Cornmeal Drop Biscuits with Variations

By lorik

Be sure to chill the buttermilk so the melted-and-cooled butter clumps when the two are combined. These biscuits are best eaten still warm from the oven; try them spread with honey butter or pimento cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) stone-ground cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Stir buttermilk and melted butter together in separate bowl until butter forms clumps.

2. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated. Using greased 1/4-cup dry measuring cup or equal-size portion scoop, drop scant 1/4-cup scoops of batter 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared sheet (use spoon to free batter from cup if necessary).

3. Bake until biscuit tops are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer biscuits to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. (To refresh day old biscuits, heat them in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes.)

Variations:
Cornmeal biscuits with black pepper:
Add 1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper to flour mixture in step 1.

Cornmeal biscuits with green chiles:
Add 1/4 cup canned diced green chiles, drained and patted dry to flour mixture in step 1.

Cornmeal biscuits with sage:
Add 1 Tbsp minced fresh sage to flour mixture in step 1.