While distinctive to the American South, biscuits may be traced back to ancient Europe, with early variants appearing in Roman and Egyptian cultures as unleavened bread. These tough little mounds were prepared simply of flour, salt, and water and resembled something like biscotti. (Baking soda and baking powder didn't come onto the scene until the mid-1800s.) It makes sense then that the name biscuit derives from the Latin word "biscotus," which translates to "twice baked." The recipe and double-baked process didn't give them much flavor, but it did make them resilient for long sailing excursions.
Depth in taste and texture came much later as biscuits started improving — first as Europeans started populating American colonies and gained access to greater supplies of flour, lard, and buttermilk. As baking technologies continued to progress in the 19th century, a broader range of sweet and savory biscuits appeared on dining tables everywhere.
Today, baking up a batch of fluffy Southern biscuits from scratch is a labor of love, but not everyone has the time to master them. By focusing on fresh ingredients like savory fillings, sweet spreads, spices, and plenty of butter, you may bypass the arduous prep labor and still enjoy a great semi-homemade dessert with packaged biscuits.
Bring On The Butter
Before baking: Lightly brush your biscuit dough with melted butter to give them an extra golden brown crisp on top, or insert small pieces of cold butter between slices of dough to produce extra flaky, buttery layers once baked. In fact, cold butter is the preferred go-to when baking from scratch anyhow; as the butter melts, it generates steam and retains just enough air inside the dough to make it very airy and flaky on the interior.
After baking: Brush melted butter or olive oil over the biscuits for extra richness. Or go one step further and put on a herby compound butter, which is very easy to whip up on your own using a simple method for generating compound butter. As the butter melts on your freshly cooked biscuits, it will infuse them with subtle traces of herbs from your compounded creation (and make your home smell amazing). You can also mix up some sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce) with honey and butter and slather it on for a sweet-hot jolt.
Stuff Them With Savory Or Sweet Ingredients
While it's tempting to speed baking your biscuits, spending a moment to stuff them with your favorite savory fillings will help boost both their beauty and flavor. For the ultimate loaded breakfast sandwich, consider stuffing them with cooked ham, your choice of cheese, and scrambled eggs. Or stuff them with cooked broccoli, corn, sliced red peppers, and cheddar cheese for a veggie-packed option.
If you're hungry lunch or dinner instead, pack your biscuits with shredded cooked brisket and a homemade BBQ sauce (add a little before and after baking) to produce a juicy, tender BBQ biscuit bomb. You can prepare something similar with shredded cooked chicken, cooked bacon, and mozzarella or provolone cheese; pack your biscuits with the ingredients, carefully press the dough close, and pour some butter on top before baking for a flavorful, filling supper.
Stuffed cookies will fulfill your sweet taste as well! Simply break the layers in half before baking and put any of your favorite sweet spreads onto the center, such jam, Nutella, or chocolate. Pinch over the edges to seal them up, spread some butter on the outside, and sprinkle with sugar before baking. You'll end up with a thick, gooey-centered sweet treat that's sure to appease your want for something indulgent and homemade.
Read Also: Easy Method for Delicious Biscuit Sour Cream Recipe
Go For The Gravy
When you're dying to serve up a hot plate of homemade biscuits but time isn't on your side, focus on making a delicious, cozy homemade gravy like the one featured in this simple buttermilk biscuits with sausage cream gravy recipe. In around 10 minutes, you can brown some flavorful pork sausage, add your flour, milk, and spices, and let it thicken to produce a creamy, scrumptious topping. For an even richer flavor profile, consider cooking up this herbed sausage gravy dish.
A classic Southern sausage gravy is worth perfecting anytime, but don't be afraid to dabble in different sauces to spice things up. This rustic chestnut and mushroom gravy delivers earthy aromas and a powerful texture that's equally as enjoyable as your typical gravy. This tomato gravy, made with just four simple ingredients — tomatoes, bacon fat, flour, and water — adds a zesty, slightly spicy bite to your biscuits, due to optional sprinkles of red chili flakes and smoky paprika. Drizzle it over some warm cheddar biscuits, or pour it over a typical eggs Benedict dish where you've changed out the English muffins with canned biscuits, and you're sure to make some instant brunch fan favorites.
Sweeten Them Up
Looking to fulfill your love of homemade biscuits AND your sweet tooth? Luckily, the alternatives for changing your biscuits into wonderful sweets and giving them handcrafted flair are bountiful. One simple method is to dust the biscuits with cinnamon sugar or pour them with honey just after baking, giving a sweet, caramelized layer that complements the buttery flavor of the biscuits.
Another alternative is to mix up a basic glaze using powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle this over the warm biscuits for a sweet finish that hardens as it cools, providing a wonderful texture akin to a classic cinnamon roll glaze. Or, you can go for a full sugar bomb experience and turn your biscuits into donuts or monkey bread by altering this cinnamon roll monkey bread recipe. The result is a pull-apart bread that's gooey, sweet, and excellent for sharing. Or, top your biscuits with homemade jam for a fruitier but incredibly simple twist. When making your own jam, keeping things simple is key.
Finally, you may upgrade your biscuits by arranging them in a skillet, covering them with a luscious Nutella spread (or basic hazelnut butter), and baking until golden brown. Frost them with a classic cream cheese recipe or drizzle some melted dark chocolate on top for a rich, delicious treat.
Make These Your Savory Breakfast Star
Nothing beats a warm, cooked dinner to start the day. Transforming packaged biscuits into a delectable masterpiece for breakfast or brunch is easier than you might think. Start by baking the biscuits until they're golden brown and fluffy. Once they're out of the oven, you can get creative with your toppings and fillings to take them to the next level.
For a savory variation, whisk up some perfect scrambled eggs and place them across each side of your freshly cooked biscuit. Crumble some creamy chèvre cheese over the eggs and top them with fresh herbs like chives or parsley for extra texture and freshness. Top the whole thing off with thin slices of creamy avocado and a sprinkling of sea salt to bring out the dish's taste.
If you're in the mood for something even more indulgent, try using canned biscuits to replace regular bread in your favorite breakfast dish. with example, swap out the bread topping with baked biscuits in this classic breakfast sausage strata or this overnight eggs benedict casserole. The fluffy biscuits will soak up all the flavors of these indulgent casseroles, giving you a beautifully rich and satisfying feast.
Kari Pettersen
While distinctive to the American South, biscuits may be traced back to ancient Europe, with early variants appearing in Roman and Egyptian cultures as unleavened bread. These tough little mounds were prepared simply of flour, salt, and water and resembled something like biscotti. (Baking soda and baking powder didn't come onto the scene until the mid-1800s.) It makes sense then that the name biscuit derives from the Latin word "biscotus," which translates to "twice baked." The recipe and double-baked process didn't give them much flavor, but it did make them resilient for long sailing excursions.
Depth in taste and texture came much later as biscuits started improving — first as Europeans started populating American colonies and gained access to greater supplies of flour, lard, and buttermilk. As baking technologies continued to progress in the 19th century, a broader range of sweet and savory biscuits appeared on dining tables everywhere.
Today, baking up a batch of fluffy Southern biscuits from scratch is a labor of love, but not everyone has the time to master them. By focusing on fresh ingredients like savory fillings, sweet spreads, spices, and plenty of butter, you may bypass the arduous prep labor and still enjoy a great semi-homemade dessert with packaged biscuits.
Bring On The Butter
Before baking: Lightly brush your biscuit dough with melted butter to give them an extra golden brown crisp on top, or insert small pieces of cold butter between slices of dough to produce extra flaky, buttery layers once baked. In fact, cold butter is the preferred go-to when baking from scratch anyhow; as the butter melts, it generates steam and retains just enough air inside the dough to make it very airy and flaky on the interior.
After baking: Brush melted butter or olive oil over the biscuits for extra richness. Or go one step further and put on a herby compound butter, which is very easy to whip up on your own using a simple method for generating compound butter. As the butter melts on your freshly cooked biscuits, it will infuse them with subtle traces of herbs from your compounded creation (and make your home smell amazing). You can also mix up some sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce) with honey and butter and slather it on for a sweet-hot jolt.
Stuff Them With Savory Or Sweet Ingredients
While it's tempting to speed baking your biscuits, spending a moment to stuff them with your favorite savory fillings will help boost both their beauty and flavor. For the ultimate loaded breakfast sandwich, consider stuffing them with cooked ham, your choice of cheese, and scrambled eggs. Or stuff them with cooked broccoli, corn, sliced red peppers, and cheddar cheese for a veggie-packed option.
If you're hungry lunch or dinner instead, pack your biscuits with shredded cooked brisket and a homemade BBQ sauce (add a little before and after baking) to produce a juicy, tender BBQ biscuit bomb. You can prepare something similar with shredded cooked chicken, cooked bacon, and mozzarella or provolone cheese; pack your biscuits with the ingredients, carefully press the dough close, and pour some butter on top before baking for a flavorful, filling supper.
Stuffed cookies will fulfill your sweet taste as well! Simply break the layers in half before baking and put any of your favorite sweet spreads onto the center, such jam, Nutella, or chocolate. Pinch over the edges to seal them up, spread some butter on the outside, and sprinkle with sugar before baking. You'll end up with a thick, gooey-centered sweet treat that's sure to appease your want for something indulgent and homemade.
Read Also: Easy Method for Delicious Biscuit Sour Cream Recipe
Go For The Gravy
When you're dying to serve up a hot plate of homemade biscuits but time isn't on your side, focus on making a delicious, cozy homemade gravy like the one featured in this simple buttermilk biscuits with sausage cream gravy recipe. In around 10 minutes, you can brown some flavorful pork sausage, add your flour, milk, and spices, and let it thicken to produce a creamy, scrumptious topping. For an even richer flavor profile, consider cooking up this herbed sausage gravy dish.
A classic Southern sausage gravy is worth perfecting anytime, but don't be afraid to dabble in different sauces to spice things up. This rustic chestnut and mushroom gravy delivers earthy aromas and a powerful texture that's equally as enjoyable as your typical gravy. This tomato gravy, made with just four simple ingredients — tomatoes, bacon fat, flour, and water — adds a zesty, slightly spicy bite to your biscuits, due to optional sprinkles of red chili flakes and smoky paprika. Drizzle it over some warm cheddar biscuits, or pour it over a typical eggs Benedict dish where you've changed out the English muffins with canned biscuits, and you're sure to make some instant brunch fan favorites.
Sweeten Them Up
Looking to fulfill your love of homemade biscuits AND your sweet tooth? Luckily, the alternatives for changing your biscuits into wonderful sweets and giving them handcrafted flair are bountiful. One simple method is to dust the biscuits with cinnamon sugar or pour them with honey just after baking, giving a sweet, caramelized layer that complements the buttery flavor of the biscuits.
Another alternative is to mix up a basic glaze using powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle this over the warm biscuits for a sweet finish that hardens as it cools, providing a wonderful texture akin to a classic cinnamon roll glaze. Or, you can go for a full sugar bomb experience and turn your biscuits into donuts or monkey bread by altering this cinnamon roll monkey bread recipe. The result is a pull-apart bread that's gooey, sweet, and excellent for sharing. Or, top your biscuits with homemade jam for a fruitier but incredibly simple twist. When making your own jam, keeping things simple is key.
Finally, you may upgrade your biscuits by arranging them in a skillet, covering them with a luscious Nutella spread (or basic hazelnut butter), and baking until golden brown. Frost them with a classic cream cheese recipe or drizzle some melted dark chocolate on top for a rich, delicious treat.
Make These Your Savory Breakfast Star
Nothing beats a warm, cooked dinner to start the day. Transforming packaged biscuits into a delectable masterpiece for breakfast or brunch is easier than you might think. Start by baking the biscuits until they're golden brown and fluffy. Once they're out of the oven, you can get creative with your toppings and fillings to take them to the next level.
For a savory variation, whisk up some perfect scrambled eggs and place them across each side of your freshly cooked biscuit. Crumble some creamy chèvre cheese over the eggs and top them with fresh herbs like chives or parsley for extra texture and freshness. Top the whole thing off with thin slices of creamy avocado and a sprinkling of sea salt to bring out the dish's taste.
If you're in the mood for something even more indulgent, try using canned biscuits to replace regular bread in your favorite breakfast dish. with example, swap out the bread topping with baked biscuits in this classic breakfast sausage strata or this overnight eggs benedict casserole. The fluffy biscuits will soak up all the flavors of these indulgent casseroles, giving you a beautifully rich and satisfying feast.