Easy Drop Biscuits

I saw this recipe from Mom On Timeout pop up on my Facebook newsfeed and gave it a try. EVERYONE in my family LOVED it! We were using up some buttermilk that I had in the fridge and it was enough to treat my family to fresh biscuits for three nights in a row. YUM, YUM! See the original recipe here: https://www.momontimeout.com/drop-biscuits/

Easy Drop Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar optional

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup COLD butter

1 egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a quarter sheet baking pan with parchment or grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet with butter and set aside.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour mixture. Don't go too crazy here - you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough. (Alternatively, grate the butter and stir into the dry ingredients making sure the better does not clump together.)

Add in the buttermilk and egg and stir just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don't keep working it. You should be able to see the butter pieces in the dough.

Scoop out the biscuit dough using a large trigger scoop (ice cream scoop) OR use two spoons to scoop out the dough and place it on the prepared baking sheet or skillet.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter if desired.

Tips for the Best Drop Biscuits

The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. Try cutting the butter into small pieces and stick back in the fridge or freezer pulling out only when ready to incorporate into the dough.

Don’t overwork the dough. Just mix until all the ingredients are combined. You want to see the butter in the dough.

Preheat the oven so it’s ready to go when you are. If the biscuits sit out at room temperature waiting for the oven to preheat, the butter will warm up and you won’t get flaky biscuits.

Marsha's Tips:

I used a cold stick of butter straight from the fridge and grated it with my Salad Shooter directly into the dough. Super easy! Also, baking the biscuits in a cast iron skillet makes a wonderful crunchy crust on the bottom that everyone loved. Lastly, just work the dough until all the dry flour no longer collects on the bottom of the bowl and is fully incorporated into the dough, but not much longer than that before shaping into six biscuits and placing them in your skillet. I used my hands to mix the dough. The key is to work fast, don't let your butter get too hot (especially from the heat of your hands), and don't overwork the dough.