This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
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 sit 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
-
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.
-
Measure 1 cup of buttermilk and place in the freezer for 10 minutes while prepping other ingredients.
-
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 while prepping other ingredients.
-
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar,and salt in large bowl.
-
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.)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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).
-
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.)
-
Re-melt remaining tablespoon of butter in the microwave, if necessary and brush tops of hot biscuits with melted butter. Serve and enjoy!
Tami says
I've been wanting to make biscuits for the longest time! I found your recipe and tried it this morning! Delicious! Ridiculously easy! My son is in Heaven, he loves them so much!
Chris Scheuer says
That's awesome, Tami! Thanks for reporting back your results! Biscuit heaven is a nice place to be 😂💕
Karen says
Has anyone tried these with gluten free flour mix? I would love to have a biscuit.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, I haven't but perhaps some other GF readers can chime in!
Julia says
I generally use powdered buttermilk as I find it much easier to keep on hand than the other. Could it be mixed into the dry ingredients and the butter poured into ice cold water, then blended with the dry ingredients?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julia, I honestly don't know how this would work. I have used the buttermilk powder in the past but not with this recipe. Let us know if you try it.
Benita says
My dough was a sticky, shaggy mess. I added nearly 1/4 cup more flour and it was still wet and sticky. I finally dumped the sticky mess onto a well floured board and with great difficult cut out the biscuits. Surprisingly enough, the biscuits turned out really good. Any advice on why my dough was so wet and sticky?
Heidi McIndoo says
These taste delicious. Love the ease in making. But mine weren't flaky. Any thoughts of why? THanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Heidi, I'm glad you enjoyed them.
The dough might have gotten too warm before baking. It's the cold butter globules that release steam in the oven to create the flaky layers. You can always refridgerate the cut biscuits for a bit before baking to chill the butter.
Heidi says
Thank you, I think I did that but will try again. Either way, they are Delicious!!! Just trying to get a bit of flaky layers
:o)
Donna Colman says
These biscuits were delicious and just as easy to make as you promised.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to share your results, Donna!
Elenora says
Hi , I'm going to make these today. Probably for dinner. I only have unsalted butter. Do you think I need to add extra salt or just go with the what the recipe calls for? Just wondering....
Chris Scheuer says
Unsalted butter will work just fine! Just add ½ teaspoon extra salt. Enjoy!
James Jameson says
Christchurch New Zealand here, trying American style biscuits for the first time : Wow, I'm in solo lockdown here so halved recipe and it worked perfectly. Amazing with this summer's raspberry jam. Next time I'll go all American and try with gravy....Yee Ha!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi James, greetings all the way to New Zealand! That raspberry jam sounds might fine to me! I'm so happy you conquered the American biscuit! Thanks for sharing your results!
Debbie Cabler says
This recipe is amazing. It is simple and quick. The best biscuits I have ever made. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Debbie, for taking the time to leave a comment. Love that you love these biscuits as much as we do!
Kimberly says
I made these biscuits this evening, and they were light, fluffy, buttery and moist. My family loved them so I will be adding this recipe to my family recipe box for the future. They were very easy to make, the only thing that I learned is that when I added the buttermilk it is a very short time when the butter changes from small globules of butter mixed in the buttermilk to when the butter became a large globule. It may be the butter I used (Kerrygold), it may be that I left the buttermilk in the freezer too long (I didn't time it, I estimated 10 min, it could have been 15min or a bit more). The biscuits turned out great none the less.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Kimberly for sharing your results and observations. If your buttermilk gets a little too cold and a large glob forms you can always stir a little more and it will break up again. I love Kerrygold butter! Such great flavor!
John G says
I made these biscuits today, and I was shocked by how good they are! Absolutely perfect, and so simple to make.
These went perfect with sausage gravy.
I’ve tried replicating the biscuits my grandmother use to make, but never could get them quite right, these are on par with those delicious biscuits that I haven’t had in years.
This will be my go to biscuit recipe from now on.
Thanks!!
Chris Scheuer says
I absolutely love it when readers compare these biscuits to "grandma's". That to me is the ultimate compliment 💕 Thanks so much for taking the time to share your results, John!
Angie says
These were so easy to make and taste amazing! Crispy edges with a fluffy, buttery inside. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Angie! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Jennie says
I have read about the differences in brands of flour. I use two brands of flour for my baking. “All purpose” King Arthur’s for cakes, cookies, muffins and a southern flour, “self-rising” White Lily for biscuits. Which Brand do you use for these biscuits? Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jennie, I use all-purpose flour for these biscuits, often King Arthur but I have used other brands of AP flour as well. You wouldn't want to use self-rising flour as the baking powder is not the correct proportion.
Nivi says
Can we use the yogurt drink that we get in stores for buttermilk? It usually tastes a little salty.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Nivi,
I haven't ever had the yogurt drink but it should work fine. You might want to cut back just a bit on the salt in the recipe if the drink is salty.
Kim says
Salt or unsalted butter?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kim, I always use salted butter.
Carol says
Ridiculously Easy and Ridiculously GOOD! The only thing I did (and not sure if it made a difference) was let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes to let the gluten relax and the butter firm up. Will be making again and again and again.....
Chris Scheuer says
Wonderful! Thanks so much, Carol, for sharing your results!
Julie says
Are you saying they freeze well baked or unbaked? Also, how then do you bake or reheat? Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Both! I have frozen them baked and simply thawed them and reheated for 5-6 minutes in the oven. I've also frozen them unbaked, then popped them right in the oven without thawing. They come out beautiful but just need a 4-5 minutes extra baking time.
LarryG says
Holy cow what amazing biscuits these are! Not only are they EASY but truly delicious. I will NEVER pop open a can of biscuits again!
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Agreed! Thanks, Larry for sharing your results. So happy you enjoyed them!
Julie says
Excellent - my husband stated "these are on par with my grandmothers biscuits" and her tried and true recipe is over 100 years old. I liked that it made 6, just enough for us and for hubby to have biscuits and gravy for breakfast the next day. When a northerner imported to the south gets 2 thumbs up on her biscuits you know 2 things: they're delicious and hard to mess up!!
Chris Scheuer says
Now THAT is a super compliment - grandma's biscuits are the BEST. Thanks so much, Julie, for taking the time to share your results 💕
Judy says
These are really good and easy. I am just teaching myself to make bread things, it isNot my strong suite. These were just a little heavy for me. Any suggestions?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Judy, to get the optimum rise, you want to bake these biscuits while the butter is still nice and cold. If your biscuits are heavy, you might want to pop the unbaked biscuits into the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so, before baking to chill the butter again.
Sally says
How can the butter be nice and cold. Wouldn't it be room temperature after microwaving and setting aside? Or, should it be refrigerated for a bit? Please advise. Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sally, the butter gets cold in the ice-cold buttermilk. You just don't want it to warm too much.
Katie says
I thought for sure I'd fail because I've struggled making biscuits the traditional way, but this method is foolproof! The biscuits were delicious and so easy to make!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! That's just awesome, Katie!
Karen Gray says
I'm so glad I stumbled across your website. I've struggled over the years with making biscuits. I could never get them right. These were easy and delicious. I loved not having to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your results, Karen and welcome to The Café! 💕
Sue McWhorter says
Brilliant, simply brilliant!
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Thanks, Sue!
Heather Fillmore says
Its hard to find all purpose flour these days. Can I substitute self rising flour?
Chris Scheuer says
It won't be exactly the same, Heather, but I think it will work. Each cup of self-rising flour has 1½ teaspoons of baking powder so your biscuits will have 3 teaspoons of baking powder instead of two. That shouldn't make too much difference. You'll still want to add the baking soda but just 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Enjoy!
Eva Sung says
This recipe intrigued me and I have been dying to try it out. I love biscuits but I could never get a that light and fluffy consistency when I made them myself until now! OMG! They are delightful, melt in your mouth and super simple to make. It's very convenient that you don't need any special tools like a pastry cutter or grater to turn these out. Additionally, I did not even need a biscuit cutter or drinking glass as I just cut them into small 1 x 1.5 inch rectangles and baked them about 1/2 inch apart in my toaster oven; it's ok that they touch when baking (I got 18 mini biscuits this way). My kids devoured them...they were slightly crispy on the outside and moist and light on the inside. So simple and delicious. Definitely a keeper! These will become one of my favorite recipes!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, so much, Eva, for sharing your review. I'm so happy you and your family enjoyed them!