisting seals the layers.
• Place biscuits close together on the baking sheet so they touch. They rise straight up against each other instead of spreading out.
• Brush the tops with melted butter or buttermilk before baking for a deeper golden color.

Variations

• Add a quarter cup of grated cheddar for cheddar-chive biscuits.
• Stir in a teaspoon of cracked black pepper for a peppery savory biscuit.
• Sub fresh dill or thyme for chives for a different herb profile.
• Make smaller 1-inch rounds for cocktail biscuits to serve with ham.