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These tall, flaky, Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits take less than 10 minutes to throw together. They're also ridiculously delicious!
"Brilliant, simply brilliant!" That’s what I said, right out loud, when I read the unbelievably easy directions for preparing these buttermilk biscuits.
The technique was created by the super-smart folks over at Cook's Illustrated. When I read their method for making drop biscuits, I figured it was too good to be true. But being a curious cat when it comes to all things culinary, I couldn't resist giving it a try.
You would have probably laughed if you saw me just after I read the article. I ran to the kitchen, turned on the oven and pulled out a bowl, along with measuring tools and the necessary ingredients. All super basic ingredients that I had in my pantry and fridge (you probably do too!). The simple cast of characters includes flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, buttermilk and butter, that's it!
Classic Technique
Why did this sound too good to be true? Well, buttermilk biscuits can be a bit tricky. The technique usually calls for combining the dry ingredients, then “cutting” in cold butter with a knife, a pastry cutter or between your fingers. The liquid is then added and everything is gently combined.
If done correctly, the tiny pieces of butter, evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture, are what give classic buttermilk biscuits their lightness, flakiness and layers of peelable, buttery deliciousness. It’s not a difficult technique, just a bit time consuming, and the results are not always consistent. The Cook's Illustrated technique is totally different... and ridiculously easy!
Ridiculously Easy Technique
How does it work? Well, I'm glad you asked... start by placing a cup of buttermilk in the freezer for a few minutes while you melt the butter in the microwave. Let the melted butter chill while you prep the other ingredients. Then, it's just a matter of combining all the dry ingredients in a bowl and giving them a good stir. The melted butter is then combined with the super cold buttermilk. And this, my people, is when the magic begins!
When the warm butter hits the cold liquid, small, buttery globules form as you can see in the picture below.
Do you see where this is going? When this buttermilk mixture is added to the dry flour mixture and it's all stirred together, you'll notice tiny pieces of pale yellow butter dotting the simple dough. Yep, it will look just as if you spent the time to cut them in!
Would this technique work for traditional, rolled biscuits?
The Cook's Illustrated recipe is for simple drop biscuits, meaning you just drop spoonfuls onto a sheet pan, then bake. Would this technique work for a more classic, cut-out style biscuit, I wondered? You never know until you try, so I decided to give it a whirl!
I turned out the dough onto a floured work surface, kneaded it a few times, then patted it into a small, square. Dipping a round biscuit cutter in flour, I cut four circles, then rerolled the scraps and cut two more for a total of six. (Since then, I've also used a smaller cutter, yielding 8 biscuits.)
It was easy enough; actually ridiculously easy! The biscuits rolled out of the oven tall and golden brown with a heavenly aroma. But you're probably wondering how this version tastes and how they stack up to traditional buttermilk biscuits, right?
The results?
When Scott and I took the first bite, we looked at each other incredulously. The biscuits were light, tender, buttery, flaky and crazy-delicious. "Wow, these are amazing!" Scott said. I agreed.
In fact, we ate far too many that day, smothered with melted butter and strawberry jam. You'd probably frown on us if I told you these biscuits also ended up being dinner that night, so I won't share that bit of information. I guess I'll just say, it wouldn't have been a good day for counting calories!
I've had quite a few happy taste-testers since then, and everyone is shocked when they hear how easy these wonderful buttermilk biscuits are to make. In fact check out the video below, to see for yourself!
Try it! You'll be shocked (and delighted) too... you might even have the inclination to exclaim "Brilliant, simply brilliant!"
Bon Appétit!
Café Tips for making Buttermilk Biscuits
- If you don't have buttermilk, make your own. Place 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Fill to 1 cup level with milk and stir well. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. The mixture may curdle a bit, that's okay! Use in recipes in lieu of buttermilk.
- Don't skip chilling the buttermilk (step 2). It will definitely make a difference. If the buttermilk isn't really cold, the little butter globules won't form.
- I made these biscuits when I was in London visiting my daughter. I learned that all-purpose flour (Plain flour) is a bit different there and it seemed like I needed more, probably closer to 2 ¼ cups.
- These biscuits freeze well, both unbaked and baked. To freeze them unbaked or baked, place biscuits on a sheet pan or a plate spaced at least a half-inch from each other. Freeze till frozen, then transfer biscuits to a ziplock bag or air-tight storage container. If you've frozen them unbaked, bake them as directed in the recipe right from the freezer. Give them a couple extra minutes in the oven to compensate for the fact that they were frozen.
- If you freeze these buttermilk biscuits after baking, allow them to thaw when you're ready to use them and then warm in the oven for 5-8 minutes at 300˚F.
- If I'm feeling a bit pinched for time or just lazy, I'll pat the dough into a 6-inch circle and use a bench scraper to cut the dough into wedges. I either put these wedges on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or in a 9-inch cake pan lined with parchment.
- Another shortcut is to simply scoop up the dough, right from the bowl onto a sheet pan and bake as directed.
- We love to serve these biscuits with our Easy Strawberry Freezer Jam or this Overnight Raspberry Freezer Jam.
Love these biscuits? Then you'll also go crazy over these Ridiculously Easy Cheddar Chive Biscuits, made with the same easy technique!
Thought for the day:
Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4&5
What we're listening to for inspiration:
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 9 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 cups all purpose flour more for counter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
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Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
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Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place in the freezer for 10 minutes while prepping other ingredients.
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Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover and heat on high for 30 seconds. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.
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Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar,and salt in large bowl.
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After buttermilk has been chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, combine it with 8 tablespoons of the melted butter. (Reserve the last tablespoon for brushing on the baked biscuits.) Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules. (See picture in the post.)
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Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The dough should be stiff and not super wet. If the dough is wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine, until fairly stiff.
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Generously flour a work surface. Dump biscuit dough from bowl onto prepared work surface and turn to coat all surfaces with flour. Knead on counter 5-6 times (about 30 seconds). Flip over on the work surface to coat with flour then pat into a 6-inch square. It should be a 1½-2-inches in height.
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Cut four biscuits with a 2 ½-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on the prepared sheet pan. Knead scraps a few times till they hold together, then pat into a small rectangle and cut two more biscuits. Transfer last two biscuits to the sheet pan, spacing about 1 ½ inches apart. (See Café Tips in the post for an even easier cutting technique).
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Place in oven and bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 8 to 18 minutes. (start checking them after 8 minutes as ovens vary. You want them to be a nice golden brown, but not too brown - check the pictures above for correct color.)
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Re-melt remaining tablespoon of butter in the microwave, if necessary and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Serve and enjoy!
Julianne says
Can you bake these in a cast iron skillet instead? Excited to try this one.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Yes! Enjoy, Julianne!
Gail says
I've just discovered your blog and love it! This is a fantastic technique, which I've used a number of times. I HATE cutting butter into flour - and will never do it again! A couple of alternative ingredients: 1) Use self-rising flour and just add baking soda, and 2) If using milk (whole, please), omit the baking soda. So you would need only three ingredients for fabulous biscuits!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Gail!
Susan says
TOO GOOD TO BE REAL! My forever recipe! It was SO EASY, I just felt like a real cook!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So happy to hear that, Susan!
Lisa Neighbour says
I've made these twice now, once with grated lemon rind and cranberries, and once with less sugar, chopped herbs, and grated cheddar, both times they were delicious. I'm tossing my old recipe! BTW I used a pizza cutter to quickly cut the dough into squares. I used a silicone baking mat and they worked out nice and crispy on the bottom. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Wonderful! Thank you for letting us know, Lisa!
julie says
I'm curious, what is the reason when you adapted this from another recipe you increased the oven temp? My instinct was to lower it to 425-degrees so the inside would cook before they over browned in my baking experience. Was it to get more lift? Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julie, the original recipe was actually 475˚F. I reduced the temp as they would get too brown, too quickly.
julie says
Oh, I thought I saw it lower. Thank you for your kind and quick reply!
Amy says
Made these a few days ago… technique blew my mind and they were crazy delicious!
Question, can you make the dough and then refrigerate it? Would you do anything or let it warm up before you bake?
Thanks!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Amy. Yes, you can do that. It might just need an extra minute or two. You can also freeze them, unbaked and then bake from frozen.
Patti says
I made these with bread flour instead of all-purpose and added cheddar cheese and jalapeños. They were super fluffy and delicious!
My oven required a 13 min bake time.
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Patti! Thanks for letting us know.
Katie Sample says
I have tried making biscuits since my early twenties and they’ve always came out like rocks! I make a mean batch of homemade white gravy so I always always super sad I couldn’t master the biscuits to go along with it I’d have to use store bought. I was nervous making this because I’ve never succeeded and I was blown away!! They’re not rocks!! Thank you so so much for sharing this recipe. And I used the vinegar in regular milk method and it’s perfect 🤩
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thank you for letting us know, Katie!
Jan says
This recipe is amazing! Just as you said, Chris. Tall, flaky and ridiculously delicious! Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Jan!
Brenda Brydges says
Chris I made these yesterday afternoon and you are correct. The method is fabulous, works so well. Loved them. Today I sliced, toasted and topped with butter and homemade bumbleberry jam - wow! Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thank you for letting us know, Brenda!
Laura M says
This method of making buttermilk biscuits is genius!!! Why haven’t I thought of this before haha! I would always have to grate my butter, freeze it, then knead it piece by piece into the flour mixture. Would usually take a while. This way I think it took my 10 minutes total to get the dough fully together and into the pan! They turned out delicious and buttery just how you want biscuits to be. Thanks for sharing! Definitely my go to recipe from here on out!
Jenn says
this was so incredibly easy! They turned out very moist and flakey. Next time I will add different herbs to change it up a bit. I can't wait to try scones using this method.
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks, Jenn!
Lauren says
If I do the scoop method, does the baking time change? Asking in anticipation of my laziness tomorrow morning.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lauren, so sorry, just seeing this. I use the scoop and level method or stir, scoop and level however, with this recipe, it shouldn't make too much difference.
Amber says
These came out golden and pretty but were still raw in the middle. I'll stick to my usual recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Amber, so sorry you had difficulty with this recipe. You probably just needed to make them a little longer as every oven is a little bit different. If you read the other reviews, the majority of people have had a fantastic success with this recipe. Again sorry this was a problem, I hate wasting good ingredients.
Bob says
I have made many biscuit recipes and I thought this recipe was interesting. I made them tonight and OMG they were fantastic. They will now be my go to recipe. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Bob!
Angela says
Truly ridiculously easy. They get better each time I make them. My family asks for them often. I even have future requests for these biscuits to be added to birthday dinners. They are fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing!
Chris Scheuer says
Wonderful! Thank you for letting us know, Angela!
Terri Bridges says
Chris,
I need to make a lot of these because I am feeding my youth group at church. Can the recipe be double? tripled? or should I just make several small batches?
Thanks,
Terri
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Terri,
I think it would be fine to double the recipe! Hope the kids love them!
Terri Bridges says
Thank you Chris. I'm sure they will! My husband and I did, and they are SO easy and delicious!
Jules says
Just last night I tripled and a half because I had 3.5 cups of buttermilk I didn’t want to go to waste. As long as your math holds up it seems you can multiply as much as you wish, mine turned out just as good as when I made a single recipe. I baked 8 and froze the rest raw to bring to a holiday gathering. Phenomenal recipe I can’t believe how much of my life I wasted cutting butter in 😁
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Jules! Thank you for letting us know!
Allison says
Chris, these are ahhh- mazing! I’ve made biscuits several times and can’t believe the melted butter into super cold buttermilk method! I’ve already used your recipe and technique for three batches that have turned out great every time. I prefer making a square and cutting with a bench scraper vs. biscuit cutters so I’m not handling the dough as much. Cannot thank you enough!
Chris Scheuer says
Wonderful! Thank you for letting us know, Allison!
Kelly Kim says
I'm eating one of these amazing biscuits while I'm writing this review. Thank you so much! I've never been able to make a great biscuit following other recipes. They always turn out like bricks and I end up buying the canned ones out of defeat. These are so easy and amazing.
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Kelly! Thank you for letting us know!
Tammy says
I love the technique you mentioned about adding melted butter to the cold buttermilk instead of cutting it in. I'm curious if you've used this for scones or other recipes that say to cut in butter?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes! We have many recipes for scones and biscuits that use this technique. Check out some of our other recipes here- https://thecafesucrefarine.com/hello-fall-scone-and-muffin-recipes-to-celebrate-the-season/ and here- https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-ridiculously-delicious-buttermilk-biscuit-recipes/
Tammy says
Thank you! I have scones on my meal plan for this week but always dread it because I hate cutting the butter. I'll definitely be trying this method for the scones.
Chris Scheuer says
I know what you mean!