Honey Butter Biscuits

Name: Honey Butter Biscuits
Prep time: 26 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 44 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, plus about 2 tablespoons (15 g) more for dusting the counter; 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder, fresh (less than 6 months old); ¼ teaspoon (1½ g) baking soda; 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt; 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) (170 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes; 1 cup (240 ml) full-fat buttermilk, cold; 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey, at room temperature so it stirs easily into the buttermilk; 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey; flaky sea salt, a small pinch, to taste (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits with a hint of honey in the dough and a glossy honey butter brushed over the hot tops. Ready in about an hour with no special skills needed.

Prep: 26 min
Cook: 18 min
Wait: 22 min
Total: 1 hr 6 min
Makes: 8 biscuits (2½-inch / 6 cm)

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Ingredients

8 servings

For the biscuits
3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, plus about 2 tablespoons (15 g) more for dusting the counter
1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder, fresh (less than 6 months old)
¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) baking soda
1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) (170 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes
1 cup (240 ml) full-fat buttermilk, cold
2 tablespoons (42 g) honey, at room temperature so it stirs easily into the buttermilk
For the honey butter
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons (42 g) honey
flaky sea salt, a small pinch, to taste (optional)

Equipment (9)

Large mixing bowl
Whisk
Box grater or sharp knife (optional, for the butter)
Bench scraper or wide knife
2½-inch (6 cm) round biscuit cutter, or a sharp-edged glass
Rimmed baking sheet, about 13×18-inch (33×46 cm), lined with parchment paper
Small microwave-safe bowl
Pastry brush
Wire rack

Steps

Before you start

Keep the butter and buttermilk in the fridge until the moment you use them. Cold butter is what makes biscuits flaky.
Position an oven rack in the center and have a rimmed baking sheet ready. Line it with parchment.
Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it, or better, weigh it. Packed flour makes dry, dense biscuits.
Plan on about 65 minutes in total, including a 15-minute chill before baking.

1
Preheat and prepOven 450°F / 230°C
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 450°F (230°C).
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the 12 tablespoons of cold butter into ½-inch cubes and return them to the fridge or freezer while you measure the rest.
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Ready when: Oven reaches 450°F (230°C) and butter cubes feel firm and cold.
Tip: If your kitchen is warm, put the cubed butter in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2
Whisk dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups (360 g) flour, the baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt for about 30 seconds, until evenly combined with no clumps of baking soda.
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Ready when: The mixture looks uniform and pale with no lumps.
3
Cut in the butter
- Add the cold butter cubes to the flour.
- Toss to coat, then pinch and flatten each cube between your thumb and fingers into thin flakes, working quickly.
- Continue until most pieces are the size of large flat peas and some are almond-sized, about 3 to 4 minutes.
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Ready when: The flour looks shaggy and coarse with visible flattened butter pieces. Nothing is blended into a paste.
Tip: Don't rub the butter into the flour until it disappears. Those visible pieces melt in the oven and create the flaky layers.
4
Add buttermilk and honey
- Stir the 2 tablespoons of dough honey into the cold buttermilk until dissolved.
- Pour it all at once into the flour mixture.
- Stir with a fork or spatula for 15 to 20 seconds, just until the flour is mostly moistened and a shaggy, sticky dough forms.
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Ready when: There are no large dry pockets of flour, but the dough still looks rough and lumpy.
Tip: Stop mixing early. Overworking develops gluten and makes tough biscuits.
5
Fold for layers
- Turn the dough onto a counter dusted with about 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Pat it into a rough 8×6-inch (20×15 cm) rectangle.
- Fold it in thirds like a letter, rotate a quarter turn, pat out again to about 8×6 inches, and fold in thirds once more.
- Dust with a little flour only if it sticks.
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Ready when: The dough holds together in a cohesive, slightly streaky mass.
Tip: Two folds is enough. More will toughen the dough.
6
Pat out and cut
- Pat the dough to an even 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness, about 8×7 inches (20×18 cm).
- Dip a 2½-inch (6 cm) cutter in flour and press straight down, without twisting, to cut 6 rounds.
- Gently press the scraps together once, pat to 1 inch, and cut 2 more.
- Place the biscuits on the lined sheet so their sides just touch.
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Ready when: You have 8 biscuits, each about 1 inch tall, with clean straight sides.
Tip: Twisting the cutter seals the edges and keeps the biscuits from rising tall.
7
Chill the biscuits
- Refrigerate the tray of cut biscuits, uncovered, for 15 minutes while the oven finishes heating.
- This re-chills the butter so the biscuits puff up instead of spreading.
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Ready when: Tops feel cool and firm to a light touch.
8
Bake until goldenOven 450°F / 230°C
- Bake the biscuits at 450°F (230°C) for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the sheet front to back after 10 minutes, until risen and deep golden brown on top and bottom.
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Ready when: Tall, deep golden tops with lightly browned bottoms, and the sides feel set rather than doughy when pressed.
Tip: Ovens vary. Check at 14 minutes, since the honey in the dough makes the tops brown faster.
9
Make honey butter
- While the biscuits bake, or just before they come out, put the 2 tablespoons of topping butter and the topping honey in a small bowl.
- Microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between, until the butter melts, about 30 seconds total.
- Stir until smooth and glossy.
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Ready when: The mixture is smooth, with no separate pools of butter or honey.
Tip: Stir again right before brushing, since it separates as it sits.
10
Brush and cool
- As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the honey butter generously over the hot tops.
- Sprinkle with a tiny pinch of flaky salt, if using.
- Let the biscuits rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
- Serve warm.
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Ready when: The tops look glossy and the honey butter has soaked in.

Good to know

Tips

Keep everything cold. If the dough feels greasy or soft at any point, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before continuing.
Press the cutter straight down and lift straight up. Twisting seals the edges and limits rise.
For soft sides, bake the biscuits close together with edges touching. For crisper sides, space them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart.
Brush the honey butter on while the biscuits are hot so it soaks into the top crust.

Make ahead

"Cut the biscuits and freeze them unbaked on a lined tray until solid, about 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen at 450°F (230°C) for 18 to 22 minutes, skipping the chill step. You can also refrigerate the cut, unbaked biscuits, covered, for up to 8 hours before baking."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature: airtight container up to 2 days. Fridge: up to 5 days. Freezer: baked and cooled biscuits, wrapped well, up to 3 months. To reheat, wrap in foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes (from frozen, 15 to 18 minutes), then brush with a little more honey butter."

Substitutions

full-fat buttermilk → Whole milk plus lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup (240 ml) minus 1 tablespoon of whole milk and let it stand 5 minutes. Cold plain yogurt thinned with milk to pourable also works.
honey → Maple syrup. Use the same amount. The flavor is slightly more woodsy and the biscuits brown a bit more.
unsalted butter → Cold salted butter. Use salted butter and reduce the fine sea salt to ½ teaspoon (3 g).
all-purpose flour → Soft-wheat flour such as White Lily. Gives an even more tender crumb. Use the same weight, 360 g.