Biscuits require just a few simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand. Add a touch of sugar to my biscuits for a lovely well-rounded flavor, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.
Ingredients
2 cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Clabber Girl baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
Method* Preheat the oven to 450°F.
* In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
* Add the butter or the shortening and pulse the food processor several times to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
* You can also do this by hand with a pastry blender. The faster you do this the better, you want the fat to remain cold.
* Stir in the buttermilk until just combined. DO NOT overmix, the dough will be slightly sticky.
* Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and dust the dough with flour.
* Gently pat the dough out until it’s a 1/2-inch in thickness.
* Use a 2-inch round biscuit cutter to push straight down through the dough to cut out circles, try not to twist the cutter.
* Place the biscuits on the baking sheet, spacing 2-inches apart.
* Reform the scrap dough into 1/2-inch thickness, being sure to work with it as little as possible, before cutting out more circles.
* Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.