The Easiest Buttermilk Biscuit You’ve Ever Made
Let’s be real. Biscuits intimidate even the most seasoned home cook. They feel like something that only Grandmas get to be good at, while the rest of us flounder around elbow deep in flour, butter and buttermilk, churning out tough, rock-hard biscuits time and time again. Well, that whole story is just that—a story! The only secret about making homemade buttermilk biscuits is that they’re really quite easy. And this savory cheese-and-bacon version proves it! Letting your food processor do the initial work of cutting the butter into the flour is our sure-fire way to make sure they turn out consistently perfect. This cheese biscuit recipe is easy to customize, too. Skip the bacon if you’re not into it, swap scallions for chives if that’s what you’ve got around, add a little extra cheese—once you’ve got the hang of this simple biscuit dough, the sky’s the limit.
Tips for Making Cheese Biscuits in the Food Processor
OK, so. Biscuits in the food processor. This shortcut way of mixing the biscuit dough is almost fool-proof, but it helps to have a few things in mind as you work, so you understand not only what to do, but also WHY you’re doing it. Here’s a few tips:
- DO use cold butter and cold buttermilk. Like, as cold as possible (not frozen, though). You can even chill your flour, if you really want to go the extra mile. In order to have fluffy, flakey biscuits, the butter needs to be cold. Cold butter = air pockets when the biscuit bakes = flakey, tender biscuits.
- DO have a light hand when you pulse the biscuit dough in the food processor. Go for gentle, fast pulses, and when in doubt, stop for a second and check on the texture of the dough. Our recipe gives specific textures to watch for, so keep it close at hand as you pulse. Overmixing is the enemy of a tender buttermilk biscuit. If you are going to err, err on the side of under-mixing.
- Remember, you’ll be working the biscuit dough by hand after you create it in the food processor—you’ll need to shape it in order to cut out the biscuit shapes—so you really do want to be sure to just barely use the food processor to bring the dough together. You can always mix the dough a bit more by hand at the end of the process if need be.
OK—Don’t Overmix. Got it! Now, What’s In This Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Recipe?
These cheesy, savory biscuits are buttery and tender and oh-so-flavorful, but you don’t need any fancy ingredients to make them. Here’s what you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Onion powder
- Cheddar cheese
- Buttermilk
- Bacon. Important tip! DO NOT add the bacon to the biscuit dough while it’s still warm. It will mess your dough up. It’s ideal if you can cook it, crumble it and chill it a bit before working the bacon into your biscuit dough. Also, the bacon is totally optional. If you’re not a bacon person, leave it out!
- Chives or scallions
How To Make Biscuits
Alright, let’s get down to biscuits! First of all, take a deep breath—you can do this! You’re about to make flakey, rich, savory, cheese biscuits and then you’re going to eat them warm and steaming and fluffy from the oven and it is going to be amazing. Here’s how to do it:
- Start with your COLD flour & butter in the food processor. Pulse a couple of times, and stop as soon as the butter and flour mixture looks like small, pea-sized crumbles.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt and onion powder. Two more quick pulses.
- Now add the cheese (it doesn't hurt if this is cold, too). Two more quick pulses.
- Pour in the buttermilk. Pulse a couple of times, and stop as soon as the mixture looks a bit like biscuit dough. Remember—when in doubt, we want you to favor an under-mixed dough. Overmixing is not our friend!
- Dump the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently work in the bacon (if using) and chives. PRO TIP: if someone in your family has ice-cold hands, make them do the dough-handling!
- Form the dough into a rectangle that's about an inch thick. Fold it into itself in thirds, and flatten it again. It's basically just like on British Bake Off, when they make laminated dough! You've seen those episodes, right? Just us? OK, moving on.
- Cut the biscuits! If you've got a biscuit cutter, this is its moment to shine. If not, just use a sharp knife to cut the biscuits into even rectangles.
- Bake!
Tools You’ll Need:
- Food processor.
- Sharp knife.
- A biscuit cutter is handy, but not essential.
We Don’t Bake All the Time, But When We Do, Here’s What We Make!
The oven is already pre-heated. Might as well go on a baking spree:
Hey! You Made Bacon Cheese Biscuits!
And we want to hear about it! Snap a photo of your finished buttermilk biscuits, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you share them with. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
