Popular Buttermilk Biscuits
Submitted by janieg234
Buttermilk biscuits in miniature form with a flaky butter crust and tender buttermilk crumb. A small-batch recipe perfect for two-person households or fancy hors d’oeuvres bases.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
15 minREADY
45 minThese miniature buttermilk biscuits prove that small-batch baking has a place in the kitchen. The whole batch fits in a single bowl and uses just six ingredients, making them ideal for an impromptu Sunday brunch or as the base for a tray of biscuits and ham sliders.
Use your fingertips (not your palms) to cut the cold butter into the flour. Body heat from your palms melts the butter into the flour, which is exactly what you don’t want. The goal is pebbly, coarse crumbs with visible butter pieces still intact. Those butter pockets are what create the flaky layers as steam escapes during baking.
The buttermilk goes in slowly. Some flours absorb more liquid than others, so add it a tablespoon at a time and stop the moment the dough comes together. Sticky dough means soggy biscuits; dry dough means crumbly ones.
Don’t twist your cutter. Press straight down through the dough and lift straight up. Twisting seals the edges and prevents the layers from rising.
Pro Tips
- Freeze the butter for 10 minutes before cutting it in. Cold butter is the secret to flaky layers.
- Use cold buttermilk straight from the fridge for the same reason.
- The rerolled scraps will be tougher, so use them for cobblers or biscuit-and-gravy bases rather than serving alongside the first cut.
Variations
- Add 2 tablespoons of grated sharp cheddar and a pinch of cayenne for cheese biscuits.
- Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt and chopped chives just before baking for a savory upgrade.
- Brush the warm biscuits with honey butter for a sweet finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃). Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and blend thoroughly.
Cream in the butter with your fingers or a fork, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the buttermilk a little at a time and, using your hands or a fork, work it in just until it’s thoroughly incorporated and you have a smooth ball of dough.
Don’t overwork or overhandle the dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a circle about 7 inches in diameter, ½ inch thick.
Using a small round cookie cutter or the rim of a shot glass, press out twelve 1inch rounds.
If you like, you can reroll the leftover dough to make more, but the texture of these will be denser than the others.
Place the dough rounds on the baking sheet and bake until golden on top and brown on the bottom, for about 15 minutes.
Serve warm.
Makes 12 miniature biscuits.
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