Flaky and fluffy Cheese Biscuits, speckled with chives, are the perfect side dish for all of your holiday meals. Serve them at Easter, Thanksgiving, or serve them at Sunday brunch.
I love me a flaky tender buttermilk biscuit any day, but if you want to spice things up just a bit, these chive and cheese biscuits will do a fantastic job. These remind me of the Red Lobster’s cheddar bay biscuits, but I believe those have garlic and are a bit more savory.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter – I used unsalted butter, but you could certainly use salted butter in this recipe since it is for a savory biscuit. Just note that if you don’t reduce the salt called for separately, expect the biscuits to be a little saltier.
- Sugar – you might be surprised to find sugar in this savory cheese biscuits recipe. I really like my biscuits slightly sweet, it also adds another flavor dimension. It’s only a tablespoon so it won’t be a really sweet biscuit like these Honey Buttermilk Biscuits.
- Milk + sour cream – I used a mixture of half milk and half sour cream, you can replace the whole thing with buttermilk, or replace the sour cream with yogurt.
- Shredded cheese – I had mixed shredded cheese on hand, so that’s what I used. You can use just cheddar or any kind of shred-able cheese you like.
- Chive – chives have a very mild oniony garlicky flavor. Feel free to substitute or add more powerful herbs like parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, fresh or roasted garlic to the mix.
Step by Step Instructions
Make the biscuit dough
- Mix together the dry ingredients and toss in the cold cubed butter. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips until all pieces are flat.
- Add chives and part of the shredded cheese and toss to combine.
- Whisk together milk and sour cream. Reserve some for use as a wash later. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the liquid.
- Fold with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms.
Shape the dough
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it out into a rectangle, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Fold it over itself two to three times. Use a bench scraper to help scrape any sticky bits.
- Shape it into a rectangle as best as you can. Use a rolling pin to roll it out, and fold it over itself like a letter. Do this twice.
- Finally, roll it out into a rectangle about 1” thick.
Divide and bake
- Cut into 8 squares with your bench scraper or a knife.
- Place biscuits on a lined baking sheet and brush the top and side with reserved milk mixture.
- Top with the remaining shredded cheese and bake until golden brown.
Baker’s Tips
- For this recipe, I didn’t freeze the dough before baking. But usually for scones and biscuits, freezing them briefly before baking can help them keep their shapes and rise higher.
- Folding the dough over itself multiple times will help create distinct layers and create the flaky texture in your biscuits.
- When cutting the dough whether with a knife or a biscuit cutter, cut straight down, don’t twist the cutter or slide the knife back and forth to avoid sealing off the edges which would allow the biscuits to rise higher.
Storage
Since these biscuits contain cheese, it is best to store them in the fridge, they will last up to a week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Reheating
Cheese biscuits are best when still slightly warm straight from the oven. I highly recommend reheating leftovers in the oven. Refrigerated or frozen and thawed biscuits can be reheated in the oven at 350°F for 5 – 10 minutes.
You can also reheat frozen biscuits in the oven directly from the freezer without thawing at the same temperature for 10 – 15 minutes.
More biscuits and rolls
- Whole Wheat Biscuits
- Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
- Purple Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls
- Honey Buttermilk Lion House Rolls
- Easy Dinner Rolls
- Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls
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📖 Recipe card
Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour (265 g)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (13 g)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda (1 g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (20 g)
- 3 oz unsalted butter (85 g, cold and cubed)
- ½ cup whole milk (or 2%, 117 g, cold)
- ½ cup sour cream (120 g, cold)
- 1 ½ cup shredded cheese (155 g, divided)
- ¼ cup chive (finely chopped, 15 g)
- Extra fresh chive for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl, add kosher salt and mix with a whisk to combine.
- Add the cold cubed butter to the flour mixture and work it into the flour with the tip of your fingers until about pea size and larger. You want the butter pieces to be different sizes and more flat than round.
- Add 1 cup of shredded cheese and the chive, toss to distribute evenly.
- Whisk together sour cream and milk in a bowl or measuring cup. Reserve 1 – 2 tablespoons to use as wash before baking.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the cold milk mixture. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, pat the dough out to about ½” thick and fold it over itself. Do this two to three times and then shape the dough into a rectangle.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 6”x14”. Fold in three like a letter. Roll the folded rectangle out one more time, and fold it again. This will create distinct layers when baked. Then if needed pat it down to about 1” thick or a rectangle about 4”x 8”. Cut into 8 squares.
- Alternately, if you want to cut your biscuit into rounds, use a biscuits cutter, flour it well and push it straight down to cut without twisting. Cut as many as you can, and reshape the leftover per the above instructions and cut again until all gone.
- Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, close together, brush the top and sides with additional milk, and top off with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 – 16 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- You can substitute the sour cream and milk mixture with 1 cup buttermilk. Or substitute the sour cream with yogurt.
- Replace chives or add different kinds of herbs to your liking: parsley, thyme, oregano, sage, fresh or roasted garlic will all be great additions.
- I used a mixed cheese (cheddar and jack cheese), feel free to experiment with your favorites. Salted butter can be used in place of unsalted butter. Just note that if you don’t reduce the salt called for separately, your biscuits will be a little saltier.
- Freezing the cut biscuits briefly before baking will help them rise higher and keep their shape better.
Nutrition
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Marie
Flaky and cheesy. I love the touch of sweetness too. Great recipe.
Kenneth L Orloff
Biscuits and cheese. Um.