Shirley Corriher's Touch-of-Grace Biscuits Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Christmas

by: Genius Recipes

December23,2011

5

10 Ratings

  • Makes 12 to 14 medium biscuits

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

A genius technique for guarding against dry biscuits. Food scientist and baking expert Shirley Corriher says the dough "should be a wet mess" -- a moist dough steams up into fluffy biscuits in a hot oven, and a low-protein self-rising flour like White Lily will make them extra tender, if you can get it. Note: Corriher, ever the scientist and tinkerer, published one version of this recipe in CookWise in 1997, and a fairly different one in BakeWise in 2008. We tried and loved both, the newer one edged out. Note: If you can't find self-rising flour, substitute 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder, and increase the salt to 1 teaspoon. This version is adapted slightly from BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking (Scribner, 2008). —Genius Recipes

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients
  • Butter for greasing, or nonstick cooking spray
  • 2 cups(9 ounces/255 g) spooned and leveled self-rising flour (preferably low-protein Southern U.S. flour like White Lily)
  • 1/4 cupsugar (or less, if you prefer your biscuits less sweet)
  • 1/2 teaspoonsalt
  • 1/4 cupshortening
  • 2/3 cupheavy cream
  • 1 cupbuttermilk, or enough for dough to resemble cottage cheese (if you are not using low-protein flour, it will take more than 1 cup)
  • 1 cupplain all-purpose flour, for shaping
  • 3 tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted, for brushing
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and arrange a shelf slightly below the center of the oven. Butter an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self-rising flour, sugar, and salt. Work the shortening in with your fingers until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in the cream, then some of the buttermilk until dough resembles wet cottage cheese. It should be a wet mess -- not soup, but cottage-cheese texture. If you are not using a low-protein flour, this may take considerably more than 1 cup of buttermilk.
  3. Spread the plain all-purpose flour (not self-rising) out on a plate or pie pan. With a medium (about 2 inches, #30) ice cream scoop or spoon, place three or four scoops of dough well apart in the flour. Sprinkle flour over each. Flour your hands. Turn a dough ball in the flour to coat, pick it up, and gently shape it into a round, shaking off the excess flour as you work. Place this biscuit in the prepared pan. Coat each dough ball in the same way and place each shaped biscuit scrunched up against its neighbor so that the biscuits rise up and don't spread out. Continue scooping and shaping until all dough is used.
  4. Place the pan on the arranged shelf in the oven. Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Brush with the melted butter. Invert onto one plate, then back onto another. With a knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately. "Butter 'em while they're hot."
  5. Note: Do not use self-rising flour for shaping, as the leavener will give a bitter taste to the outside of the biscuits.

Tags:

  • Biscuit
  • Bread
  • American
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Buttermilk
  • Grains
  • Summer
  • Memorial Day
  • Christmas
  • Easter
  • Thanksgiving
  • Fourth of July

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Ellen Daly

  • tanya

  • Elaine Lowery James

  • Amy Viny

  • Heidi Vaught

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

Popular on Food52

40 Reviews

MarkT April 15, 2023

OMG. I remember watching Shirley’s cooking show on tv when I was a little boy. (Before cooking shows became a dime a dozen.) I began cooking meals for my family when I was 7 years old but I’ve never felt I made a very good biscuit so I recently Googled Shirley bc I knew she would have the perfect recipe. And indeed, this is the PERFECT biscuit. Fortunately, I live in the south and have never bought any other flour than White Lily. I must admit I was skeptical about the unorthodox method and it was a bit daunting but they are actually very simple and gratifying to make. I will NEVER use another recipe and will ALWAYS have self rising flour on hand. TY, Shirley. Finally, at 70 years old, I can make a GREAT biscuit.

clickmichelle October 27, 2022

This is a crazy recipe that works so incredibly well. I do not add any sugar, and I use butter instead of shortening. It works with milk and with half and half, but heavy cream does work the best. Leftovers reheat beautifully in the oven or split in a skillet. I've even made a batch of these in the afternoon and reheated in the morning for breakfast and they were still amazing.

Ellen D. January 23, 2022

I’m writing this review in a state of disbelief, how can something that’s laced with heavy cream and shortening, be as light and fluffy as a cloud? I’m not American, I never really got the whole biscuit thing, until now that is! I will definitely be making these again.

Anne N. January 10, 2022

This recipe is fantastic! I followed the recommendations to use use less sugar and I smothered them with Shirley Corriher’s recipe for Cherry Chambord butter.

Tashie March 17, 2021

This is such an unusual way of making biscuits. They come out super soft, almost like cake. Luckily I reduced the sugar level based on the comments below and "only" added 2TB of sugar rather than 1/4 cup. My 11 year old said that I could have reduced the sugar further down to 1TB because this seriously tastes like dessert with 2TB. I didn't have white lily self-rising flour, but the substitution of 1 tsp of salt instead of 1/2 tsp and 2 3/4 tsp of baking powder did the trick. No, these are not your high flaky type of biscuit, but they are so incredibly soft and delicious. I highly recommend giving these a try.

tanya April 1, 2018

I only added a heaping tablespoon of sugar, these were lovely to go alongside bacon and eggs. My daughter's new favorite biscuit. My happy liked them, but he prefers the flakier traditional biscuits. These are special though, tender and delicate. I used all butter, and 1/2 and 1/2 (no cream in the house) along with buttermilk.

Katie P. January 31, 2017

I've made these biscuits twice in one week. New favorite recipe! Thank you for including the weights for ingredients. I made them a little too wet the first time but they still turned out great! Cut the sugar a bit. I find they store well at room temperature lightly covered (not tightly wrapped). Can't wait for summer to try them with the corn butter!

Elaine L. November 13, 2016

Scones have sugar, biscuits don't. Angel biscuits may, but they are a cross between a biscuit and a roll. BISCUITS DON'T HAVE SUGAR IN THEM, UNLESS BEING USED FOR SHORTCAKE.

Paige A. December 29, 2016

Did you even bother to make them before you made your judgment?

Elaine L. April 3, 2018

I grew up in Georgia. We had biscuits every meal. They are traditional there. Biscuits DON'T have sugar, unless they are being used for shortcake.

Paige A. April 5, 2018

I also grew up in GA. Some recipes call for sugar and some don't. The ones that do call for sugar taste NOTHING shortcake.

MarkT April 15, 2023

Um. You said that already……5 years previous. We get it. But in the sticks where you probably live I doubt they’ve ever even heard of scones so how would you know what they taste like or how they are made?!? As the recipe says, if you don’t want sugar in your biscuits, leave it out! Nobody cares!!!

T November 13, 2016

I'm always in search of a good biscuit. This one is the best I've come across so far. I didn't have the good self rising flour, I just used Washington. I had to add more buttermilk to get the right consistency. But they were across bit tangy. Next time I'll use a little more half and half/whole milk so I can use less buttermilk. I also did 1/8th sugar and had cooked them for 30 minutes. Deliscious.

T November 13, 2016

**they were a little bit too tangy

Jane October 4, 2016

Good thing you mentioned the "cottage cheese" point because honestly this looked like the craziest mixture! Turns out these are the most delicious and easiest biscuits ever. I made them with butter, not shortening and they were absolutely the moistest and tastiest biscuits ever! Served them with butter and maple syrup and they were heavenly!!

Amy V. November 15, 2015

I don't have self rising flour. Can I use all purpose with the addition of baking soda and or powder?

jifferb November 23, 2015

I was just going to ask that - see answer in Author's Notes above.

sfmomma October 24, 2015

These biscuits turned out great. I ended up using half the amount of sugar and double the buttermilk probably due to the brand of self-rising flour I used. I froze the dough in the pan earlier in the week and thawed in the refrigerator for a few hours before putting them in the oven. I then brushed the top with a garlic mixture I made (room temp butter, garlic, italian parsley, etc). They came out amazing. Putting a parchment round at the of the pan really made a huge difference when baking from frozen. The only issue I had was the overpowering buttermilk flavor because I had to add so much extra to bring it to the proper consistency. Regardless, this is a keeper recipe!

Heidi V. April 15, 2015

This was my first time making biscuits. These were incredibly easy and delicious! My partner and I were both very impressed. The biscuits are, as others have mentioned, very sweet. If you know you like to slather on jam or honey reduce the sugar. If you enjoy being able to eat a biscuit without having to put anything on it keep the sugar as is. Either way, do yourself a favor and make this quick!

taxidog February 3, 2015

I must try these soon-they are guaranteed to work! If you are not familiar with Shirley, she is a biochemist specializing in all things food. She is fascinating in her explanations of how cooking and baking works. She authored 2 genius books on the how's and whys of cooking. They are good reads.

thebutterlab April 15, 2014

I'm excited to try these! I was just wondering if I could make the dough and then freeze the biscuits, shaped in the cake pan? Thanks!

EFF April 13, 2014

Can this be made with any of the non-gluten flours?

juicyrebound1 January 8, 2014

I agree with Elaine, these ain't my Granny's biscuits, but they are tender, light and quite delicious. Shortcake is a good call with fresh berries.

Sarah J. January 3, 2014

These are the most insane, heavenly biscuits I have EVER tried. I made them to bring to a dinner party. I did all of the steps up to the baking ahead of time, then brought them to my friends' house and baked them there. Perfect, melt-in-your-mouth, light as air biscuits.

Katie July 11, 2013

These are my new go-to biscuits. I've made them three times in the past few weeks and still can't get enough. Genius, indeed.

Shirley Corriher's Touch-of-Grace Biscuits Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Which liquid makes the best biscuits? ›

Just as important as the fat is the liquid used to make your biscuits. Our Buttermilk Biscuit recipe offers the choice of using milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk is known for making biscuits tender and adding a zippy tang, so we used that for this test.

What are the 3 steps for the biscuit method? ›

Procedure: Biscuit Method
  1. Scale and measure all ingredients.
  2. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Cut the shorting or butter into the dry ingredient mixture using the paddle attachment. ...
  4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients, mixing only until combined.

What makes homemade biscuits taste better? ›

Buttermilk adds a tangy flavor to the biscuits and makes them slightly more tender. Butter: We use salted European butter in this recipe. It will work with unsalted or salted butter. I like the extra saltiness of salted butter, but you can reduce the salt to 3/4 teaspoon if you prefer.

Why are my biscuits soft and not crunchy? ›

If your freshly baked biscuits seem too soft after they're cooled, then they're either under baked, or there is too much liquid in the recipe. When stamping out biscuits with a cutter, you might find that they stretch as you transfer them to the tray with your hands, and become misshapen.

What is the secret to a good biscuit? ›

Use Cold Butter for Biscuits

For flaky layers, use cold butter. When you cut in the butter, you have coarse crumbs of butter coated with flour. When the biscuit bakes, the butter will melt, releasing steam and creating pockets of air. This makes the biscuits airy and flaky on the inside.

What type of flour makes the best biscuits? ›

The Bottom Line

I personally think that biscuits are at their best when you use a fine pastry-type flour like White Lily or Bob's Pastry flour. BUT, all-purpose flour is absolutely an option. I actually think that your technique when making biscuits is just as - if not, more - important than the flour you use.

Is it better to use milk or buttermilk in biscuits? ›

Buttermilk can produce better results when baking biscuits than using regular milk or cream. Buttermilk is acidic and when it is combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise and gives the biscuits a light and flaky texture.

How can I get my biscuits to rise higher? ›

Bake them close to each other.

Biscuits are an exception to this rule: Placing them close to one another on your baking sheet actually helps them push each other up, as they impede each other from spreading outward and instead puff up skywards.

What is the most important step in biscuit making? ›

Mixing. The multi-stage mixing method is preferred for its ability to produce consistent doughs which are not fully developed. Blending all dry ingredients to rub or cut the shortening into the flour until fat is fully distributed and pea-sized lumps are visible.

What not to do when making biscuits? ›

So before you get ready to bake up you next batch, here are five mistakes you'll want to steer clear of.
  1. Starting with room-temperature ingredients. ...
  2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer. ...
  3. Re-rolling the dough too many times. ...
  4. Taking biscuit-making way too seriously.

Is it better to use butter or Crisco for biscuits? ›

So what's the final verdict? Butter is the winner here. The butter biscuits were moister with that wonderful butter taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. I'd be curious to test out substituting half or just two tablespoons of the butter with shortening to see if you get the best of both.

What kind of flour do Southerners use for biscuits? ›

White Lily brand flour, especially the self-rising flour, is the gold standard among Southern cooks who make biscuits on a regular basis. White lily, self rising. I use it for everything except those thing I make using either cake flour or yeast. If I'm using yeast I use King Arthur flours.

Should you let biscuit dough rest? ›

Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly 10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter (or even a glass, though its duller edge may result in slightly less tall biscuits).

Why do my homemade biscuits taste like flour? ›

While over-handling your biscuit dough can make your baked goods turn out like hockey pucks, under-mixing it while you're still adding all of your ingredients can result in floury or grainy biscuits.

Why do my homemade biscuits fall apart? ›

When the fat is cut too small, after baking there will be more, smaller air pockets left by the melting fat. The result is a baked product that crumbles. When cutting in shortening and other solid fats, cut only until the pieces of shortening are 1/8- to 1/4-inch in size.

Are biscuits better with buttermilk or milk? ›

Buttermilk adds a nice tang to the biscuit flavor and helps them rise better.

Are biscuits better made with butter or Crisco? ›

So what's the final verdict? Butter is the winner here. The butter biscuits were moister with that wonderful butter taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. I'd be curious to test out substituting half or just two tablespoons of the butter with shortening to see if you get the best of both.

What is the best emulsifier for biscuits? ›

DMG- Finamul 90. Distilled Monoglyceride is an important and essential emulsifier for biscuits which helps in dough strengthening and aids in the easy mixing of all the ingredients.

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