Ultra Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Mother's Day was yesterday and I want to talk about it because it was different this year. It was different because Kayla gave me a card that said something I will carry with me until the day I leave this earth.

The card was handmade — she drew flowers on the front, which she's not good at, and the flowers looked like something a five-year-old would draw, and that made it more perfect. Inside, she wrote: "To my Granny, who is also my Mama. You didn't have to raise me. You chose to. Every day, you chose to. Thank you for choosing me."

I could not speak. Earl was sitting across from me and he saw my face and he said, "That good, huh?" And I just handed him the card and he read it and he took off his glasses and he pinched the bridge of his nose, which is what Earl Henderson does instead of crying, and we sat there at the kitchen table, two old people who raised a granddaughter because their son died on a highway in Georgia, and we didn't say a word because there was nothing to say that the card hadn't already said.

Denise brought me flowers. Patricia called from Jacksonville. Earl Jr. called from Atlanta. They're good children, all of them, and I am blessed. But Kayla's card — that card is going in the recipe box. Right next to Hattie Pearl's biscuit recipe. Because some things belong together.

I cooked a big Mother's Day brunch: shrimp and grits (of course), buttermilk biscuits, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and a fruit salad because I'm trying to pretend I eat healthy. Kayla came over and we cooked together, side by side, and she's getting good, baby. She's really getting good. Her shrimp technique is almost there — she still overcooks them by about thirty seconds, but she'll learn. Time teaches what lectures can't.

I thought about Mama. Hattie Pearl never got a Mother's Day card that made her cry — or if she did, she didn't show it. Mama kept everything inside, like a jar with the lid on too tight. I try to be different. I try to let the tears come. Earl says I'm getting soft in my old age. I say I'm getting honest.

Now go on and feed somebody.

I said Kayla’s card is going in the recipe box next to Hattie Pearl’s biscuit recipe, and I meant it. So it only feels right to share these buttermilk biscuits with you — the ones I made for our Mother’s Day brunch, the ones Mama taught me, the ones Kayla is learning to make now, side by side with me at that same kitchen counter. Some recipes carry more than ingredients. This one carries four generations of Henderson women, and I want you to have it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 12 biscuits

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
1 cup cold buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar.
Grate the butter. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the flour mixture. Toss gently with a fork to coat the butter shreds in flour. This is the secret to those flaky layers.
Add the buttermilk. Pour the cold buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Do not overmix — you want to see little streaks of butter throughout.
Fold the dough. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter. Turn it 90 degrees and repeat the pat-and-fold process two more times. This creates all those beautiful, flaky layers.
Cut the biscuits. Pat the dough to about 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter dipped in flour, press straight down without twisting. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet so they’re just touching — this helps them rise tall.
Bake. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the layers are visible on the sides.
Brush with butter. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops with melted butter. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ultra Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits — The Ones That Belong Next to Hattie Pearl’s Card