Homemade buttermilk biscuits piled high beside an open jar of honey with a honey wand

Saturday Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

August 3, 2020 17 comments This post may contain affiliate links. TastesJustLikeAMemory may receive commission on these purchases. Thank you for supporting the blog by getting cooking with products we love!

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If you happen to be reading this on a Saturday morning, I can almost guarantee I am in my kitchen working on a batch of these perfectly soft, flaky, buttery biscuits. My husband probably has a jazz record playing, the whole house smells like bacon, and I am in my happy place. It was only fitting that I choose homemade buttermilk biscuits for my first blog post. We have been making them just about every week for years and surprisingly it has never gotten old. When friends or family come to visit, there is an unspoken expectation that they will be served. Plus, I live in the South, so they are kind of a staple. I want you to believe me when I tell you these might be the best biscuits you ever have and that anyone can make them at home. If I am confident about one thing in this life, it is my biscuit recipe.

Pure Biscuit Magic

If you want to start making these biscuits on the regular, please get yourself one of these Danish dough whisks. I’m very serious about this. I promise this isn’t about the small commission I will earn from this link. This is about you and only you. I really want you to have this in your kitchen for biscuit making. It changes everything. At the time of this update, it is on sale for $8.90 for a two-pack! Keep one for your kitchen and give one to a friend or family member who loves to bake. I don’t know the reason this tool creates the most amazing biscuits I’ve ever made. I just know it works. I don’t even know where I got the idea to buy one in the first place. We have a very close friend from Denmark and one day soon I will ask her if this is actually a thing there and the story behind it. Until then, you will just have to trust that you need one.

Danish Dough Whisk

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Please get this for yourself!

You Can Do This!!

A lot of people are intimidated by making their own biscuits at home, but I promise it really is so easy. I hope the step-by-step instructions in this recipe will give you the confidence you need to give it a go. I have no doubt your first batch will be great, and with a bit of practice, you will be turning out soft, flaky, buttery goodness on par with those from your favorite local breakfast joint in less than half an hour. So, flour up your hands and get in there! I know you can do it, and your friends and family will be so impressed.

My Biscuit Making Story

Homemade biscuits were not a regular part of my life until I started going home with my boyfriend Dylan (now husband) in college. My father-in-law is a pure biscuit wizard and effortlessly whips them up for most weekend gatherings. I don’t know all his secrets, but I do know when you have been making biscuits for 40+ years, you don’t need a recipe. You don’t need measuring spoons or cups, and you definitely don’t need a store-bought biscuit cutter. Check out his homemade biscuit cutting contraption below. (You do still need a danish dough whisk) 😂.

Aluminum can with holes for biscuit cutting and made from scratch buttermilk biscuits on a white countertop

When Dylan and I got married, he decided he would follow in his father’s footsteps and become the breadmaker of our new little family. That didn’t last very long because I accidentally took over. I couldn’t help myself. I was just too excited to give them a try. He happily surrendered the title after my first batch. They weren’t great, but if we are being honest, Dylan’s first batches were tiny, little tooth-cracking hockey pucks (he told me I could say that). Mostly because he refused to use a recipe. I have NEVER attempted that, and I don’t think I ever will. My biscuit recipe is just too good. It is easy and the biscuits are consistently perfect.

I’m curious, How do you Like Your Biscuit?

There are so many delicious ways to enjoy a freshly baked biscuit. The possibilities are endless. I’ve had my fair share of different combinations over the years, but my all-time favorite would have to be from Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, NC. If you are ever in the area, you need to visit this adorable drive-through biscuit establishment. Dylan and I met at UNC, and he introduced me to the most amazing biscuit: fried chicken, cheddar cheese, and a thick slice of tomato. Perfection. My mouth is literally watering. Oh, and that reminds me! In the summertime, you must slather your biscuit with mayonnaise, sprinkle with plenty of salt and paper and stuff a slice of fresh summer tomato in the middle. THE BEST. Even better if the tomatoes are homegrown. Please don’t be shy with the mayo. If you’re eating a biscuit you may as well go all in.

Thanks For Stopping By!

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy these biscuits as much as my family. Don’t forget they are served best on a Saturday morning with the people you love. While you are here, please tell me about your favorite biscuits in the comments. I would love to hear about your biscuit memories. My grandmother served hers with fried chicken and they were absolutely amazing. I really wish I had a copy of her recipe.

A Couple Extras for Your Kitchen

While developing this recipe, I picked up some helpful tips from Peter Reinhart’s “Artisan Breads Every Day” if you want to check it out. It is a wonderful book on bread making from a fellow North Carolinian. I also highly recommend purchasing this bench scraper for easy counter clean-up. I use mine every single day. Besides being great for scraping up all the flour off the counter after biscuit making, I use it to transfer chopped fruits and veggies from my cutting board to wherever they may be going and so many other things.

***I updated the recipe portion of this post on 05/24/2022 to match the steps I follow on a regular basis. The main difference is that you don’t need to freeze your butter ahead of time. It just isn’t necessary, and I always forget. I also lowered the baking temperature. That is something I just figured out over time. I recently did a side-by-side comparison using fat-free buttermilk vs. whole milk buttermilk in my recipe. Surprisingly, the fat-free buttermilk won in a blind taste test.