Feast-Worthy Buttermilk Biscuits (Plus, 30 Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas)
Posted by Ari on November 19, 2009 in Breads, Quick & Easy | 34 Comments
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Quick announcement: My Apple Cobbler recipe (the one that won my husband’s heart even though I set his kitchen on fire) is among the many delicious entries in Bon Appetit’s Holiday Bake Off contest. Would you vote for it in the Miscellaneous Dessert category? In order to submit your vote simply log into Bon Appetit (or create a free account if you don’t have one) then click here to be taken to the voting page. Thank you!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for me that means two things: lots of baking/cooking and watching holiday movies on infinite loop. Holiday films are something of an addiction for me from late November thru New Years Eve, and luckily my husband finds it more amusing than annoying when I watch Elf or Home Alone for the umpteenth time. I can’t help it. Buddy the Elf cracks me up when he writes a note to his father that says, “I’m sorry I ruined your lives and crammed eleven cookies into the VCR,” and when he tells his dad that plans for the day involve making snow angels for two hours, ice skating, eating a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie-dough as fast as they can and then snuggling.
(Yes, I love Christmas even though I’m Jewish.
)So last night I popped Elf into our DVD player and we got to work on our Thanksgiving menu. It isn’t done yet, but I do know that my husband is making his decadent Butternut Squash Lasagne and Alton Brown’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes. I also know that I’ll be making this heavenly Pumpkin Cheesecake and the fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits you see here. When I told a friend that I was making buttermilk biscuits from scratch she was shocked that I wasn’t taking advantage of the convenience that comes with Pillsbury’s biscuits in a tube. But these biscuits are ridiculously easy to make and the extra (teeny-tiny) bit of effort it takes to make them is well worth it. Homemade beats tube-made, let me tell you! (No judgement if you’re going the Pillsbury route, they can be yummy too.)
I’m still on the look out for another side-dish and perhaps a pie recipe too… hmm, maybe blackberry pie, served with ice cream!
What’s on your menu this year?
Below are some recipes in the Baking and Books archives that I considered adding to our menu. If you’re still in the menu-planning stage, perhaps this list will be helpful.
Also, don’t forget about the November book giveaway! Remember that for every comment on November posts you get 1 entry into the raffle.
Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas – Savory
- Homemade Tomato Soup
- Butternut Squash Stew with Rosemary and Potatoes
- Andy’s Decadent Italian Baked Ziti
- Butternut Squash Lasagne with Fresh Sage & Thyme * Personal fav!
- Creamy Carrot Potato Soup
- Empanada Potpie with Cream Cheese Crust
Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas – Breads
- Spiral Coffee Cake with Nuts and Orange Marmalade
- Yeasted Chocolate-Chip Pumpkin Bread * Personal fav!
- Autumn Apple Bread
- Bakery Style Sweet Buns
- Apple Honey Challah
- Sugared Monkey Bread
- Farm Stand Cornbread
- Rustic Sweet Potato Muffins with Fresh Sage
Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas – Sweets
- Pumpkin-Apple Muffins * Personal fav!
- Irresistible Traveler’s Chocolate Muffins
- Tiramisu
- Cardamom Rose Rice Pudding
- Apple Cobbler * Personal fav!
- Upside Down Cardamom Pear Cake
- Butternut Squash Muffins with Golden Raisins & Currants
- Dumph Noodle
- Extreme Chocolate Cake
- Cheater’s Coconut Cream Pie
- Mexican Vanilla Mini-Muffins with Vanilla Syrup
- Chocolate Toffee Cookies with Toasted Pecans * Personal fav!
- Chocolate Chipotle Brownies
- Molasses Spice Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust * Personal fav!
Feast-Worthy Buttermilk Biscuits
Slightly adapted from The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger
Ingredients: Makes 12 biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Cornmeal for dusting
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 7 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle the paper with cornmeal.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the cold butter into this mixture, either using a pastry blender, a fork or your hands. I prefer to use my hands, gently rubbing the butter and flour mixture together until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and egg, briefly whisking. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. The dough will be sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, dusting with flour as needed to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Knead the dough a few times until it holds together, then roll or pat it into a rectangle about 1-inch thick.
Now it’s time to use your biscuit cutter (you can also use the top of an empty, clean 14 or 15-oz tin can in place of a cutter, btw). Dip the cutter into your flour, then press it into the dough, gently pressing down and twisting slightly to ensure a clean cut. Cut as many biscuits as possible, then remove the scrap dough (set aside) and transfer the rounds to your baking sheet, leaving about 1/2 an inch of space between each round. You can roll the dough scraps up and cut a few more biscuits if you like.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.
Other Posts You Might Like:- Butternut Squash Muffins with Golden Raisins & Currants
- Homemade Buttermilk Pretzels
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
- Three Book Reviews, A Recipe and an Interview!
- Oatmeal & Peanut Butter Treats for Fido
- Rustic Sweet Potato Muffins with Fresh Sage
- Butternut Squash Lasagne with Fresh Sage & Thyme
- Chocolate-Flecked Multigrain Muffins
I also write for 
We have a few vegetarians at our Thanksgiving table, so I want to make a veggie main. Usually, someone makes macaroni and cheese but I just saw a recipe for sweet potato gnocci and I think that could be fun! (I don’t have a rice or food mill, though so I have to see if any of the discs that came with my food processor will work…)
I’m also making roasted butternut squash with garlic, sage and pine nuts (a recipe from recipegirl.com). I usually make roasted brussell sprouts with caramelized onion but this year, i’m cooking the food at home and bringing it to my parents, and that dish doesn’t travel well. I was going to make these thanksgiving crescent rolls but your biscuits look waaaaaay easier. LOL.
happy thanksgiving!
Those biscuits look lovely! Great recipe ideas!
Cheers,
Rosa
Wow, thanks for all the ideas! My husband’s family has a contest with food every year, and this time it’s side dishes. I am glad to see a few things that I might be able to take!
We are scheduled for 3 Thanksgivings next week though I don’t have to cook for any of them which is nice. However, I might try to make something for the long road trip. Happy Thanksgiving!
BTW x-mas is not really a Christian holy day so if you like x-mas it’s not a contradiction
I love the puffiness of your biscuits!
I love holiday films too!!! Every year I watch Home alone and Home alone 2. It always gets me teary eyed at the end when Kevin finds his mother.
We’re allowed to love Christmas even if we’re Jewish! I love it (and really appreciate not having the pressure of buying gifts, a tree, etc.).
And, like you, I can’t wait for endless baking and holiday movie watching. After Thanksgiving it becomes acceptable for me to watch “Love Actually.” Hooray!
Yummy. I’m going over to a friend’s place, so I don’t have to make turkey this year (I’m vegetarian, so making turkey roulade with bacon wasn’t not my finest moment).
I am in charge of dessert per normal, and I am making the mashed pototoes. I am pretty sure that dessert will be my eggnog pudding pie and at least one other dessert. Maybe little holiday cakes, because I will have a bit more time than normal to cook.
I just made homemade buttermilk biscuits for the first time last weekend and loved them! I used to think biscuits out of a can were good enough but now I’m totally spoiled. I like your method of mixing the butter in with your fingers so I won’t have to use a big food processor to do the job!
Love your menu suggestions. I make baking powder biscuits all the time, so will definitely be trying your recipe. My mother has passed away, but most holiday meals are centered around her recipes. For Thanksgiving my daughter doesn’t allow me to make anything different – turkey, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping, corn pudding, cranberry-raspberry jello salad, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie (all my mother’s recipes.) I do add dishes, especially dessert options. Thanks for a chance at the giveaway, and I hope you and your loved ones have a very happy Thanksgiving!
Congratulations on the Cobbler!
I wish I had had this recipe for Canadian Thanksgiving! Ah well, I’lljust have to test them out for Christmas.
ohhhh….those biscuits sound delightful!!! And thanks to your other recipe suggestions I pulled out my recipe for and indian style tomato soup!! Gonna give it another go! I have one major pitfall reading your blog…I ALWAYS leave HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!! And I just ate breakfast, I SHOULDN’T be hungry! Go figure!
Mmmmm! Pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust. Sounds delish! Thanks for the great ideas!
It’s a good thing buttermilk can be frozen. I’ve never seen it in cartons of less than a quart, and most recipes call for less than a cup. (And I’m not one who likes drinking it.) But this recipe looks good enough to buy a quart even if the leftover buttermilk couldn’t be frozen.
You could always use the extra buttermilk to make other yummy goodies! Buttermilk pretzels, cakes, pancakes, waffles… there are lots of options. If you search through the Baking and Books archives a lot of recipes here use buttermilk.
I think it was really interesting that you admitted liking Christmas despite your religious affiliation.
I think Christmas has really lost a lot of it’s religious affiliation and has turned more into a celebratory affair based on tradition. I mean look at all the emphasis placed on Santa and presents and food.
I dunno, I feel like if this Holiday were celebrated by a religion I wasn’t affiliated with – I’d celebrate it anyway too! I mean, consider St. Patrick’s Day or Valentine’s Day – those weren’t even originated in the states but we still get a big kick out of celebrating it. I love that kind of stuff – the more we can interchange cultural celebrations, the better!
Geeze, long response to an offhand remark about Christmas
Those buttermilk biscuits look terrific! I love to watch all those holiday movies for the umpteenth time, too.
Paz
I love Home Alone too! I plan on watching many Christmas movies over Thanksgiving break. And bake too.
I’m always looking for recipes using buttermilk or yogurt. Thanks for the buttermilk biscuit recipe. Buttermilk makes everything more moist and tasty.
i too love things made w/ buttermilk. thanks for another recipe for the file.
Hi Ari,
I think this time of year is one of the best times for baking. The bisquits look light and fluffy, a perfect addition to a holiday meal.
Elf, and biscuits? What could be better?
These look yummy! I think it is great that you are in a contest with your cobbler. I will be voting for you! Does this get me the give away this month?
Just being goofy!
I’ve never tried to bake my own buttermilk biscuits, thanks for the recipe!
You sit on a throne of lies!!
Love that movie too – it is too funny.
Ari, these biscuits look delicious! I think they’ll be good with Southern-style sausage gravy.
BTW, I love your husband’s Pregnancy Safety Tips. They remind me of the (three) times my sister was pregnant and would suddenly switch to her Darth Vadar/Exorcist voice when she got hungry and we didn’t get her food fast enough!
Aha! I had printed that pumpkin lasagne recipe ages ago and lost it – then forgot where I’d found it in the first place!
Thanks for posting that reminder link.
All the recipes sound yummy, so I’m no help in narrowing the list!
Nothing beats a good buttermilk biscuit! Yum.
Yum yum yum! I have a new obsession with biscuits. Unfortunately, my fam says no to them since we have tons of stuffing on Thanksgiving. I say there’s not such thing as too many carbs!!
I love watching ELf too! It is definitely one of my family’s must-watch holiday movies once December rolls around (or November!).
I’ve never made fresh buttermilk buscuits, but I’m sure that no frozen buscuit could hold a candle to these. They look yummy!
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I registered and voted for you!! Stuff like these buttermilk biscuits are why!
Made these biscuits for our Thanksgiving dinner and they were AWESOME. One of the best recipes I’ve tried…the texture was great! I just patted the dough out in a big rectangle and cut them into squares…I’m always afraid of overhandling them by rolling & cutting them out.
Thanks for sharing.
What a great list! Thanks for sharing.