Buttermilk Biscuits with Chives and Goat Cheese

Chives are kind of like parsley for me -- I frequently use them as a garnish, but never as a primary ingredient. But after receiving a huge bunch of chives in my Greenling box a few weeks ago, I thought it was time to change that.

Anyone else know some recipes that use chives as a main ingredient?

From Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 c. to 1/2 c. of freshly chopped chives (can also use chopped green onions)
• 1 5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (I've never seen a 5 oz. log of goat cheese; mine come in 4 and 8 oz. sizes. I used 4 oz. and it was plenty.)
• 1 c. buttermilk (plus 1 Tbsp. for finish)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper. (Elise's recipe doesn't say to butter the parchment paper, but I would. Mine stuck to the paper. Actually, I'd use a Silpat to make these again. I just didn't have 2 of them.)
• Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
• Incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients with your hands until it's crumbly.
• Add the chives, goat cheese and buttermilk. Stir with fork just until a sticky dough forms (bits of cheese will be visible in dough).
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (I needed much more flour than "lightly floured" to knead it) and knead gently 8 times with floured hands. Do not over-knead!
• Form into a round, about 3/4-inch to an inch thick. Cut the round into 8 wedges.
• Use a pastry brush to brush on some extra buttermilk over the surface of the wedges.
• Bake for ~20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Mine weren't as golden brown as I would like because my oven started smoking in the middle of cooking; I had to reduce the heat and cook them for a few minutes longer instead. Oh well. That's what I get for not having a self-cleaning oven.

Verdict:
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I should say that Cory didn't care for these because he doesn't like goat cheese (weird, I know), but take my word for it -- these were absolutely incredible. The dough was light and the buttermilk gave it a tang that went so well with the tanginess of the goat cheese. The chives mellowed in the baking process so that while the onion flavor permeated throughout the biscuit, it was mild and pleasant.