Drop Biscuits

Super simple drop biscuits bake up fluffy, tangy, and moist, all the things a good biscuit must be—at least, that is, if it wants to impress a Southerner. In this drop biscuits recipe, the dough gets a lot of flavor and moisture from buttermilk, and the ratio of shortening and butter makes for a biscuit that is light and cloudy but still substantial enough for any classic biscuit topping (we're looking at you, sausage gravy).

Drop biscuits should be tall and fluffy, though they won't have the traditional flaky layers of classic buttermilk biscuits. Still, they taste great, and they're ready in much less time, whether you need them for breakfast or as a side dish for a creamy casserole.

Learn how to make drop biscuits, and keep your scoop handy. These will be your new go-to biscuit recipe.

Why Are They Called Drop Biscuits?

Drop biscuits are scooped and dropped onto the pan—no rolling, no folding, and no cutting. Drop biscuits are made for getting on the table quickly, in less than 30 minutes even, while rolled biscuits or beaten biscuits require more labor and more time.

However, because of how they're scooped and baked, dropped biscuits look a little more like dumplings or clouds than the traditional layered, flaky biscuit. Still, they have a great buttery flavor and fluffy texture, which would have you believe you're eating the real thing, even if it's just a slightly different shape.

Ingredients for Drop Biscuits

Like any good biscuit recipe, this ingredient list is short and straight to the point, which also means it's easy to whip up any time you want as long as you keep these essentials on hand. Here's what you'll need:

• Soft wheat self-rising flour: White Lily is our go-to. It has the perfect texture and creates ultra-fluffy biscuits.
• Granulated sugar: A hint of sweetness helps with flavor and tenderness, and it can make the biscuits brown more easily.
• Kosher salt: Just a hint to even out the flavors of the biscuits.
• Unsalted butter: Cold and cubed. Emphasis on cold. Warm butter will not create the same necessary pockets of air during baking.
• Vegetable shortening: Such as Crisco. Vegetable shortening can help this biscuit be more tender and tall, which is difficult if you're not folding and cutting the biscuits.
• Whole buttermilk: This adds moisture of course, but the tang of the buttermilk is also a key flavor.
• Salted butter: Melted butter is brushed on top for richness and color.

How To Make Drop Biscuits

There are fewer steps for this drop biscuits recipe, but you still need an all-important one: cutting the butter and shortening into the flour mixture. We've briefly outlined the recipe here, and the full recipe is further below:

• Combine the dry ingredients. That's the flour, sugar, and salt.
• Cut in cold butter and vegetable shortening. A pastry blender works well; two forks work great, too. Resist using your hands, as their heat will melt and soften the butter and shortening. Blend until the butter is the size of peas.
• Add buttermilk. Stir just until combined. You do not want to overmix, or you'll work out all the precious air that makes these biscuits fluffy.
• Scoop dough. Grab a cookie scoop or tablespoon, and scoop the dough into 12 biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top of each biscuit with some melted butter.
• Bake biscuits. They'll be golden brown and steaming in about 14 to 16 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through for even browning. Cool slightly before serving.
  

Tips for the Best Drop Biscuits

Every biscuit maker knows you can learn a lot from watching other bakers make biscuits, so our Test Kitchen shared a few more tips for this recipe that will certainly help you:

• If you do not have a pastry cutter, you can use a fork to press butter and shortening into the mixture in a pinch.
• If you don't want to brush the tops with melted butter, you can use extra buttermilk to get a golden brown top.
• Make sure the butter is cold, cold, cold. That's the key for getting the right texture and height on drop biscuits.
  

How To Store Drop Biscuits

We can't imagine you'll have leftovers of these drop biscuits, but if you do—congrats!—you can absolutely save them and enjoy them later. Store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for 2 days.

If your biscuits are a little dry after storage, they are quite good crumbled overtop chili or soup. Of course, for many Southerners, stale drop biscuits are crumbled into buttermilk for a Southern smoothie of sorts. 

Can You Make Drop Biscuits Ahead?

We do not recommend making ahead or reheating drop biscuits. Unlike butter biscuits, which are rolled and folded and improve after time chilling or freezing, the moisture content and composition of drop biscuits are quite sensitive to time and changes in temperature. Once baked, they will lose some of their fluffy texture, so they're best enjoyed as soon as you can eat them—or crumbled into soup or buttermilk, as mentioned.

Substitutions

This ingredient list is pretty tight and essential, but there are a few swaps you can make when necessary:

• If you do not have buttermilk, you can use whole milk. And if you like that buttermilk taste, you can swirl in a tablespoon of sour cream or yogurt.
• You can also make a quick buttermilk with whole milk and a bit of lemon juice: Stir together, and let rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

We don't have to tell Southerners how to eat biscuits, but we will offer a few delicious ideas for toppings:

• Peach Jam
• White Country Gravy
• Tomato Gravy
• Red-Eye Gravy
• Over-Easy Eggs

You could also add these drop biscuits to casseroles in place of frozen or cut-out biscuits. We'd love them in this Chicken-And-Biscuit Casserole.

More Southern Biscuit Recipes

Don't stop at these drop biscuits. We've got many more you should try next:

• 2-Ingredient Biscuits
• Angel Biscuits
• Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits
  
• Blueberry Biscuits
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Gluten-Free Biscuits