Cathead Biscuits -This flaky and pillowy fluffy Southern biscuit easily comes together in no time without burning a hole in your pocket. The biggest, easiest, and most amazing buttery biscuit you’ll ever have with NO KNEADING involved! Whether you serve it as an appetizer, side, or a simple snack, you’re definitely in for a tasty treat.
One of the features I look for in comfort food is a special surprise. You know the feeling you get when you open your presents on Christmas morning? That’s what you’ll have with every bite of this southern biscuit recipe. The golden exterior looks like it’s dense like bread but it actually hides a pillowy and cloud-like softness on the inside.
Oh yes! This easy homemade baked treat is surely one of my favorite biscuit recipes. What I like about this is that it’s hefty and budget-friendly and effortlessly pleasing without the need for kneading. No dear, you wouldn’t get sore arms from making this dish.
Why is it Called Cathead Biscuit?
If you think about biscuits, in general, you’ll probably have an image of treats you can hold with three fingers. Maybe four for me since I’m a small home chef. This isn’t the case for the cathead biscuits since they are way bigger compared to other traditional biscuits.
The reason why it’s called cathead is that it’s as big as a cat’s head. Really! It’s a big southern treat that’s comparable to the size of a regular burger bun or maybe even bigger.
Most southern biscuits use high protein flour to achieve a denser and more tender internal texture. This, however, creates more protein strands in the final product, not to mention the gluten, which makes it chewier.
Cathead Biscuits use flour with less protein or a mix of different flours. This lets our goodies rise bigger, quicker, and fluffier than other traditional southern treats.
Recipe Ingredients
If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you know that I like making my dishes from scratch. This is the same for this Southern biscuit recipe too because it’s actually easier than buying ready-made pastry. Here’s everything you’ll need to make Cathead Biscuits from scratch.
- All-purpose flour
- Cake flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Buttermilk (you can make your own with this RECIPE HERE)
- Honey or honey butter
Southern Biscuits vs Scones
Many people mistake Scones for biscuits. Well, I can’t blame them, they’re both delicious comfort food that pairs well with many warm drinks. However, there is a difference in composition, size, and taste between the two.
The composition of southern biscuits such as this cathead is different from turnovers and scones. The flour used, for one, has less protein. That means it should have less gluten, right? Wrong! Although it has less protein, gluten is actually formed when you knead the dough.
So, why does our southern biscuit recipe have less protein? The answer to that is another ingredient we use; Buttermilk! The acidity of this ingredient cuts gluten formation so that the mixture can be looser.
Why does this matter? Well, we also use a leavening agent that incorporates air (carbon dioxide) in the mixture. This makes the dish virtually bigger softer, fluffier, and flakier. The lack of gluten and other proteins make it easier for the leavening agent to do its job.
Overall, scones are richer and more flavorful because milk is high in fat that is used for the mixture. It’s also chewier and denser compared to biscuits. Our recipe today has a crumblier, flakier, and lighter texture and has more butter and acidity because of the buttermilk.
Storage and Making Ahead Instructions
Yes! You can make these cuties ahead of time, either baked or in dough form.
Refrigerating or Freezing the Dough. All you have to do is prepare the dough and line them on a baking pan lined with a baking sheet. Instead of baking them in the oven, cover them with plastic wrap. These frozen doughs can last for about 3 months. Thaw the dough until they’re soft before placing them in the oven to bake.
Storing at Room Temperature. If you’ve already baked your biscuits but plan on eating them some other day, store them safely with these methods. Simply store them in the pantry at room temperature and they’ll be good for up to two days.
Refrigerating or Freezing Baked Biscuits. These baked biscuits in an airtight container will give it about one week of shelf life. Furthermore, freezing baked cathead biscuits in a freezer-safe bag will give you about 2 months of shelf life.
Reheating. To reheat, preheat the oven to 350 F. bake them in the oven for about 15 – 20 minutes. Just check the biscuits every now and then because the reheating time would depend on the size of the biscuit.
Serving Suggestions
Just like other baked treats, it perfectly goes with many toppings, drinks, and sauces (see my Chocolate Gravy HERE). The beauty of this dish is its light flavor. So you can pair it with almost anything. Here are my top pairing picks for this southern biscuit.
- Catch every luscious flavor of Chicken Ala King with the perfect side of these biscuits.
- Enjoy these with a full delicious bite of Clotted Cream in it.
- Serve these biscuits along with a warm cup of Ginger Tea or a cold glass of this Southern Sweet Tea.
- Go Southern all-the-way with the juicy tenderness of Southern Fried Chicken that simply goes well with our dish for today.
- Lastly, to complete your full meal, a side of our biscuits goes well with a hearty serving of this Hamburger Steak and Gravy. Use the biscuits to mop up all those gravy!
More Biscuit Recipes
- Easy Drop Biscuits
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
- Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuit
- Flaky Homemade Biscuit
- Angel Biscuits
How to Make Cathead Biscuits
Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 degrees C. Spray a cast iron pan or 10-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Next, add butter and mix using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, this might take about 3- 5 minutes. Your flour should be crumbly with pea-size chunks.
Pour in buttermilk and mix with the fork until everything is combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. The mixture should be soft enough to scoop. Use a ½ measuring cup to scoop up the dough. Place in the prepared cooking pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it browns up. Remove and serve warm with honey, butter, or collard greens.
Watch How To Make It
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Fluffy Cathead Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup (135 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (230 grams) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces (170 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 ⅓ cups (320 grams) buttermilk
- honey butter (RECIPE HERE) or honey, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 degrees C.
- Spray a cast iron pan or 10-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
- Next, add butter and mix using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, this might take about 3- 5 minutes. Your flour should be crumbly with pea-size chunks.
- Pour in buttermilk and mix with the fork until everything is combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. The mixture should be soft enough to scoop.
- Use a ½ measuring cup to scoop up the dough. Place in the prepared cooking pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until it browns up. Remove and serve warm with honey, honey butter, or collard greens.
Tips & Notes:
- You can use 3 cups of White Lily flour instead of a mixture of cake-flour and all-purpose flour.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. Please keep in mind that it is a rough estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary greatly based on the products used.
John P. says
Loved this recipe, came out just as you described. I served with my own Creamy Sausage Gravy and there wasn’t a crumb left!
Imma says
lovely to hear your experience with the recipe. Thank you so much for your valuable feedback:)