Best Drop Biscuits

If you're too nervous about making traditional biscuits or even if you are pressed for time, drop biscuits are your solution. They are so quick and incredibly delicious! Anybody can make these. You don't have to be seasoned in the kitchen to do this. All it requires is basically mixing wet ingredients with dry. There is no cutting in of fat, like in traditional biscuits. 


Cooks Illustrated came up with an ingenious way to ensure the flakiness and moisture of these drop biscuits. Since the flakiness comes from cutting in the cold butter into the flour mixture they tried to mimic this. They poured melted butter into cold buttermilk and let the butter crystallize in the milk. If you have ever made something like pancakes, that requires melted butter to be combined with milk, this may have accidentally happened to you before because your milk wasn't room temperature, it was too cold and so it chilled the butter into crystals. haha I've done that a few times with pancakes so I would know. Anyways, it's very, very clever.

These biscuits are also versatile to your tastes. I threw in some chopped chives just to give them some extra flavor. I would also suggests maybe some grated cheddar or whatever cheese you like. Any other herbs work well too. This is a great drop biscuit recipe, seriously. Super moist, very delicious.


Best Drop Biscuits
adapted from Cooks Illustrated

• 2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
• 2teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1teaspoon sugar
• 3/4teaspoon table salt
• 1cup buttermilk (cold)
• 8tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (about 5 minutes), plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing biscuits

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps (see photo below).
2. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amount of batter and drop onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high). Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes.
3. Brush biscuit tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.