The Best Buttermilk Biscuits -- The Recipe I’ve Been Waiting to Learn

Christmas Day arrived cold by Louisiana standards — mid-forties in the morning, which prompted everyone in the family to treat it like a weather emergency while the rest of the country presumably rolled their eyes. I wore two sweaters and considered it entirely justified.

Christmas morning at home first: stockings and gifts in the living room, Daddy's coffee, Mama's biscuits from scratch that she makes only on Christmas and which are, by unanimous family vote, the best biscuits that exist. They are buttermilk and lard and her hands, and when I asked her to teach me she said someday and I have been waiting with patience for someday to arrive. This Christmas morning I asked if today could be someday. She laughed and said maybe next year. I have now been collecting these deferrals for three years and I intend to redeem them all at once.

I received: three books (cookbooks, two, plus a collection of essays about Southern food culture), new running shoes, a beautiful set of kitchen knives in a block that Daddy had bought from a restaurant supply store. The knives were not what I expected — they were serious, professional weight, with a balance I could feel immediately when I picked them up. I held the chef's knife in my hand and felt like someone who had just been given a proper tool for the work she was already doing.

I called MawMaw Shirley to say Merry Christmas and she said, "Your mama told me about the knives. Baby, those are real knives. Don't waste them on average ingredients." I told her I wouldn't. She said, "I know you won't." We talked for twenty minutes about nothing and everything, the way our best phone calls always go, and when I hung up I felt the particular warmth that comes from being fully known by someone who loves you completely.

Christmas dinner was pot roast and gravy, collard greens, cornbread, and my sweet potato pie. I made it in my own kitchen this time, with my new knives. The prep was noticeably faster. Good tools matter. I wrote that in my journal with the date underneath it like a law I had just learned.

Mama laughed off my request again this year, but I’m not giving up — and in the meantime, I’ve been practicing on my own with new knives, a warm kitchen, and the memory of exactly how hers taste. These buttermilk biscuits are my closest attempt yet: lard-tender, golden on the bottom, and made with hands that are still learning. MawMaw Shirley would say don’t waste good ingredients, and I haven’t.

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 14 min | Total Time: 29 min | Servings: 10–12 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold lard (or cold unsalted butter), cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus 1–2 tablespoons if needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until evenly combined.
3. Cut in the fat. Add the cold lard (or butter) pieces to the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, work the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Work quickly so the fat stays cold.
4. Add the buttermilk. Pour in 3/4 cup cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork just until the dough comes together. It should be shaggy and slightly sticky — do not overmix. Add the extra tablespoon or two of buttermilk only if the dough seems too dry to hold together.
5. Shape the biscuits. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat it to about 3/4-inch thickness — do not roll hard. Fold the dough over itself once or twice for layers, then pat back to 3/4-inch. Cut with a floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting.
6. Arrange and bake. Place biscuits on the prepared baking sheet with edges just touching for soft sides, or spaced apart for crispier edges. Bake for 12–14 minutes, until risen and deep golden on top.
7. Brush and serve. Immediately brush the hot biscuits with melted butter. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 185 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 23g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg