So this week I got into a car accident. I’m fine. I was in a hurry to get to a meeting after an early morning yoga class, backed out of my space a little too quickly, and – d’oh! – hit a parked car. Lucky for me, it ended up being the car of an old friend and neighbor, who could not have been nicer or more gracious about the whole thing. But, GAH. And then I had to go to the dermatologist, which I was super not in the mood for after that.
It was the kind of morning that called for some butter and flour therapy, is what I’m saying.
Enter Buttery Mile-High Biscuits. I’ve been playing with buttermilk biscuit recipes for a while and last week decided to double down on my efforts, but alas, was stonewalled not once but twice by my local grocery store, which has been chronically out of buttermilk. However, I remembered a fix for this issue! Which I ended up liking so much, I incorporated it into my final recipe.
Powdered buttermilk! It’s the best. I use it in pancakes a lot. For every 1/4 cup of buttermilk called for, you mix 1 TB of the powder with your flour, then when it’s time to add the liquid, pour in the corresponding amount of water. It keeps forever in the fridge, and can save you from those annoying must-run-to-the-store-for-one-ingredient (THAT IS THEN OUT OF STOCK URGH) trips.
These biscuits have LOTS of butter. It’s what makes them so flaky and melty. And a sassy amount of baking powder makes them rise and puff up all fluffy and proud. They should be proud, because they are DELICIOUS.
You can work the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, or a food processor, or any way that works for you, but I actually love plunging my hands into the flour and squeezing the butter into little bits. It’s immensely satisfying and a perfectly acceptable way to have some sensory fun without a toddler around.
Some people like standard round biscuits, and you can certainly do that with this recipe. I cut mine into rough uneven rectangles because 1) I am lazy and did not feel like digging out my cookie cutters, and 2) I planned to make breakfast sandwiches and wanted plenty of real estate for the egg and cheese. If you want round biscuits (or any other shape), go crazy. Just make sure the edges are nice and sharp as you cut so you don’t drag down the sides of your biscuits.
Brushing with a little buttermilk or cream will give your biscuits a nice shiny, brown finish – plus, it gives the flaky salt something to hold on to.
Please slather these with butter, hot out of the oven, and a dollop of raspberry jam if you’ve got it (or maybe some honey). You won’t regret it, I promise.
Buttery Mile-High Biscuits
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 8-12 biscuits 1x
Description
Light, fluffy, and tangy with buttermilk, these easy Buttery Mile-High Biscuits work beautiful at any altitude.
Ingredients
3 cups (13 oz) all-purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup (8 oz, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
4 TB powdered buttermilk + 1 cup (8 oz) water (or 1 cup buttermilk)
Buttermilk or cream, for brushing
Flaky salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, 2 tsp salt, sugar, and buttermilk powder (if using).
Tumble the butter chunks into the flour mixture and begin to work them in, using your hands, a pastry cutter, or a food processor, until the butter is fully worked in and reduced to tiny bits (no large chunks). Pour the water (or buttermilk, if using) over the flour/butter and begin to combine (using a spoon or hands) until a ball of dough begins to form. If the dough seems too dry, add a bit more liquid, a tablespoon at a time.
Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead a few times until it’s uniform in texture. Pat into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and transfer biscuits to parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle with flaked salt, if desired.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the biscuits have risen high and are golden brown on the top and bottom.
Serve hot, slathered with butter, jam, or honey (or all three!). Leftover biscuits can be frozen for a couple of weeks and reheated in the oven.
Hi Robyn, I tried this recipe and my biscuits flattened out while they were cooking. I’m only at 5300 feet was there something I should have accounted for?
Thanks!
Make sure you are using a very light hand with the dough. Too much manhandling can make it overly dense and heavy. Also, use a very sharp knife or biscuit cutter when cutting to make sure you don’t drag the edges down, which can impede the rise.
Made these at 8,300 feet, followed the recipe exactly, used the buttermilk powder. I cut mine into rectangles, made 12 biscuits. Because I have a very tiny oven, just wide enough for a cookie sheet, I set my timer for 15 minutes. They looked done at that point, but then I realized they weren’t, so I stuck them back in for 7 more minutes. They didn’t rise a lot, but my baking powder is a little old. I had homemade sausage gravy, and man, it was really good on the biscuit! Can’t wait to gobble the rest of them.
Fresh baking powder definitely makes a difference! So glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Yeah, I checked how old – expired over a year ago! Whoops! Still taste great, though.
Hi Robyn, I’m in Castle Rock! Do you refrigerate your dough before you roll it out and cut? I noticed once I put the biscuits in the oven, the butter was melting out of them right away. Also, do you layer your dough before you cut? Thanks!
Kristi, I start with cold butter and don’t usually refrigerate the dough, but if your butter is slightly soft, 15 mins in the fridge will help. I find that handling the dough as little as possible yields the best result – no layering needed!
Thanks! Also, do you refrigerate the biscuits or keep them on the counter if you plan to eat them within a couple of days?
I keep them at room temperature in an airtight container and re-heat them to crisp them back up.
Freeze butter, grate on cheese grater, mix with dry ingredients then put in freezer for ten minutes before mixing in wet ingredients then work fast and gently with the dough. Found that folding in half then evening dough right before cutting really helped.
GREAT BISCUITS! I halved this recipe for my husband and myself at 9,900 feet (Mt. Crested Butte) and got 4 large biscuits from it. I baked at 425 degrees for 20 minutes and could have shortened the baking time by a few minutes, but they were wonderful biscuits nonetheless. They had a great rise and texture. I have used that buttermilk mix for a couple of years now and love it! It couldn’t be more convenient and has never failed to give good results on numerous recipes. Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad you loved them!
So glad they worked well for you!
I’ve made this recipe twice and it is definitely my new standard for biscuits. Having lived in Colorado most of my life, I had almost given up on having tall biscuits with beautiful layers like I saw on cooking shows. This last batch was picture perfect and so good on a cool autumn day. I so appreciated the tip about the powdered buttermilk. I rarely have it on hand and although I’ve done the substitute with milk and vinegar, this powder is so much easier. The second time I made this recipe I had cream on hand so I brushed on top of the biscuits as suggested. Such a beautiful golden “glossy” biscuit top. Thank you for this great recipe. :0)
I’m so glad it worked well for you!!
These biscuits are amazing! Worked wonderfully in Crested Butte. Thanks for another great recipe Robyn!
Love to hear that! Thank you for making them. 🙂
These biscuits are AMAZING!! I have been trying to find a great biscuit that is similar to a Cracker Barrel biscuit and when I bit into this I knew I found it! (I hope this isn’t an insult to you…LOL!). When my husband tried them he just looked at me and said, “What did you do differently? These are fantastic!” So, this is now my go-to biscuit recipe! Perfectly tender and soft, and they rose beautifully in Gillette, WY at 4,650 feet. Thank you for a perfect recipe!!
I love hearing this! Thank you. 🙂
Perfect flaky, buttery biscuits. Thanks for the recipe!
Fantastic! First time trying to make biscuits from scratch. I live anywhere from 5300-6800 ft and have only recently started trying to make things by hand. This is a keeper, came out perfect, I added a few minutes to the bake time because I like them a little crispier.