Making homemade biscuits always scared the hell outta me. They always seemed to be time consuming, and anything involving “cutting in” of cold butter tends to make me nervous too. After seeing Josie’s post on them (such the Southern belle!), she gave me the confidence I needed to try. So glad I gave it a go – because they turned out absolutely perfectly. And both of my concerns that I listed above were completely unfounded.
First off, they aren’t time consuming. Not even15 minutes of prep work, and I had gorgeous butter-topped biscuits that I was putting into the oven. The food processor pretty much does all the work for you, that machine is such a workhorse in my kitchen. A few quick pulses of the flour and butter, then you add the liquid components, knead a few times, shape and cut. It’s that easy!
I don’t like to brag, but they easily were the best biscuits I’ve seen, or tasted. They stood a mile high! Okay, maybe not a mile…but still, very tall. And the fluffy layers? Unparalleled. They were the perfect accompaniment to the fried chicken dinner I made that night, and the boys and I enjoyed the leftover biscuits with blueberry preserves the next morning. So, if you’re a bit scared of them like I was, get your butt in the kitchen and give it a try. This recipe won’t let you down!
Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits
2 1/4 cups cake flour or 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
2 Tbs melted butter, for brushing
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Pulse several times to combine well. Add the butter, and continue to pulse in 2-second increments, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces (about 5 pulses). This can also be done using a pastry blender or 2 forks if you don’t have a food processor.
Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, pour the buttermilk over it, and use a fork to mix for about 1 minute, or until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead with floured hands, and pat into a rectangle about 6×10 inches and 1-inch thick.
Fold the dough like a business letter (the righmost third over the center third, then the left third on top). Turn the dough a quarter of a turn, pat it into another 6×10 inch rectangle, and fold it upon itself in thirds again. Repeat one more time, then pat the dough into a 6×10 inch rectangle a final time.
Using a floured 2-3 inch biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits from the dough and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Pat the scraps into a 1-inch thick rectangle and cut more biscuits.
Brush the tops with half the melted butter, and bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are just beginning to brown. Brush the tops again with the remaining butter and serve warm.
Source: Pink Parsley, originally from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
8 Comments
I love homemade biscuits, but the height is always lacking. These look perfect!
I adore biscuits, they are a favorite breakfast food. And lunch food. And dinner food. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
These are going to be breakfast this weekend. Hope I have blackberry jam left
I’ve always been intimidated with making homemade biscuits but I’ve heard that they can be quite easy. And I’m sure the rising of the biscuits would make all the efforts quite worth it. Can’t wait to give this a try!
So fluffy and light looking! I LOVE biscuits. These look amazing…
I love love love biscuits with the flaky layers! These are beautiful, Laura!
I made these for dinner last night, we had biscuits and gravy…I’m pregnant, these things happen. I have been craving real homemade biscuits for several days and was intimidated to make them, having never tried to make biscuits at home before. I found your recipe on Pinterest and the food processor was what hooked me in. We thought these were delish! Mine didn’t rise real high (old stuff maybe?) but the flavor was great. I was shocked how fast it took me, I had them in the oven in under half an hour (I’m not a fast cook). This recipe is now in my back pocket for my go to biscuit recipe, and frankly I won’t be bothering with those “pop” can biscuits ever again!
I’m so glad! They are so easy, I’ve shocked myself some Sunday mornings. Maybe treat yourself to a new can of baking powder? It can go stale on you, and lose rising power. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, I really appreciate it!