Biscuit Dressing

By Patlynn

It’s not as traditional as bread stuffing, but we wanted a recipe for Southern biscuit dressing worthy of a place on the holiday table. Mixing, rolling, and stamping out individual biscuits was time-consuming; luckily, a dump-and-stir biscuit method works just as well with much less effort. Traditional recipes use day-old biscuit “crumbs” for this dish; we discovered that pinching off and baking tiny pieces of dough achieved the same result. Getting the moisture level right was key to avoiding soggy dressing, and a few eggs added structure and richness.

Ingredients

• IngredientsBISCUITS3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, chilled
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• DRESSING2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 3 celery ribs, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or to taste.
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 large eggs

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
Flour your fingers to keep the biscuit dough from sticking in step 2. The biscuits can be baked and cooled a day ahead of time and stored at room temperature.
We needed biscuits that wouldn’t fall apart even after we moistened them to build the dressing. So we made tiny biscuits, pinching the dough into 1-inch bits, to yield more firm edge and less fluffy middle. We also “pre-staled” them by baking them nearly twice as long as a full-size biscuit would bake


1. FOR THE BISCUITS: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt together in large bowl. Combine ­buttermilk and melted butter in bowl and stir until butter forms clumps. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated.
2. Using floured fingers, break off 1-inch pieces of dough and scatter evenly on baking sheets. Bake until tops are deep golden brown, about 25 ­minutes, rotating and switching baking sheets halfway through. Let biscuits cool on baking sheets. When biscuits are cool enough to handle, crumble into ½-inch pieces into large bowl.
3. FOR THE DRESSING: Grease 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and celery and cook, ­covered, until softened and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sage, thyme, pepper, and salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add vegetable mixture to bowl with biscuits.
4. Whisk broth and eggs together in bowl. Add broth mixture to biscuits and vegetables and stir gently to combine. Let sit until biscuits have softened slightly, about 3 minutes. Transfer to prepared baking dish and press gently into even layer. Bake dressing on lower-middle rack until top is golden brown and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking. Let cool for 20 minutes. Serve.