Grandma's Best Buttermilk Biscuits
Submitted by mae145
Tender, cloud-like buttermilk biscuits using Grandma’s foolproof technique with shortening for extra-soft centers. Place close together for pillowy sides or spaced apart for all-over crispness.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
20 minREADY
30 minThis is the biscuit recipe that’s been passed down through generations for good reason.
Shortening instead of butter gives you that melt-in-your-mouth tenderness Grandma’s known for, while the buttermilk adds tang and helps activate the leavening.
Here’s the trick: how you arrange them on the pan changes everything.
Nestled close together, they rise tall with soft, pull-apart sides. Spaced apart, every edge crisps up beautifully.
Chef Tips
- Use your hands: Fingers dusted with flour work better than a pastry cutter for perfect texture
- Soft dough wins: Add just enough buttermilk to make a soft, slightly sticky dough
- Control the texture: Biscuits touching = soft sides; separated = crispy all over
- Fresh leavening: Make sure your baking powder and soda aren’t expired for best rise
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 450’F.
Sift flour, salt, soda, and baking powder into mixing bowl. Cut in shortening, using 2 knives, a pastry cutteror your hands dusted with flour.
Add sufficient buttermilk to make a soft dough. Knead lightly and turn out onto a lightly floured board.
Roll out to ½ inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter into rounds.
Place rounds not touching - for crisper biscuits - or close together - for softer biscuits - on ungreased baking sheet.
Brush with melted butter if desired and bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned.
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