Skillet Biscuits with Cinnamon-Honey Butter

Name: Skillet Biscuits with Cinnamon-Honey Butter
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 14 serving(s)
Ingredients: 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 2 tbsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. kosher salt; 1 1/4 c. cold salted butter, divided; 2 1/2 c. buttermilk, divided; 3 tbsp. honey, divided; 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

A cast-iron skillet gives 'em the best crust!

By Ree DrummondUpdated: Sep 21, 2023

3 Ratings

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skillet biscuits with cinnamon honey butter

Yields:

14 serving(s)

Prep Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

50 mins

Marlboro Man prefers canned biscuits to homemade. Call it a tiny culinary quirk or a major character flaw. I don't know why, and neither does he, but all that to confess—I don't make homemade biscuits all that often. If I'm making biscuits and gravy, there's a good chance I'm reaching for the canned variety, because why spend the time when your main squeeze doesn't care? Now I, on the other hand, can imagine nothing more glorious than waking up to a skillet full of warm buttermilk biscuits such as these. They're flaky, buttery, tender, and begging to be drowned in butter... cinnamon-honey butter. Cast iron gets screaming hot so it's perfect for giving biscuits a beautiful crust. Plus, I love the way the pan looks on the table!

What's the secret to great biscuits?

Once you add the buttermilk, don't over mix the dough! Mix it until all the ingredients are just combined. No more, no less. Overtaxing results in hard, tough biscuits which is exactly the opposite of what you want. Second, when you're cutting the biscuits out, don't twist the cutter. Go straight down and back up. If you twist it, you seal the edges which means the biscuits won't rise high.

Are biscuits better made with butter or shortening?

Butter, baby! Biscuits made with butter taste better and rise higher. Butter has a higher water content than shortening, and when it bakes into the biscuits, it creates little pockets of steam giving the biscuits a light, flaky texture. Using cold butter is important for this reason.

Help! I'm out of buttermilk. What else can I use?

I never have any buttermilk in my fridge, so I frequently make my own using an easy buttermilk substitute like adding a few tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk (1 tablespoon of acid to 1 cup of milk usually does the trick).

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Ingredients

Directions

1. Step 1 Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Step 2Cut 1 cup of the butter into small chunks, making sure it stays as cold as possible. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the chilled butter bits into the flour mixture until blended thoroughly. Make a well in the center and gently stir in 21⁄4 cups buttermilk and 2 tablespoons honey until the dough just comes together.
3. Step 3Turn out the dough onto a generously floured surface and use floured hands to press it into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold one of the short sides into the center and then the other side (like a letter); rotate the folded dough 90° and press to 1-inch thick again. Repeat this process two more times, folding, rotating and pressing the dough.
4. Step 4Using a floured 2 1⁄4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (do not twist the cutter when pressing out the rounds—twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising). Gently reroll the scraps, if needed, and cut out more biscuits (you should have about 14). Brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 1⁄4 cup buttermilk.
5. Step 5Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown and the dough is cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Step 6Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon honey, and the cinnamon and microwave until softened; mix until combined. Brush the hot biscuits with some of the cinnamon butter and serve the rest on the side.