Globs of Butter aka The Chunky Mess

Sometimes you just need to bake. Being cooped up in the house all day trying to work and teach – baking seems like a great way to just be normal. My family LOVES rolls or biscuits at dinner so that seemed like a good plan. I also noticed that our chives were starting to grow in the garden so this recipe would work out well. Of course, I had to have Andy go pick the chives since we still haven’t worked out the whole “Erin get into the garden” thing. This recipe was far different than any other I’ve used for biscuits. You get your milk/buttermilk super cold in the freezer and then pour melted butter into it – you actually WANT all those tiny globs of butter. It looked like a chunky mess, but folded into the flour mix perfectly. I have biscuit cutters, but I’m a lazy biscuit maker. I make a rectangle and just cut it into squares. Why bother with the circles if you don’t have to? Why rework the dough again and have scrap? This way uses ALL the dough and is way less of a mess. At least I think. These biscuits baked up fluffy and wonderful, add some butter and you are in heaven. Just what we needed for our cooped up souls… that and the cookies we made.. .but that’s another post.

Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits
Ingredients
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

Instructions
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.
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).
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.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add cheese and chives. Stir to combine.
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.
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.
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 1/2-2-inches in height.
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 1/2 inches apart. (See Café Tips in post for an even easier cutting technique).
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.
Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Sprinkle with more finely sliced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!