Dill pickle, cheddar and chive biscuits

A flavourful, easy-to-make summer sidekick!

I’m calling it right now. These biscuits are officially my number one picnic food for the summer of 2020. As a lifelong fan of biscuits, I’m constantly experimenting with different recipes. Sometimes I spread the dough with filling then roll it up to slice it as with these spinach, feta and caramelized onion beauties or these terrific taco biscuits. But at other times I just want to mix the fillings right into the dough and be done with it. My love of all things pickled (if you don’t believe me, just type ‘pickle’ into the search bar on my website) led to this all-star combination. They’re delicious hot, warm or at room temperature and perfectly packable. If you like, you can mix together the dry ingredients, butter and cheese ahead of time and store in the refrigerator or freezer. When ready to bake, it will take just a few moments to stir in the pickles, chives and buttermilk and cut the biscuits so they are ready for the oven.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons (20 mL) baking powder
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) minced dried onion
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) very cold salted butter (measure then freeze for 10 minutes)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Cheddar
• 2/3 cup (180 mL) milk or buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) minced chives
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) diced dill pickles

Method

• Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
• Place flour, baking powder, sugar, dried onion and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
• Grate the cold butter into the bowl and toss with your fingers to combine. Add cheese and toss again.
• Add buttermilk and pickles; stir quickly to form a shaggy dough.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead 4 – 6 times to pull mixture together into a ball.
• Use your hands to pat mixture down into a rectangle of 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thickness.
• Cut with a 2” (5 cm) circle cutter and place on prepared baking tray. As you cut, take care not to twist the cutter as you press down on the dough or as you pull the cutter up out of the dough. A clean cut will keep the biscuit’s layers from getting compressed; as a result it will puff up higher and more evenly in the oven.
• Alternatively, cut into 2 inch (5 cm) squares with a very sharp knife.
• Shape scraps into a ball, pat down again and cut additional biscuits. These may not rise as much as those in the first cutting, but they’ll still be delicious.
• Bake in the preheated oven 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown on top.
• Remove tray from oven and transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes 12 to 15 biscuits.