Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits

I really wanted to thank all of you for your encouraging words from Sunday’s post.  Thanks to all of you I re-shot my video and submitted it today for the Real Women of Philadelphia contest.  The second shooting went a lot better.  I guess I got all my nerves out on the first go through.  It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work between editing and shooting the video.  I’m so excited about this amazing opportunity and I’ve already started to prep for next week which is all about appetizers.

In honor of my first video submission and the theme around most of the recipes going around in my head, here is the recipe for Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits.  I love biscuits and I’m not afraid to try a biscuit, after all I’m a southern girl, but I have to admit I have always been a little intimidated by cream cheese biscuits.  The turning and the folding part.  I always thought I would do it wrong and they wouldn’t turn out.  Well, I decided to tackle this fear after looking inside the pages of my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook.  And I have to say I’m no long intimidated and will making these again very soon.  They were really easier than I though and absolutely delicious!  Of course, I added a little white whole wheat flour to mine and as always you can use all-purpose for all the flour.  If you have this same fear, trust me when I say this…these biscuits are easier than they seem and are just delicious!

Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits

Print Recipe

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

4 ounces cream cheese, cold, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and chives.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and cream cheese until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.

Pour in the buttermilk; using a fork, mix in buttermilk until incorporated and the dough just comes together.  The dough will be slightly sticky; do not over mix.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  With floured fingers gently knead about four times, until all the crumbs are incorporated and the dough is smooth.  With a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll out the dough to an 11-by-8 inch rectangle, about 1-inch thick.  Using hands gently lift the ends of dough, fold the rectangle into thirds (like a business letter).  Give the dough a quarter turn.  Roll out the dough again (to the same dimensions), and repeat the folding process.  Wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Return dough to the work surface.  Roll out as before, and repeat the folding process.  Give the dough another quarter turn; roll out the dough one more time, again into a rectangle about 1-inch thick.  Using a sharp knife, trim and discard 1/4-inch from all sides; divide the rectangles into 12 equal squares or rectangles.  Place on the prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until biscuits are golden and flecked with brown spots, 15 to 18 minutes.  Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!!