Drop biscuits are the biscuits for people who get a little nervous about tackling the regular roll-and-cut biscuits. And I totally understand being intimidated, by the way. I’ve made regular biscuits enough times that I have the hang of it now, but I can easily remember those first few times I made biscuits. In my head I could hear someone yelling at me, repeating the most absurd tip I had read on the internet: “Pretend you have your grandma’s arthritic hands!”
Oy.
It caused a lot of nervousness, trying to make sure I mixed the dough properly but also making sure I didn’t overwork the dough. If all that sounds intimidating to you too, let drop biscuits be your new best friend. They’re a lot easier to make, and they’re still totally delicious, golden brown, and fluffy.
This is a basic recipe for plain drop biscuits, but feel free to add your favorite ingredients to these. I often make a cheddar scallion variation—my absolute favorite—by adding 1/2 cup of grated cheddar and 2 tablespoons of sliced scallions to the flour. You could even add some crumbled bacon, too.
Let’s make some drop biscuits!
Start by placing flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times to combine.
Add cold, cubed butter to the bowl, and pulse about 10 times until the butter breaks down into pea-sized pieces.
Add cold buttermilk, then pulse another 10 times until the dough comes together.
You will know to stop when the dough has collected into one big clump on the side of the bowl.
Grab a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop and portion out scoops of the dough.
You will have enough for 12 even scoops of biscuit dough.
Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and fluffy.
The bottom should be golden brown and slightly crusty.
And the inside will be fluffy and light in texture. Perfect for spreading butter or jam. Enjoy, and happy baking!
