Annie Mae Jones' Buttermilk Biscuits

Old-school Southern biscuits live and die by their fat. Vegetable shortening cut into the flour with two knives or your fingers leaves pea-sized lumps that turn into the flaky layers everyone wants. Want them shorter and tender? Cut finer. Want flake? Leave the lumps bigger.

Buttermilk does two jobs. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda for proper lift, and the tang gives biscuits that distinct, slightly sour flavor that water-and-milk biscuits can’t match. The dough should feel soft, almost sticky. Dry biscuit dough bakes hard.

Knead lightly. Two or three folds and that’s it. Over-kneaded dough develops gluten and your biscuits go tough and flat instead of tall and tender.

Now here’s the trick the recipe gives you: spacing matters. Place biscuits with their sides touching for soft, pillowy biscuits that rise tall as they bake into each other. Space them apart on the sheet for crisper, more browned edges all the way around. Both are right; pick what you like.

Pro Tips

• Keep the shortening cold. Warm fat melts into the flour and you lose the layering. Pop your bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before mixing if your kitchen runs warm.
• Cut straight down with your biscuit cutter, no twisting. Twisting seals the edges and prevents proper rise.
• Brush with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven for a glossy, flavorful top.

Variations

• Swap half the shortening for cold cubed butter for richer flavor with most of the flake.
• Add a tablespoon of sugar for sweet-leaning Southern biscuits, perfect for strawberry shortcake.
• Stir in shredded sharp cheddar and a pinch of cayenne for cheese biscuits.