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These Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits are soft and tender, flaky, light and buttery with the perfect hint of sweetness on top! This is sure to become your new go-to biscuit recipe!
Buttermilk biscuit recipes are often passed down from generation to generation – and this recipe for Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits is our family’s go-to recipe.
This is a fairly basic biscuit recipe, and (in our opinion) simple is best when it comes to buttermilk biscuits, especially when the results are light and flaky as ours! Look at those layers of buttery, tender biscuit!
As you can tell from the name, our Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits recipe has a touch of sweetness in both the biscuit dough, as well as a sprinkle of sugar on top. We think the sweet in these biscuits really complements savory dishes quite nicely.
These Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits can also be used for desserts such as strawberry shortcake. Just adjust the sugar in the recipe by a tablespoon or two depending on how sweet you like your dessert biscuits.
How do I make Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits?
Our Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits start with unsalted butter that has been cut into small pieces, then chilled in the freezer. Using super cold butter in any pastry like these biscuits ensures that you’ll get those distinctive flaky layers that are so fun to pull apart as you eat them.
Next, the chilled butter will be cut into a mix of all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, both baking soda and baking powder (make sure they are fresh!), and some salt. A pastry cutter, two knives or a fork should be used to mix the butter into the dry flour mixture to prevent the butter from softening from the heat of your fingers and hands.
Finally, add enough buttermilk to the butter-flour mixture to create a sticky dough. Pour the dough onto a floured countertop or pastry board, then quickly shape the biscuits into a rectangle with your hands. Fold the dough in half, then in half again five more times (this creates the flaky layers in the dough). After the final fold, pat the dough down into a 1-inch thick piece, then use a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut the dough into round biscuits.
Place your Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet – then bake in a hot oven until lightly golden brown. (A hot oven is important, too, to ensuring flaky biscuits. The high heat from a hot oven hitting the super cold butter creates steam as the dough bakes, and that steam creates those wonderful biscuit layers.)
Once out of the oven, remove to a cooling rack. My husband Jack likes to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter, then add a sprinkle of sugar on top for an additional touch of sweetness. (Any coarse sparkling sugar works great.) This step is optional.
How do I store Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits?
This Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits recipe makes six to eight biscuits – which is the perfect amount to serve at a meal with several guests. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container – up to two days at room temperature, or up to a week in the refrigerator. Alternately, you can freeze leftover biscuits (make sure they are wrapped well to avoid freezer burn) then reheat as needed.
This Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits originally appeared on A Family Feast in March 2013. While the recipe has remained the same, we’ve updated the photos and post. Scroll below to read other readers’ rave reviews!
You may enjoy these other biscuit recipes:
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Sweet Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Optional: melted butter and coarse sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Cut butter into small pieces. Spread the butter pieces on a dinner plate and place in the freezer while you measure out and mix the dry ingredients. The butter should be cold but not frozen.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Note: It is very important that you work quickly through these next steps so the butter does not warm up and soften too much.
- With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small crumbs (the size of a pea).
- Make a hole in the middle of the flour and add buttermilk. Gently stir until the dough is mixed together but still tacky. If it’s too dry, add more buttermilk.
- Pour the mixed dough out onto a floured surface and pat gently into a rectangle.
- Fold the dough onto itself six times then pat down to 1 inch thick.
- With a 2 ½ inch round biscuit cutter, push down to cut the dough and pull up without twisting the cutter and the dough. Any leftover scraps can be combined and cut again – but just once; reusing any scraps after that will make the biscuits tough.
- Arrange the biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet almost touching each other and bake for 12-15 minutes until browned.
- Optional: After they are baked, you can also brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle more sugar on top if you wish for added sweetness.
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Robin says
Made these tonight to go with dinner
They turned out delicious! Will definitely be making them again!
Martha says
Thanks Robin!
Coleen says
Thanks Martha. After trying repeatedly, first with lard, then with unsalted butter. First with old flour, then fresh White Lily. First, with prolonged mixing, then with light handling, I finally have an acceptable biscuit … However, there wasn’t a rich enough flavor – so, as per your recipe I will next try adding a T. Sugar. ( Also, your recipe uses 6 T butter per 2c flour, whereas I was using 4.
We’ll see if your changes give me a better biscuit. I am optimistic. Thank you for your posts
Martha says
Good luck Coleen! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
JR says
First time making biscuits. I was shocked at how quick and delicious they were. I could not stop ooing and ahhing after eating one out of the oven. But the leftover ones that day were chewy and not biscuity (tho still tasty). What did I do wrong? Are they serve immediately biscuits?
After they cooled I put them in a freezer ziplock and on counter.
Someone told me it’s because there’s no cream of tarter in the recipe. Does that matter?
Thanks!
Jack says
Hi Jennifer
First, there is cream of tarter in baking powder so that isn’t the reason. The only thing I can think of is maybe you didn’t bake them long enough or your oven needs to be calibrated. We have made these a number of times, and although they are best fresh from the oven, we have never had an issue with leftovers being chewy. One other possibility is that you over worked the dough. This will cause gluten to form and will result in a chewy finished product.
Hope this helps with your next batch.
Jack
Kristy Coughlin says
Hi Martha! I made these this morning and they are delicious. They were so quick to get together. I used powdered buttermilk that I reconstituted with water and it worked beautifully. I spread 1 with butter and 1 with lemon curd and can I tell you the one with lemon curd was amazing. Maddie had hers with jelly and she asked me to make them again.
Martha says
Hi Kristy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Cindi says
I’ve tried SO MANY biscuit recipes and have been disappointed in all of them – until now. I was so excited when I took these out of the oven last night… they rose beautifully, didn’t burn on the bottom before getting done in the middle, and they were little pillows of deliciousness! THANK YOU for sharing a biscuit recipe that I can call a KEEPER!
Martha says
We’re so happy you had success with the recipe Cindi!!
Devonte Howard says
Can i use cake flour
Martha says
Hi Devonte – We haven’t tried making this recipe with cake flour. If that’s all you have on hand, I’ve read that you can use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. Hope that helps!
Sandra says
I love your idea to put the butter in the freezer, to harden it – made it so easy to cut into the flour mixture. The biscuits turned out very nice. I halved the recipe (and used 1/2 tsp. of lemon juice in a 1/2 cup of whole milk to “make” buttermilk).
I’ll be saving this recipe.
Martha says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Sandra! Thank you for taking the time to write to us today.
Angie says
This was my first attempt ever at buttermilk biscuits and my last! They are unbelievably good. No need to try anything else!
Martha says
Wow – thanks Angie! So glad you enjoyed them as much as we do!
Dolores says
Well I just made these delish little pillows, very good! I had three! then said, okay one more!! have to walk an extra mile tomorrow-Lol…….thanks for the recipe
Martha says
Thanks Dolores – we’re very glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Crissi says
Yum! Just made these and they came out perfect I had my 5 year old boy helping me, so I grated the butter before putting it in the freezer to make it easier for him to mix. We made them because we had leftover buttermilk, I might need to buy some more soon:). Thank you for the receipe:)
Martha says
You’re very welcome Crissi! Glad you enjoyed them – and I love hearing that your 5-year-old helped out too! (Sounds like our house…)