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Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits (Small Batch)

Name: Quick & Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour*; 1 ½ tsp. (6 grams) baking powder; 1 ½ tsp. (6 grams) granulated sugar; ⅛ tsp. (1 gram) salt; 4 Tbsp. (57 grams) unsalted butter, cold; ½ cup (114 grams) full-fat buttermilk, room temperature

Published: Jun 26, 2017 by Allison Ferraro · Modified: May 20, 2021 · 44 Comments

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All you need are 6 ingredients, one bowl, and 30 minutes to make these soft and buttery buttermilk biscuits from scratch. This quick and easy biscuit recipe makes a small batch of just 6 delicious, homemade biscuits. They’re perfect with everything from a simple spread of butter to strawberry jam to sausage gravy, and they’re a must for weekend breakfast!

side view of biscuits stacked on a white speckled plate with a blue background

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Recipe Ingredients
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Recipe Tips
Serving Suggestions
More Buttermilk Recipes to Love
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Comments

I developed a whole new appreciation for buttermilk biscuits during our recent trip to the south. We ate so much incredible food during our time in Charleston and Savannah, and still one of the highlights was the biscuits that were served for breakfast at our B&B in Savannah. The biscuits were hot and flaky and dripping in honey. They practically melted in your mouth. They were just SO GOOD!

As soon as we returned home from our trip I found myself craving biscuits, so I immediately began experimenting with recipes. One bite of these biscuits and I knew that I had a winner! They’re rich and buttery with soft centers and a golden exterior. The best part? There’s no need to wake up early in order to make breakfast. This quick and easy recipe takes just 30 minutes from start to finish, so you can roll out of bed whenever you want and still be eating breakfast in no time! Plus, all you need are 6 ingredients and one bowl!

Recipe Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour - For the best results, use a high-protein all-purpose flour such as King Arthur Baking unbleached all-purpose flour. I’ve found that all-purpose flour with a higher protein content yields taller and perfectly golden biscuits.

Buttermilk - I like to use full fat buttermilk for baking and recommend it for this recipe. Using room temperature buttermilk is best for creating a cohesive dough (though I’ll admit that I’ve impatiently made this recipe without waiting for the buttermilk to come to room temperature and my biscuits turned out fine).

Unsalted Butter - Butter is key to this recipe and gives the biscuits so much flavor. Opt for unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. Most importantly, be sure to use cold butter straight from the fridge. Cutting cold butter into the flour using a pastry blender is crucial to the structure of these biscuits.

Baking Powder - Baking powder gives these biscuits their rise. Be sure your baking powder is fresh (ideally it should be replaced after 3 months - and no more than 6 months - once opened) for the best rise.

Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions

PREP WORK

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

MAKE THE BISCUIT DOUGH

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Slice the cold butter into cubes (A) and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until the flour mixture is full of pea-sized chunks of butter (B).

overhead view of dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl — Step #2

overhead view of dry ingredients in a glass bowl with cubed butter — Step #2

Add about a third of the buttermilk and gently stir until blended (A). Add another third of the buttermilk and gently stir until blended (B). Add the rest of the buttermilk and gently stir just until the buttermilk is fully incorporated and there is no dry flour (C). Be careful not to overwork the dough when mixing. When all of the buttermilk is added, the dough will be a bit wet and sticky.

overhead view of crumbly dough in a glass bowl — Step #4 A

overhead view of moistened dough in a glass bowl — Step #4 A

KNEAD, ROLL, and CUT THE BISCUITS

Place the dough onto a generously floured surface and knead the dough gently a few times. Sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough and knead the flour into the dough if the dough is too wet and sticky to work with.
Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough to ½ inch (about 1.25 cm) thickness.
Dip the edges of a 2 ½ inch (about 6.5 cm) circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. (Tip: Press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up to cut the dough, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough and limit the biscuits' rise.) Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.

overhead view of kneaded biscuit dough in a floured marble surface — Step #5

overhead view of rolled out biscuit dough on a floured marble surface — Step #5

BAKE THE BISCUITS

Place the biscuit dough circles onto the parchment-lined baking sheet (A). Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes (B).
Place the baking sheet onto a wire rack, leaving the biscuits on the baking sheet to cool slightly. Serve the biscuits warm with the toppings of your choice.

overhead view of circles of biscuit dough on a baking sheet with parchment paper — Step #8 A

overhead view od biscuits on a baking sheet — Step #8 A

angled view of biscuits on a white linen napkin

Recipe Tips

Be careful not to overwork the dough, as this will lead to tough biscuits. Mix the dough just until the buttermilk is mixed in and work the dough as little as possible when rolling it out.

When cutting the biscuit dough into circles, press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up, rather than twisting the cutter in the dough. Twisting the cutter can seal the edges of the dough, limiting the biscuits' rise.

Serving Suggestions

The biscuits are delicious plain, and I love them with a drizzle of honey or a spread of jam. But they're great for so many things! You can top them with sausage gravy, use them in place of an English muffin to make eggs Benedict, or use them as the bread of a sandwich (this is especially great for a BLT). The options are endless!

overhead view of a sliced biscuit on a white speckled plate with butter and honey

More Buttermilk Recipes to Love

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