This is the best thing you will ever put in your mouth. You can serve them with jelly, syrup and butter mixed together to sop, or as a quick bread with any meal. You cannot beat these. I said what I said. This recipe for easy southern biscuits includes cheese but you can leave it out and have flaky southern buttermilk biscuits that will still be amazing. We just prefer cheese so I’ve have included it here. This recipe is from scratch and can be modified to use self-rising flour by omitting the baking powder and salt. You will use 2 cups of self rising flour and skip to the shortening for easy biscuit baking. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Our family loves cheese biscuits. They are probably one of the most requested things I make. They are easy to do and fairly fast too. Leave out the cheese if you want to make regular biscuits, but you’ll be missing out…just saying. Here is how to put some of our favorite southern tradition on your table too.

I use plain all purpose flour because I no longer feel the need to stock self-rising flour. If you have self-rising flour then you can skip the first three ingredients. If you are using plain all purpose, organic, and unbleached flour; then you will need the following:

Two cups flour

One Tablespoon Baking Powder

One Teaspoon salt

Don’t forget that salt. Trust me.

I like to use a whisk to stir all of the first three ingredients together to make sure it is evenly distributed before we go any further. 

Next we are going in with some fat. My generation grew up with biscuits made from Crisco. Our parents grew up with biscuits made from lard. Some people these days have gone back to lard or opted for good ‘ole butter. Either way, your needed amount will be the same. Your process will be the same. Your biscuit just may taste a little different depending on which way you choose to go.  My Mama used canola oil instead of butter or shortening and her biscuits were always a hit.

One half cup vegetable shortening (AKA Crisco or the fat of your choice)

Blend in with a fork until crumbly. Yes, I said crumbly. You may use your hands if you like.

Stir in the cheese. I like using sharp cheddar cheese because I enjoy the rich flavor of this stronger cheese. It shows up better to me, if you know what I mean. Typically, one cup of shredded cheese is plenty. I just measure with my hand and my heart. One generous handful is enough. 

One cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Stir it in!

Next, we are going to work in the buttermilk. I prefer to use cultured full fat buttermilk but you can use whatever buttermilk you can find. I am happy to report that you can enjoy biscuits made with low fat and fat free buttermilk too. You do you.

¾ cup buttermilk

Slowly combine the buttermilk into the flour and cheese mixture with a fork until a soft sticky dough is formed. Make sure you use all of the flour from the bottom of the bowl. We don’t want any loose flour left.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat your hands in the flour to help prevent too much of the dough from sticking to you, pat and turn the dough until it is lightly coated in flour and easier to handle. Knead the dough by pressing the heal of your hand into the ball of dough, half turn it, fold the top down to the bottom; and repeat. You will Mash, turn, fold, and flip the dough four or five times and stop. We do not want to over work the dough and end up with tough biscuits. For fluffy biscuits, don’t be too heavy handed.

Cut the biscuits out and place them in a greased baking dish. Place a pat of butter on the top of each biscuit. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for around 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. 

You can flip each biscuit over and leave it in the pan to keep warm or turn them out onto a plate to serve them. I do not recommend leaving them in the pan without flipping them over. Flipping the biscuits prevents them from sweating and sticking. 

That’s a good looking cheese biscuit right there! Serve warm with your favorite preserves or meal. 

Y’all be sweet!

Bena