Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
These Easy Buttermilk Biscuits are buttery, flaky and super simple to make. Make a batch for dinner tonight…or breakfast tomorrow…or both!
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There is no such thing as one type of biscuit. Growing up in a Southern kitchen, biscuits made regular appearances on the table. There were the light and fluffy angel biscuits – similar to the ones that come from the can of refrigerated dough. There were biscuits stuffed with ham & cheese, fried chicken, blueberries and everything in between. There were biscuits smothered with sausage gravy. There were even biscuits made from sweet potatoes.
So if you think about it, biscuits are like chocolate chip cookies. There are hundreds of different versions, and each one has its advantages. Today’s recipe is for Easy Buttermilk Biscuits. As the name suggests, these biscuits are easy to make. They include a cup of buttermilk and a stick of butter, so the butter flavor is amazing! These biscuits are perfect when you want biscuits for dinner (or breakfast) without much of a fuss.
Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
I love these biscuits. They’re easy and delicious. But I will say that they are a bit denser than most biscuits. That’s not necessary a bad thing, although it might throw you off when you pick up that first biscuit off the cooling rack.
Not to go all baking nerdy here, but the reason these biscuits are denser is because of the melted butter. Rather than using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dough, this recipe calls for melted butter to get stirred into the flour mixture. The difference between cubes of butter and melted butter is what causes the difference in texture.
With that said, these biscuits are still mighty delicious! Normally a dense biscuit gets an unhappy look and maybe a side eye around our house. Not this time! One bite, and I was like, “Oh, hello. I like you, biscuit.” Add a bit of grape jam, and I’m in hog heaven.
Ingredients
- Buttermilk. The main liquid in this recipe is buttermilk. If you don’t keep a container of buttermilk in your fridge (who does!?), I recommend keeping a container of powdered buttermilk instead. You can do the milk + vinegar trick but I find that powdered buttermilk is much easier. Just mix the powdered buttermilk with water to make…you guessed it, buttermilk! That way you can mix up as much or as little as you need for a recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour. Make sure to use a little extra flour to dust the countertop or cutting board!
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda. Leaveners that make these biscuits rise in the oven.
- Salt + Sugar. A tiny bit of each adds a whole lot of flavor…and also makes these biscuits more tender.
- Butter. Melted butter gets mixed into the dough. It’s a bit unusual to see a biscuit dough with melted butter, but it works – and it’s easy!
- Egg. The egg gets whisked with a tablespoon of water and brushed on top of the biscuits before baking. This is what creates that shiny, golden color rather than the floury texture. Feel free to omit the egg wash if you prefer that homemade, floury texture on top instead.
If you’ve made homemade biscuits before, then you know that one of the secrets is using cold butter. Like cold, cold butter. Sometimes even frozen butter. In this case, we’re using the opposite – melted butter. To compensate, we put the buttermilk in the freezer for ~15 minutes and then we put the biscuits themselves (before baking) into the freezer for another ~15 minutes. While this adds a bit of overall time, it’s inactive time, so it’s easy.
Don’t Turn the Cookie Cutter!
Another classic secret to making amazing homemade biscuits is to avoid turning the cutter when cutting the dough. So you pat the dough into a rectangle. Then you grab a round cookie cutter and get to cutting. But as you cut, don’t rotate that cutter! I know it’s a natural feeling to turn the cutter as you cut. Don’t do it.
When making biscuits, if you twist the biscuit cutter, it can seal the edges of the biscuits. That will prevent the biscuits from rising properly in the oven. Twisting the cutter also compresses the dough down a bit. We don’t want that. So just press the cutter straight into the biscuit dough and lift it straight back out. This clean cut will allow the biscuits to rise to their full potential in the hot oven. (Speaking of cutters, I use this round cookie cutter set for both cookies and biscuits – I love it!)
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover biscuits should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. I recommend splitting the leftover biscuits in half and lightly toasting them in an oven or toaster oven before serving.
If you’re looking for an easy homemade biscuit recipe, then I recommend making these Easy Buttermilk Biscuits. The taste is fantastic, and the recipe is straightforward and simple. Happy Baking!
Did you make this Easy Buttermilk Biscuits recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray pan with cooking spray; set pan aside.
- Place buttermilk in freezer for ~15 minutes.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda; whisk together until well combined.
- Using a small mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and cold buttermilk.
- Add buttermilk mixture to bowl with dry ingredients. Stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Note: The dough should be fairly stiff. If it’s too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until fairly stiff.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 30-45 seconds and then press dough into a 6”x6” square.
- Using a 2½” round cookie cutter dipped in flour, press down without twisting cutter. Place biscuits 1½” apart on the lined baking sheet. Reroll scraps as needed until all dough has been used.
- Place pan in freezer for ~15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp of water; brush egg wash on top of biscuits.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops are light golden brown in color.
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