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Through Her Looking Glass

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

by 48 Comments

If you love fluffy homemade biscuits, then you’re going to love this recipe for Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Are they really a mile high? Well what do you think?

I’ve been called the queen of hyperbole before, and it just rolled right off. “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Ha. (It’s not true though is it. Names can hurt.)

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Light & flaky traditional New England biscuits that rise high. Easy to make. Yummy to eat. Butter & jam. Uh huh.

So when I say these biscuits are a mile high, I may be exaggerating just a teensy tiny as the queen of hyperbole. But you’ll forgive me just this once, right? What I’m trying to say is, these are tall, light & fluffy biscuits worthy of your time and effort making them.

I don’t remember having homemade biscuits very often growing up. But later when we moved south, oh my. It was all about the biscuits! They really know how to make the biscuits down south. Steaming hot, flaky, slathered with melting butter or dripping honey. And my personal favorite: fresh strawberry jam!

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Light & flaky traditional New England biscuits that rise high. Easy to make. Yummy to eat. Butter & jam. Uh huh.

Then we moved back north in 2004 and now I can’t even remember who the wonderful person was that introduced me to The Original Bakewell Cream. But they should get a gold medal or at least a blue ribbon. Because I started making the recipe for Bakewell Cream Biscuits on the back of the Bakewell cream tub and they’re the best biscuits ever! At least as good as those fabulous, flaky southern biscuits. Bakewell Cream is manufactured in Maine, quite near and dear to my heart as a New England girl. Bakewell Cream is actually a leavening agent that promises better baking, and you can buy it in many New England grocery stores or on-line here at King Arthur Flour. (If you can’t get your hands on Bakewell Cream, you may substitute 4 teaspoons of baking powder and omit the baking soda in this recipe.)

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Light & flaky traditional New England biscuits that rise high. Easy to make. Yummy to eat. Butter & jam. Uh huh.

Today I’m sharing a slight variation of the biscuit recipe on the back of the tub of Bakewell Cream and calling them Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Even if they’re not really a mile high, I think you’ll still love ’em. I use buttermilk instead of milk. And butter instead of shortening.

There's nothing quite like Old-Fashioned Easy Strawberry Shortcake with homemade biscuits and sweet, juicy strawberries. Perfect on the patio in summertime.

I also use these Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits as the base for my Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake recipe.

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Light & flaky traditional New England biscuits that rise high. Easy to make. Yummy to eat. Butter & jam. Uh huh.

Hope you love these easy, Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits!

Yields 16

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits

A light and fluffy biscuit that rises high.

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons Bakewell Cream
  • (If you can't get your hands on Bakewell Cream, substitute 4 teaspoons of baking powder for the Bakewell Cream, then omit the baking soda)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold butter
  • 1 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
  • extra buttermilk for brushing tops of biscuits

Instructions

  1. Mix and sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add butter and mix with a pastry blender.
  3. Add buttermilk all at once and stir quickly with a fork.
  4. (You may need to add a little more buttermilk to make a nice soft dough.)
  5. Turn out on a floured board and knead 5 or 6 times.
  6. Roll or pat into a rectangle that is 3/4" thickness.
  7. Cut with biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet.
  8. Brush tops of biscuits with buttermilk.
  9. Bake at 475° for 5 minutes.
  10. Turn off heat and leave in the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Notes

If you can't get your hands on Bakewell Cream, substitute 4 teaspoons of baking powder for the Bakewell Cream and omit the baking soda.

7.8.1.2
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https://www.throughherlookingglass.com/mile-high-buttermilk-biscuits/

Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits. Light & flaky traditional New England biscuits that rise high. Easy to make. Yummy to eat. Butter & jam. Uh huh.

You may also like: Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

There's nothing quite like Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake with homemade biscuits and sweet, juicy strawberries. Perfect on the patio in summertime.

Comments

  1. You have stumbled upon (one of) my Achilles heel. And looking at those pictures, I am just going to go ahead and say that you are forgiven for calling them mile high... They look it! Mmm. I am so lucky because my husband likes to make biscuits. So I will have to show him this recipe to add to his repertoire! Thanks Allie! Xoxo
    Reply

  2. Love this Allie ! Is it like the scones, isn't it? I would like to have one right now with a nice cup of tea ! Have a wonderful day ! xoxo
    Reply

  6. Allie, you are showing your southern roots here--or at least the south wore off on you when you were here! I am in need a of a good biscuit recipe and just found it! My husband thanks you!
    Reply

  7. Oh my gawsh, homemade biscuits are a weakness of mine. I just can't help myself and always end up eating my weight in them. So dangerously delicious! And these look PERFECT, Allie! Love the name, as they look beautifully tall and flaky. I've never heard of Bakewell Cream before, so thanks for tweaking their recipe and sharing your own version with us! I want to reach through my screen and devour 12 of these right now! Cheers, doll! xo
    Reply

  9. I could have used this recipe this past weekend for our homemade sausage gravy! The good news is, I canned a few more quarts so we will be making some again soon. These biscuits look delicious, Allie. I'm wondering if they sell the Bakewell cream in our local grocery stores? I hope so...
    Reply

  10. Wowie, zowie--these look amazing!! If I have to, I guess I will need to make a special order for the cream. :-)
    Reply

  11. I'm gonna throw sticks and stones at the person who called you the queen of hyperbole - clearly - they hadn't seen these biscuits - CLEARLY! My biscuits turn out a mile wide but not a mile high and I'm in awe - these look so light and fluffy and that picture of yours of these biscuits in that Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake just did me in! Gosh - I can just imagine the soft, flaky, biscuit with whipped cream and strawberries...Allie - I think y'all need to move down south and become my neighbor? Whadya say? :) XOXO
    Reply

  12. My oh my! I love buttermilk biscuits, and these look fantastically yum, Allie. Love how light and fluffy they are. I think I could eat the entire thing and this would certainly make a wonderful brunch dish! This is definitely going on my ‘to-make’ list
    Reply

    • Hi Aunt Pinkie, I did a little research on this on the King Arthur Flour website and this is what they say about substituting for Bakewell Cream in the biscuit recipe on the back of the Bakewell Cream can: “Bakewell Cream has been a staple in the cupboards of Maine families for generations. This unique leavening agent was created during wartime shortages in the 1940s as a substitute for cream of tartar. Its creator, Byron Smith of Bangor, Maine, named his mixture ‘Bakewell’ because he found that it did just that – bake well! If you don’t have Bakewell Cream, substitute 4 teaspoons baking powder and omit the baking soda." There's more in the article in the following link that you may be interested in: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/10/04/make-freeze-biscuits-heaven-in-a-hurry/ XO
      Reply

  17. Oh my goodness!!! These look incredible! Now I have a recipe for the perfect biscuit for those special meals. Especially for the holidays. I really can't wait to try this recipe! I bet you can freeze them and pull them out to use for breakfast sandwiches. Hmmm...:)
    Reply

  23. I have never heard of Bakewell Cream, but since I'm a huge biscuit lover, I need to order some!! I also love homemade biscuits for berry shortcakes!
    Reply

  24. Dear Allie, homemade biscuits are one of my favorites...I can tell by the dough that these are soft and fluffy...what perfect recipe. I love how versatile they are too...I must try these. xo, Catherine
    Reply

  26. Just took these biscuits out of the oven. Easy, easy dough to mix up and stretch out with my fingers. Feedback from me, biscuits were not done after five min. at 475, then another five min., with the oven turned off. Kept them in another five min., with the oven off. Still were not completely browned. Turned the oven on to 350 and baked another five min. Some were browned but others not. A taste test revealed, at least, for me, they were unsalted (and I included one (1) tsp sea salt). Crispy bottoms and a little on the tough side. Maybe my taste test was on one of the biscuits I made out of the second roll. Definitely missing something; maybe the salt. Also, I could only find low fat (1% milk fat). Could that have something to do with flat taste?
    Reply

    • Hi Kathryn, many thanks for the feedback, so appreciate your taking the time. Sorry to hear your batch turned out tough. Sounds like you are a biscuit maker, so you would already know to not over-handle the dough as that's what helps keeps it tender and flaky... I don't think the milkfat in the buttermilk is the issue, as I used buttermilk with 1% milkfat in my batch too. The original Bakewell Cream recipe uses milk, and I wonder if you might like to try it with milk, though my baking experience has always been that buttermilk helps keep things tender... The salt is a little bit of a mystery to me though, as you say you included the salt, but it didn't taste salted. I know southern biscuits are saltier than northern ones. I wonder if salted butter would add to the flavor without being too salty. I've baked these a number of times and had success with baking them at 475° for 5 minutes then turning off the oven and leaving them to brown. I'm wondering if the crispy bottoms came along with the oven reheating to 350°. Hard to know with so many variables, but thanks so much for trying the recipe and for your honest feedback.
      Reply

    • I had the same exact problem. Although I made my own buttermilk (milk and vinegar). I was hoping these would do it for me, but I just don't have what it takes to make tasty biscuits! Lol!
      Reply

  27. I am a total sucker for a good biscuit and these look amazing! I have a great biscuit recipe on my blog too, but I'm not the author, my mom is. I am awful when it comes to making biscuits, but I don't stop trying. I'll have to order some of that Bakewell Cream from KAF. I have not seen it before - must not be a NY thing? In any case, I'll try it and I'll try your recipe!
    Reply

  29. Hi Allie, I just finished making these. They turned out very tasty. I thought the salt content was perfect. Everyone's taste buds are different though. I had a similar issue as Kathryn with my biscuits not browning though. I did as she did and popped them back in for 5 min at 425. Never fear though... I'm going to give them another try, but leave them in at 475 for just a little longer. I'm wondering if my oven is calibrated correctly. A good temperature gauge will let me know. My gut tells me this is a five star recipe. I just have to tweak it for my oven. Thank you for sharing! I'll be sure to keep you posted next week when I give them another try! ;)
    Reply

    • Hi Heather, thanks so much for the feedback, it's great to hear from you. I have a suggestion. Try brushing with milk instead of buttermilk on your next batch. I'm wondering if it's the thickness of the buttermilk that's keeping the biscuits from browning for you and Kathryn. I'd love to hear if that helps. Thanks again! :)
      Reply

  30. Thoroughly enjoyed the recipe for these biscuits. I had the same issue as Kathryn and Heather. I baked for 5 minutes @ 475 and shut the oven off. I waited 10 minutes, but they weren't browned. I left them in another 5 minutes (without opening the oven door) after resetting the oven temperature to 475. They were perfect after the additional 5 minutes with the oven heating. I did realize that my new oven (high tech JennAir) turns a fan on to cool down the oven after it is shut off....I'm sure it took away from my final baking temperature. Thank you for the recipe.
    Reply

    • Hi Melissa - the recipe was written in Maine and I baked them at a 210' altitude in Manchester, NH for these photographs. So I am guessing you would need to do a high altitude adjustment.
      Reply

  32. I have even tried to find the Bakewell Cream on Amazon and they do not have it. I love coming across products that work so well , but I will check Costco next time I go and see if they might have it. I will not give up hope. I love this recipe and make a lot of biscuits, usually with raisins but those are mainly for hubby. I would really just prefer plain ones for myself. BEAUTIFUL recipexoxo
    Reply

      • i hope the person that posted this comment(Joy) sees my message, because they really made my day! I have known about King Arthur flour forever but it is not available in stores here(in Canada).Ordering online is of course the perfect solution and I found many other wonderful items there as well-soup mixes, baking supplies, just awesome. I was especially glad to find beautiful flavours of soup that will make life so much more bearable when I travel for work. So often it is a problem to make soup that you really enjoy and mixes usually are not so great. These sound fantastic! Thanks for being so helpful!
        Reply

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