Biscuits are always a good accompaniment to a meal. They’re not only easy to make, but they’re delicious and versatile enough to compliment many different types of food. I bake biscuits all year round, but I find that I bake them slightly more often during the summer, when I can use the leftovers to make shortcakes with fresh, in-season berries.
These Honey Glazed Buttermilk Biscuits are perfect if you like your biscuits with a touch of sweetness to them. The biscuits themselves are buttery and tender, thanks to a combination of real butter and buttermilk. By cutting the butter in and kneading the dough by hand before rolling it out, your biscuits will have a flakier texture and will rise higher during baking. The sweetness comes from a bit of sugar and honey in the dough, which brings in a nice hint of honey flavor without making the biscuits overly sweet. Even with the honey, they still pair perfectly with savory dishes like roasts, grilled meats, chilis and stews.
In addition to the honey in the biscuit, I also added a glaze of honey and buttermilk to the tops of the biscuits before baking. This glaze draws attention to the honey in the recipe and also helps the tops of the biscuits to brown nicely. If you like things a little sweeter, I recommend adding a second layer of glaze just before the biscuits are done. This second glaze will leave the biscuits with a shiny top and a more pronounced sweetness for that first bite. The biscuits are the best on the day that they are baked, and don’t forget that if you have leftovers that don’t get eaten during dinner, you can always repurpose them for dessert!
Honey Glazed Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, chilled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp buttermilk, for glaze
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or using your fingertips, breaking down the butter until no pieces larger than a pea remain.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and honey. Pour buttermilk mixture in to the flour mixture and stir with a fork or a spatula until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough comes together. Add in an extra tablespoon of buttermilk if the dough is too try, or a bit of extra flour if you dough is too wet.
Roll the dough out until it is about 1/2-inch thick and use a 2 1/2 or 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut it in to rounds. Reroll dough as needed. You should get 6-8 biscuits, depending on the size of your cutter.
Arrange biscuits on prepared baking sheet and, using a pastry brush, brush on glaze of 1 tbsp buttermilk combined with 1 tbsp honey.
Bake biscuits for 14-16 minutes, until golden brown. If a little extra sweetness is desired, brush on more honey glaze and return to oven for 1 additional minute.
Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool before serving.
Makes 6-8 biscuits.
What do you think?