Butter Biscuits

Content… The Classic Recipe Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions What to Serve More Super Easy Biscuit Recipes to Try Watch How to Make It

Classic Butter Biscuit Recipe

Fluffy, flaky biscuits with a crusty exterior and soft, moist center have a few common ingredients. The basics include flour, fat (butter or lard), baking powder, and liquid (buttermilk is the usual). The combination is totally addictive. Besides, you can add other flavors, like garlic and herbs, for a savory biscuit or honey for a sweet treat.

Ingredient List

1. Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking powder, a touch of sugar (optional), and salt make a versatile quick bread. A gluten-free, all-purpose flour mixture will work fine.
2. Butter – Not only does it add flavor and richness, but it also keeps our biscuits moist and soft. I use unsalted butter, but salted butter also works if you reduce the amount of salt.
3. Buttermilk – The acidity boosts the baking powder’s rising power. A higher fat content delivers soft and moist butter biscuits. Whole milk or homemade buttermilk also works.

How to Make Butter Biscuits

Make the Biscuit Dough

• Dry Ingredients – Sift flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. (Photo 1)
• Add Butter – Quickly grate frozen butter into the flour mixture to evenly distribute the fat for light biscuits. Or cut the butter in with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Buttermilk – Make a well in the center of the bowl, pour in the buttermilk or milk, and stir until it just comes together. Don’t overmix! (You want the butter to stay in tiny chunks for flakiness.) (Photo 2)
• Chill – Let it rest in the fridge for about 10 minutes while you prepare your surface.
• Knead – Sprinkle flour onto your clean work surface. Remove dough from the fridge, place it on the board, and knead 3-4 times, just enough to come together. You’ll still see flakes of butter in the dough. (Photos 3-4)
• Roll – Gently, gently pat the dough or roll it to around ½″ thick. Fold the dough and repeat the folding process 6-8 times to ensure flakiness, but go easy on the rolling process. After folding, gently press the dough to 1-inch thick. (Photo 5)

Make the Biscuits

• Preheat oven to 400°F (205℃).
• Cut – Use a 2- or 3-inch, round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass to cut out the biscuits. Firmly push it straight down, then pull it straight up. Use your fingers to gently loosen the biscuits from the cutter and space them out equally on your greased baking sheet. (Photo 6)
• Finishing – Knead leftover dough scraps and repeat until it’s all used up. The last few might not look as pretty as the first ones, but they’ll pass a taste test. (Photo 7)
• Brush lightly with buttermilk or cream. (Photo 8)
• Bake biscuits at 400°F (205℃) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. While it is baking, melt the butter.
• Serve – Remove the butter biscuits from the oven, brush them with melted butter, and serve.

Recipe Variations

1. Honey Butter – The lovely combination of honey and butter perfectly complements fried chicken for a honey butter chicken biscuit. Yum! 😉
2. Cheesy Delight – Add a cup of grated cheddar to enjoy these cheesy butter biscuits. 👌
3. Herb-Infused – I bet you’ll also love these butter biscuits with a savory herby twist. You can go for mild-flavored herbs such as thyme, chives, parsley, and rosemary and omit the sugar.

Tips and Tricks

1. Freeze the butter and refrigerate the milk for at least an hour before starting for fluffy biscuits.
2. Chill the dough after kneading to keep the butter cold.
3. Please don’t overmix! The butter may melt and the gluten will develop for not-so-tender biscuits.
4. A pastry cutter, two knives, or forks help mix the butter into the flour mixture without your hands warming the butter.
5. Folding the dough creates beautiful flaky layers to our homemade biscuits.

Make-Ahead and Serving Instructions

For making ahead:

• Cut out the biscuits, transfer them to a baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate them for 2-3 days or freeze them for 2-3 months.
• Transfer the frozen biscuits to a resealable freezer-safe bag and take out as many or as few as you want to bake.

When ready to bake, pop them in the oven, and they’ll be ready in no time. Perfect for busy mornings, snacks, or midnight cravings.

What to Serve With Butter Biscuits

You’ll love these butter biscuits with clotted cream, creme anglaise, lemon curd, or chocolate gravy for a snack or dessert. Southern baked mac and cheese and collard greens deliver a classic Southern comfort food dinner.

More Super Easy Biscuit Recipes to Try

1. Honey Butter Biscuits
2. Lemon Blueberry Scones
3. Strawberry Biscuits
4. Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits
5. Angel Biscuits
6. Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was first published in March 2022 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video