When it’s cold out, nothing beats a big bowl of hot soup and some type of fresh bread. Case in point: I recently whipped up a batch of brown butter leek and turnip soup and these chive and cotija cheese biscuits and enjoyed the pairing several days in a row.
If you’re a fan of buttery, flaky pastries (or the classic flavor combination of sour cream and onion), I guarantee you’ll like this recipe. In fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to double the quantity. Chive and cotija cheese biscuits tend to disappear quickly as they’re delicious for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for finish
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1½ tablespoons cold water
- 1 egg, beaten, divided
- 6 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese
- 2½ tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- smoked paprika (for finish, optional)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
- In a separate bowl, combine the heavy cream, water and half of the egg (reserve the remaining egg for the finish); mix well.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Add the cotija cheese and chives and stir to combine.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1"-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half, turn it 90 degrees and pat into a 1"-thick rectangle. Repeat the process 2 more times, flouring your work surface as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Cut out biscuits with a round cutter and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Press together scraps and cut out one or two more biscuits.
- Brush tops of biscuits with reserved egg and sprinkle with pepper and smoked paprika, if using.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.