Cheddar Scallion Biscuits Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to fluffy biscuits? ›

For soft and fluffy biscuits, blend the liquid and dry ingredients just until the dough "resembles cottage cheese," Sonoskus says. This stops you from activating too much gluten in the flour and ending up with a tougher biscuit that doesn't rise as high.

If your biscuits are too tough…

Biscuit dough is moist and sticky, so much so that it may seem too wet after you've added all your flour. If you do think this about your dough, fight the urge to add more dry ingredients — dough that isn't wet enough will bake into a hard, dry biscuit.

The butter version rises the highest — look at those flaky layers! The shortening biscuit is slightly shorter and a bit drier, too. Butter contains a bit of water, which helps create steam and gives baked goods a boost.

And baking powder is typically made of 2 parts baking soda to 1 part cream of tartar. In the presence of a liquid, the acidity of the cream of tartar activates the baking soda, causing it to start bubbling away, and that, in turn, is what makes the biscuits rise.

Most biscuit recipes will tell you to fold or stack the dough in on itself once or twice, rolling it out in between stacking. If your favorite recipe isn't yielding the height that you'd like to see, consider adding an extra fold or two, which will create more layers.

When you fold the dough, these pieces of butter stack on top of each other, creating rough layers of butter and dough that translate to flakiness once baked. Buttermilk Biscuits get maximum flakiness from a folding step built into the recipe.

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

Buttermilk gives biscuits their signature tang and keeps the dough tender. Make sure it's very cold when you add the buttermilk to the dough.

*Substitute buttermilk, light cream, or heavy cream for the whole milk, if you prefer; use enough of whatever liquid you choose to bring the dough together readily, without you having to work it too much. The higher-fat liquid you use, the more tender and richer-tasting your biscuits will be.

What does egg white do in biscuits? ›

Egg white has the capability to gel and is frequently used as a binding agent in many different prepared foods. Using more whites in a cake mixture will help create a fluffy, light baked product with good volume and texture; while using more yolks will create a denser baked good with a deeper, richer flavour.

Cream of tartar is praised for multiple potential health benefits, from migraine relief to help quitting smoking. Yet, the only claim that's backed by science is its effect as constipation relief. The FDA recognizes cream of tartar as a safe ingredient when consumed in small quantities.

Keep in mind that more cream of tartar doesn't necessarily mean a better, more stable result. “Too much cream of tartar will impart a metallic, tin-like taste,” Molly warns.

Overmixing: If you mix the dough too much, the gluten in the flour can develop too much and create tough, hard biscuits. Be sure to mix the dough just until it comes together and avoid kneading or overworking the dough. Overbaking: Biscuits can become dry and hard if they are overbaked.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and pat it down into a rough rectangle, about an inch thick. Fold it over and gently pat it down again. Repeat two more times. Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Eggs act as a binder for biscuits, without them the mixture will be far too crumbly. They also add flavour and texture, as well as extending shelf life.