Best Ever Drop Biscuits (Small Batch)

Abby Girl's Note:

Drop biscuits are best the same day they are made...no comparison!!! Perfect for 4 people. When you stir slightly cooled melted butter into cold buttermilk, the butter will clump. Although this might look like a mistake, it's one of the secrets to this recipe. You can double the recipe...if needed!

• Total Time: 23 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 13 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 bicuits

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup buttermilk (cold)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes)

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 1/4 cup melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps
3. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl.
4. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop a scant amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart.
5. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 8 - 12 minutes. They can be made up ahead of time and gently re-heated in a 300 oven for 10 minutes.
6. Brush biscuit tops with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.
7. Test if baking powder is fresh: Mix 2 teaspoons of the baking powder into a cup of water. If there is an immediate reaction of foaming and fizzing, the baking powder is okay to use. If the reaction is at all delayed or weak, throw it away and buy a fresh can.

Reviews

[Phat & Sassy]

My Southern friend asked me to make biscuits as part of a dinner party I hosted in her honor. Being a Yankee, I panicked. Never again. This recipe is so easy and was enjoyed by all. The first sample batch I made, I used my food processor. The subsequent batches I mixed by hand. I will continue to do this by hand. For me, it wasn't worth getting the food processor dirty and I felt that I was able to mix it better and faster, without over mixing.

[lobquin]

Love these! So easy to make when I have a craving for biscuits & don't want to make too many. I used buttermilk powder. (UPDATE JULY 2011) Okay, 1: Way better made with actual buttermilk. 2:These are the only biscuits I will make now. I've made them for my sausage gravy (a-ma-zinnnng) and have doubled the recipe and topped my chicken pot pie with it. Loads better than my Ma's old standby: bisquick. & you can also add herbs, etc. Last time I used, fresh parsley, garlic, and cheddar cheese. Oh so good with soup! TRY THESE BISCUITS. They are so delicious when made right. Follow the instructions and for goodness sakes let your butter cool completely. It makes the difference. Oh and I don't usually brush them with butter at the end. ;) && I make them in a 6-cup muffin tin, so they all come out mostly the same size.

[tscakes]

We rate these biscuits right in the middle. They're great drop biscuits for very saucy concoctions such as gravies and jams; however, we found them to be too heavy for sheer stand-alone enjoyment.