Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Tender, flakey buttermilk biscuits make a delicious breakfast or dinner side

My husband is an avid golfer and sports fan, so the final day of the Masters tournament is one of his favorite Sundays of the year. In honor of the Augusta location and my excitement over adhering to a theme for every small event, I made some Southern food for us to lunch on while we were watching the TV. These biscuits, adapted from an Alton Brown recipe, were a huge hit and so simple to make. The key to making the dough is to make sure that all the ingredients, especially the butter, stays cold before baking. The clumps of cold butter create steam while they bake, which leads to flakey layers of biscuit. I like to split the warm biscuits open and slather them with a little soft butter and local honey, but they also make great little sandwiches to fill with ham or turkey. Any leftover biscuits are great to have with jam the next morning.


More Recipes for Southern Food:
- Smothered Chicken
- Buttermilk Cornbread
- Chicken, Sausage, & Shrimp Jambalaya


Southern Buttermilk Biscuits:

• Preheat the oven to 425F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Stir together 2 c. all-purpose flour, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. sugar, 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/4 c. baking soda in a mixing bowl.
• Dice 4 tbsp. of very cold butter and then use your fingers or a pastry cutter to quickly work the butter into the flour mixture until the largest pieces of butter are the size of small peas.
• Form a well into the center of the mixture and pour in 1 c. of cold buttermilk and stir until the mixture comes together in a ball.
• Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1" thick rectangle.
• Cut the dough into rounds* and place on the baking sheet.
• Melt 1 tbsp. butter and brush on top of each biscuit, then transfer to the oven.
• Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the biscuits have risen and turn lightly golden.
• Let cool slightly, then serve with butter, jam, honey, etc.

Makes 6-8 biscuits

*I didn't have a round cookie cutter, so I used the top of a drinking glass. You can also cut the dough into squares.