Buttermilk Biscuits with Chives

September 4th, 2008  |  Published in All, Delectable Dairy, Grand Grains, Honorable Herbs, Weekend Projects  |  45 Comments

Buttermilk Biscuits with Chives

Buttermilk Biscuits with Chives
adapted from Pinch My Salt

1 1/4 c. cake flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. well-chilled butter, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
2 T. chopped chives
3/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.  Add butter cubes and cut into mixture using a pastry blender until it looks like coarse meal (alternatively you can use two knifes, or simply your fingertips).  Note: Do not over mix — the little chunks of butter help the biscuits stay flaky.  Mix in chives and stir to coat.

Add buttermilk and stir lightly with a wooden spoon until dough comes together in a ball.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into a 3/4 – 1 inch thick slab.  Using a biscuit cutter, cut biscuits without twisting the cutter.  Flip cut biscuits upside down onto an un-greased baking sheet (flipping the biscuits makes sure that any crimped edges don’t impede your biscuits from rising) .  Form dough scraps into a mound and cut with biscuit cutter.  Repeat until dough is gone.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I can’t quite remember when buttermilk became a regular fixture in my refrigerator.  But somehow it did, and now I use it all the time — salad dressings, as a marinade for chicken, in biscuits, in cornbread, in pancakes — I even drink it straight!

I’ve been craving homemade buttermilk biscuits since I took a 24 hour train ride from Tacoma, WA to San Jose, CA two days ago.  For the most part, I brought my own food to eat on the train, but when I woke up at 6 AM after almost 20 hours on the train, the cold spareribs and cheese bread I brought with me just didn’t sound so appetizing.  So, I headed to the dining car and ordered myself a good ol’ american breakfast — coffee, scrambled eggs, grits, and a biscuit.  I knew when ordering this was not going to be gourmet by any standards, but I at least hoped it would be decent.  No such luck — I was greeted with a plateful of reconstituted powdered eggs, tasteless grits, and a styrofoam biscuit — yuck!  (Thank goodness the coffee was ok — I could go a couple days without food, but CERTAINLY not without coffee…)

So,  when I got home, I resolved to make some damn-good buttermilk biscuits to satiate the craving left by the Amtrak dining car.  I was too tired after I got home yesterday to cook anything, so today was my day.   I baked up a batch of biscuits, then made them into little sandwiches with shredded bbq’d spareribs and garlicky swiss chard — YUM!! and so much better than Amtrak…

Amtrak train tacoma to san jose
About to board train from Tacoma to San Jose

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