Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits
Grab some sharp cheddar and make up a quick batch of these Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits for dinner tonight!
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Ever since making the sweet scones recipe with grated butter, I’ve been thinking about trying that same trick with a savory recipe instead. So I finally got around to it, and the result was this batch of Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits. Quick and easy to make. Even quicker and easier to eat. Plus, everything tastes better with the addition of sharp cheddar cheese, right? Oh, and chives grow really well in our area, so as long as there’s no snow on the ground, I’ve always got a ready supply of fresh chives out in the backyard.
One of the fun things about these Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits is the way you shape them before baking. You literally drop a mound of dough on the baking sheet. I did gently push some of the mounds together, but not much. The dough is kinda sticky, so I used two spoons to help drop the dough. No rolling, no kneading, none of that. (Although to be fair, I don’t mind playing with dough. I find it to be incredibly relaxing. I’m just weird like that.)
Similar to those scones, I used buttermilk as the liquid for this Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits recipe. Buttermilk adds such an incredible flavor to baked goods! I grew up on classic buttermilk biscuits, and those still hold a special place in my
heart stomach. But I have to admit that this whole ‘drop’ idea is not far behind. Not only are they easy to make, but you end up with little crags of dough on top that get extra crispy once baked.
Those crags (my scientific baking term) are the best part of the whole biscuit in my opinion. In fact, I’m thinking I should try dropping the scone dough out next time. Forget shaping them into triangles…dropping ’em in rough mounds of dough is the cat’s pajamas! Happy baking, my friends!

Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into ½” cubes
- 1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup chives chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Using a large bowl, add dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder and onion powder); stir until well combined.
- Using a coarse grater, grate frozen butter into bowl; toss lightly until just barely combined.
- Add cheese, buttermilk and chives; stir until just barely combined.
- Using two spoons, drop ¼ cup balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Leave the dough somewhat loose and “craggy” as this will create the toasted bits on top of the biscuits once baked. (Note: Space the dough balls at least 2” apart.)
- Bake at 425°F for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Hold the phone. Is playing with dough weird? If so, I’m weird too! I’m glad you didn’t grate your fingers; been there, done that, wish it never happened. So painful. These drop biscuits though. . .not painful at all. I’d eat at least half the batch by myself 🙂 Have a great day, David! Weirdos unite!
Yeah, grating fingers is totally not something high up there on my list. I actually have this strange kitchen glove for when I use the mandolin (b/c chopping off the tips of my fingers is right up there with grating my fingers). The glove looks like something out of a set of medieval armor! 🙂 Thanks so much for the kind words, weirdo!
Hi David! Isn’t grated butter the best tip ever? The minute I saw the picture of today’s post I knew your Southern side was coming out. Drop biscuits are so much easier and I totally agree on the crags being the best part! Just think how good these would be as pulled pork slider/biscuits… 🙂
Haha! I love that you know me and my Southern side, Dorothy. 🙂 I admit…it’s hard to keep that one in hiding. One of Robbie’s teachers at pre-K asked me the other day if I was from the South. She said I have a strong accent. (I was happy about that as I was pretty sure I’d lost my accent by now…it’s been over 6 years!) Anyways, I’ve got some pulled pork in the freezer, and I’m thinking about trying out your idea of using these drop biscuits as “buns.” That’s genius!!
The weather is starting to cool here and I’ve had soup on my mind – these drop biscuits are the PERFECT accompaniment. Will be making these pronto!
Oh, yes! These biscuits would indeed be the perfect side dish along with a big bowl of soup. The weather finally (!!) broke here last night, and we’re looking at some nice, cool Autumn temps today. That’s soup and biscuit weather if I’ve ever seen it! 🙂 Thanks so much, Marissa!
These look like some damn good biscuits. I’m going to visit the guy I’m dating in a few weeks so I know he’s going to expect some delicious meals from me. I want to spice up my breakfast with some tasty biscuits, you read my mind, this recipe is perfect. He will be so impressed, and I will eat all the leftovers. My Mom grates frozen butter for some of her baked goods, it looks like fun. Everything totally tastes better with sharp cheddar.
Oh, this recipe is a good one to pull out for the guy you’re dating, Mary! It’s nice and easy, too. And you can totally play with the flavors, although I’ve gotta say that cheddar and chives is a pretty fun combo. Serve these bad boys up for breakfast with some butter, or perhaps for lunch/dinner along with a bowl of soup. Yum!! 🙂
Glad you’ve joined me and made some savory cheese biscuits because they’re amazing (Perhaps, they’re better that any sweet ones). But remember the question I was asking everyone last winter and spring, how to correctly name them, either cookies or biscuits (or the 3rd way)? Well, it looks like you’ve finally answered my question. As a person known for his love for history and historic/linguistic evidence, and as a guy who used to work in the bakery, you’re basically the only one person I’d trust in this kind of decisions:) Delicious cooki…I mean biscuits! I haven’t made any for a while so I need to consider.
You know, I think you might be onto something with the savory biscuits here, Ben. I do love a good dessert, but I’ve been all about the savory baking lately…I think it might have something to do with the fact that the weather is finally (!) turning more Fall-like. And as far as the biscuits name, thank you! 🙂 Growing up in the South taught me what a true biscuit looks and tastes like! I hope the weather is turning nice up there for you, too, my friend!
Started the grating butter fan club recently too and I totally love to play with dough – one of those weird people too 😉 Savoury biscuits are amazing –
completely agree with you that everything tastes so much better with cheese and what a lovely way to use chive – it is growing nicely in my herb garden too. Have a great weekend, David!
Cheers to us being weirdos, Miriam! There’s just something so fun and relaxing about baking and playing with dough! This “dough” is rather easy though as all you do is drop it in rough piles on the baking sheet. These biscuits are perfect as a side along with a nice bowl of soup. Thanks so much, my friend! I hope you guys have a great weekend!
I don’t think I have grated butter before. Sounds like I am going to have to give it a try. I love drop biscuits too, so much easier than rolling out the dough and cutting them out. Love the flavors you have in these biscuits. I wish I had chives growing in the backyard. That’s another thing I will have to start doing.
Definitely try grating butter, Dawn! You’ve gotta freeze it first, or else you’d have a huge mess on your hands…but it’s totally a fun trick instead of sitting there dicing butter into tiny pieces. And definitely plant chives next spring! They’re a hardy plant, and they keep coming back year after year for us…even with our crazy winters that we have here in upstate New York. 🙂
David I’m “grateful” that you didn’t grate your hand along with the butter when you got down to the bottom of the stick. LOL!
Anyway, I sure would love to try these out. Sharp cheddar cheese = sharp flavour = yum yum! 🙂
Hah! I love a good pun, Neil…thanks for that! 🙂 And I totally agree with you about sharp cheddar cheese. I think I could eat sharp cheddar every day, and I’d be a happy camper. Thanks so much!
OH HECK YES!!! Those “crags” are most definitely THE BESTEST part! These look so insanely good, David!! Thank goodness you managed to stop yourself from grating off your hand – been there done that -and like buying and selling- I don’t wanna do that again! 🙂
Now back to those blueberry scones-you made some and didn’t share??? Duuuuude???? So heading over to check ’em out! Happy weekend to you, Laura and Robbie!
I couldn’t agree more, Shashi! Heck, sometimes I just want to pick all of the “craggy” pieces off and eat just those. 🙂 These drop biscuits are SO darned easy to make. We just made another batch this weekend along with a pot of chili. Yum! I hope you are coming close to the end of the buying/selling process. It’s not fun…but I hear that chocolate fixes everything! Haha!
Love these biscuits! Grating the butter is a great tip! I usually grate mine, but grating it frozen is super difficult….maybe I need to do a bit more upper arm exercises! Love how quick and easy these are!
Grating frozen butter is a bit of a trick, Kathy! I agree that it’s a little more difficult, but I’m sold on this technique instead of cutting butter into dough now! 🙂 I hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
I don’t really like grating! but I can try that for butter 😉 and these biscuits! sounds so good!
Freezing the butter makes it SO much easy to grate, Manali. And it’s WAY easier than sitting there cutting butter into dough with a dough cutter or table knives. Give it a shot sometime! 🙂 Oh, and yes, this biscuits are super tasty…perfect to go along with a pot of Fall chili! I hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
I could go for these biscuits with a nice hot bowl of creamy soup.
That’s exactly what we did this weekend, Jeff. Well, we did chili, but these drop biscuits made for an excellent side dish. Nice and easy to make, and nice and easy to eat. 🙂
The butter grating tip is a keeper for sure! I have tried it once..and seen the difference it makes! Thanks again :). Love the idea of these savory biscuits..Chives and cheddar cheese biscuits would taste yummm! And these are so simple too..No shaping the dough is a bonus too :D.
Grating butter makes it so much easier! I’m totally sold on this little trick instead of cutting butter into dough. 🙂 And, yes, the fact that you don’t have to shape these biscuits is pretty awesome. Just drop, bake, eat and repeat. Haha! Thanks so much, Deepika…I hope you had a great weekend, my friend!