Americas Test Kitchen Best Drop Biscuits Recipes

BEST EVER DROP BISCUITS (SMALL BATCH)

Steps:

• 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 1/4 cup melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Brush biscuit tops with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.
• 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.

CREAM DROP BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add cream, then stir just until a dough forms.
• Drop heaping 1/4 cups of batter about 1 inch apart on an ungreased large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are pale golden and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

TEST KITCHEN'S FAVORITE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda for 30 seconds. Toss butter into dry mixture to evenly coat, then press between your fingers to create flower-petal shapes and return to bowl.
• Slowly drizzle buttermilk over flour-butter mixture (to evenly distribute) while stirring with a fork. Stop stirring when dough begins to form but mixture is still crumbly. Transfer to center of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather dough with your hands, pressing firmly to bind, and flatten it into a 6-by-10-inch rectangle. Lift parchment along a short end of dough and fold in half, forming a 6-by-5-inch rectangle. Turn dough 90 degrees; gently reflatten to 6 by 10 inches. Fold in half again and flatten slightly into a 6-inch square.
• To keep things easy, form the dough on the same tray it's baked on. Cut it into thirds in both directions with a large, sharp knife, to form 9 biscuits. Brush tops with buttermilk. Bake until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottom, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a kitchen towel-lined basket; cover to keep warm. Serve with butter and jam.