Homemade chocolate buttermilk biscuits pull double duty as breakfast or dessert! They're quick and easy to make from scratch, with a soft texture and lightly sweet chocolate flavor. This small batch recipe makes just 6 biscuits.
Just when you thought buttermilk biscuits couldn't get any better, I bring you CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS! Sorry for yelling, but all caps feels necessary to communicate just how excited I am to share this recipe with you. With a soft texture that's more cakey than flakey and a lightly sweet chocolate flavor, these deserve a spot atop your must-bake list!
Chocolate buttermilk biscuits hit the recipe trifecta! These biscuits are:
- Quick and easy to bake from scratch.
- Small batch, so they're perfect for families to enjoy at home (though you may wish you had made more, in which case the recipe can be easily doubled).
- Versatile! They're delicious as a breakfast treat, spread with a bit of honey butter. They also make an excellent dessert, and are the base for this epic chocolate strawberry shortcake, topped with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream!
I'll admit that my first recipe test was a major fail. I took my favorite recipe for quick and easy buttermilk biscuits and simply substituted cocoa powder for part of the flour and increased the sugar slightly, but the biscuits needed more sweetness to balance the unsweetened cocoa powder and a better rise. After several more batches and recipe tweaks, I landed on a winning recipe. Using brown sugar, adding baking soda and vanilla extract, plus tweaking the other ingredient quantities produced slightly cakey biscuits with a chocolate flavor that was just right.
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Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
All-Purpose Flour - I recommend sticking with all-purpose flour for this biscuit recipe for the perfect balance of structure and tenderness.
Brown Sugar - Classic buttermilk biscuits use a tiny bit of granulated sugar (or no sugar at all), but these biscuits include a bit of brown sugar for a balanced sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor to amp up the chocolate.
Cocoa Powder - Cocoa powder is what gives the biscuits their chocolate flavor and brown color. I recommend natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda - While the chunks of butter in the dough act as a natural leavener as the biscuits bake, adding some baking powder and baking soda gives these biscuits the rise they need.
Unsalted Butter - Cold butter adds necessary fat and flavor to the dough. I always recommend unsalted butter, but if you do use salted leave the salt out of the flour mixture.
Buttermilk - Buttermilk adds necessary moisture to the dough, and it's acidity activates the baking soda, helping the biscuits to rise.
Special Equipment
In addition to essential baking equipment (like a mixing bowl and whisk), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.
- A pastry cutter, for cutting the butter into the flour mixture.
- A rolling pin, for rolling out the biscuit dough.
- A 2 ½ inch round biscuit (or cookie) cutter, for cutting out the biscuits.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Whisk to combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: Cut the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms.
Step 3: Combine buttermilk and vanilla and add to the dough. Toss gently using a fork just until all of the dough is moistened and there's no dry flour.
Step 4: Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a circle that's 1 inch thick. Use a 2.5 inch round cutter to cut 6 biscuits from the dough (you will need to re-roll dough scraps to get 6 biscuits).
Step 5: Bake biscuits at 425ºF for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the side of a biscuit comes out clean. Let biscuits cool on a wire rack or serve warm.
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Recipe
Chocolate Buttermilk Biscuits
Special Equipment
- Pastry cutter
- Rolling Pin
- 2 ½ inch round biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 1 ⅜ cups (165 grams) all-purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons (67 grams) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
- 6 Tablespoon (85 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- ⅝ cup (142 grams) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.1 ⅜ cups (165 grams) all-purpose flour, 5 Tablespoons (67 grams) brown sugar, ¼ cup (21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder, ½ teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda, ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
- Add cold butter cubes to bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms.6 Tablespoon (85 grams) unsalted butter,
- Combine buttermilk and vanilla and add to the dough. Toss gently using a fork just until all of the dough is moistened and there's no dry flour. Do not stir or over mix the dough.⅝ cup (142 grams) buttermilk,, 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. If necessary, use your hands to gently bring the dough together. Roll out the dough into a circle that's 1 inch thick.
- Use a 2.5 inch round cutter to cut 6 biscuits from the dough (you will need to re-roll dough scraps to get 6 biscuits).
- Place the dough circles 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the side of a biscuit comes out clean. Let biscuits cool on a wire rack or serve warm.
Video
Notes
Recipe Tips
Be sure to begin with ingredients at the proper temperatures. Using cold butter and room temperature buttermilk is important for getting the texture just right.
Be careful not to stir or over mix the dough when adding the buttermilk. Over-worked dough will lead to biscuits that are tough instead of tender.
When cutting the biscuits, push the biscuit cutter straight down and lift it straight up. Twisting the cutter as you cut the biscuits can seal the edges of the biscuit, which will keep it from rising fully.
Storage Instructions
Biscuits are best when freshly baked but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Jasmine says
Did you use natural or ditched cocoa? Based on your leaveners I imagine either might turn out, but I'm curious which you chose as a starting point.
Allison Ferraro says
Hi Jasmine! I used natural unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Allison
Sarah says
Although I used less butter and buttermilk, the dough turned out extremely moist! Working with it seemed impossible, so I scooped it. Ended up with cakey drops, very thin crust and amazingly soft and crumbly interior! Plus Zero sweetness!! I'm dark chocolate fan, but would definitely prefer a slight sweetness in those "cakey" biscuits!
Need to work a little on this recipe to make it just as I dreamed.
Thank you for sharing the idea
Allison says
Hi Sarah! Thank you for your comment. I'm sorry to hear the biscuits didn't turn out as you'd hoped. I created them to have a light sweetness so that they would be suitable for breakfast and would pair well with sweet add-ons (like strawberries and whipped cream). As far as the texture, there are several possible culprits for why your biscuits dough may have been overly wet. I'd be happy to help you troubleshoot if you'd like; just shoot me an email at [email protected].
- Allison