A recipe for Buttermilk Drop Biscuits! These buttery biscuits come together easily in less than 30 minutes for a quick and easy addition to breakfast.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
These Buttermilk Drop Biscuits are a great option for an easy-to-assemble breakfast, brunch, or even as a light snack.
Instead of rolling and cutting, scoops of the biscuit dough are dropped into a prepared pan, brushed with butter, and baked in a hot oven until puffed and golden. The result is a flaky and buttery biscuit with minimal effort.
After resting for a couple of minutes, the drop biscuits are best warm from the pan. Serve simply on their own or pair with jam or honey. We also occasionally like to use them as the base for ham and cheese sandwiches.
A Few Buttermilk Drop Biscuit Tips
Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring cup and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.
I use a dough blender to cut in the chilled and diced butter. You can also use two forks or the tips of your fingers. Just try to work as quickly as possible to keep the butter from melting. If you absolutely have to take a break after adding the butter, stick the dough in the refrigerator to keep the butter cold.
I kept the biscuits plain, but you can toss in some additional ingredients such as grated cheese, minced garlic, and/or chives for even more flavor.
If the dough just won’t come together and is still too crumbly after lightly mixing, add an extra splash of buttermilk (only do this if absolutely necessary).
The trick to creating light and flaky biscuits is to only handle the dough as much as necessary, just enough to bring everything together. Overworked dough may become dense and tough.
Grease and dust the pan/skillet well to keep the biscuits from sticking.
The exact shape of your drop biscuits will vary based on the size of the pan. 10-12 inch (25-30.5 centimeter) pans will create wider biscuits with more crisp edges. 8-9 inch (20-23 centimeter) pans will create higher, more fluffy biscuits.
Use a greased 1/4 cup (60 milliliter) measuring cup or ice cream scoop (my preference) to drop the dough onto the prepared skillet or pan about 1/2 inch (1.25 centimeters) apart.
These Buttermilk Drop Biscuits are best the day they are made, especially warm from the oven. Once completely cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.
Looking for more biscuit recipes?
Try my:
This recipe was originally posted in October 2013 and updated in November 2024.
Buttermilk Drop Biscuits Recipe
Adapted from Lea and Jay
Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting the pan
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder
- 1/2 tablespoon (6 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter cold and diced, plus more melted butter for greasing pan and brushing over biscuits
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) buttermilk cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450˚F (230˚C). Grease a 10 inch (25 centimeter) round cast iron pan or baking dish with melted butter, then dust completely with flour.
- In a large bowl, combine the 2 1/4 cups (280 grams) flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
- Cut in the diced cold butter using a dough blender, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture has a coarse texture with no pieces of butter larger than a pea.
- Stir in the buttermilk just until combined with no streaks of flour remaining. Do not overwork.
- Use a greased 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) measuring cup or ice cream scoop to drop rounds of dough onto the floured cast iron pan, arranging the rounds about 1/2 inch (1.25 centimeters) apart.
- Dust the tops lightly with flour and brush with more melted butter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425˚F (220˚C). Continue to bake until the tops are golden in color, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Allow the drop biscuits to cool in the pan for about 2 minutes before removing.
- Serve warm on their own or with jam, butter, or honey.
Leave a Reply