No.45 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Buttermilk biscuits

Made famous by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock

Photo: terri_bateman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From The Gift of Southern Cooking, 2003.

The South's daily bread. Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis's biscuits, with lard and homemade baking powder, are the ones Southern chefs measure against.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in The Gift of Southern Cooking.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) soft Southern flour such as White Lily, or 2 cups all-purpose plus 1/4 cup cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup (100 g) cold lard or unsalted butter, or half of each, in small pieces
• 1 cup (240 ml) cold buttermilk
• 2 tbsp melted butter, for brushing

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 500F (260C) with a rack in the upper middle.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and soda in a large bowl.
3. Add the fat and rub it in quickly with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces left.
4. Make a well, pour in the buttermilk and stir with a fork just until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass. It should be soft and sticky.
5. Turn onto a floured surface and knead gently 8 to 10 times, folding it over itself, until it just holds together.
6. Pat to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a floured 2-inch cutter, pressing straight down without twisting. Press scraps together once and cut more.
7. Set on an ungreased baking sheet, almost touching for soft sides or 1 inch apart for crisp. Brush the tops with melted butter.
8. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Serve hot.

Chef's tips

• Twisting the cutter seals the edges and keeps biscuits from rising.
• Freeze cut, unbaked biscuits and bake from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock: get the book, No. 22 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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