When my friend Libb hosted a southern barbecue on her Chicago rooftop, I decided to bring homemade biscuits with honey butter. Once you know how to make biscuits from scratch, you will want to make them all the time. They take just minutes of active preparation time, and you probably have all of the ingredients you need already.
There is major debate about whether to use milk or buttermilk in biscuits. I used both, and this technique worked well. If you don’t have buttermilk, you could just use milk, or milk with a touch of lemon juice or vinegar instead.
In some ways, making biscuits is like making muffins. Both share the same two secrets to success: letting the dough sit, and baking at a high temperature. If you follow these two rules your biscuits, or muffins, will rise perfectly. You want biscuits to be light and doughy, and not dense and hard.
Mixing up the dough takes only 5 minutes, but you want to allocate 30 minutes for the dough sit before cutting and baking. You need to give the baking powder time to work its magic, otherwise the biscuits won’t rise as they bake. The biscuits bake in 12-15 minutes depending on how large you cut them.
Making honey butter is essential – it is just so delicious that it would be a shame not to go through the minor amount of effort to make it. I recommend mixing up the dough, and making the honey butter while the dough rests. This way the butter has time to solidify before the biscuits are done baking. Since it is a 50/50 mix of butter and honey the butter stays soft and spreadable even after refrigerating it.
I used a 3-inch biscuit cutter, but you could simply slice the biscuits into squares. There is no need to go out and buy a biscuit cutter if you don’t have one already. You could make your biscuits slightly larger or smaller, but you will need to adjust the cooking time.
How to make Biscuits:
For the Biscuits: In large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Then add the butter and mix with your hands until the mixture resembles cornmeal. You can pulse the mixture together with a food processor if you prefer. Add the buttermilk, and just a touch of the milk. You want the dough to be sticky, but not overly wet. I found that adding ¼ cup of milk was just right, but you might need slightly more or less. Cover the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes. I recommend preparing the honey butter during this time. After 30 minutes, heat your oven to 425 degrees. Pour the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out until it is about 1 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to divide the dough until about 10 biscuits. Place the biscuits on a silicone mat or parchment lined baking sheet. Do not place the biscuits in the oven until the temperature reaches 425 degrees. Bake the biscuits for 12 minutes. Then remove from the oven and brush melted butter over the top. Return the biscuits to the oven and bake for about 2-3 more minutes, until slightly golden brown. I recommend serving the biscuits warm. For the Honey Butter: Bring the water to a slow boil in the smallest skillet or saucepan that you have. Then add the butter a tiny handful at a time, whisking until each addition melts before adding another. Once all of the butter has melted, whisk in the honey and the salt. Stir until completely mixed together and then transfer to a small bowl and place in the fridge to chill. I used a 3-inch biscuit cutter, but you could simply slice the biscuits into squares. There is no need to go out and buy a biscuit cutter if you don’t have one already. You could make your biscuits slightly larger or smaller, but you will need to adjust the cooking time.Biscuits with Honey Butter
Ingredients
For the Biscuits
For the Honey Butter
Instructions
Notes
