One of Trisha Yearwood's must-haves on Thanksgiving is her "Grandma’s Sky-High Biscuits."
The singer, chef and best-selling author says the biscuits come from a recipe that's been passed down in her family and she hopes to keep the tradition going for years to come.
"My grandparents, they had a big dairy farm and my grandmother would work in the field in the day and then she would come in for lunch and she would cook for whoever was going to be eating -- it might be four people, it might be 20 people," Yearwood said in an interview with "Good Morning America."
"And my mother was the only daughter so she was the helper -- and these biscuits were huge," she added.
Yearwood said the recipe produces "the perfect combination of a dinner roll and a biscuit all in one" and these biscuits in particular were a favorite of her grandfather's.
"He called them 'cathead biscuits' and I've actually heard other people call biscuits cathead biscuits,'" she said with a laugh. "It must be a thing -- biscuits the size of a cat's head."
"It's a great memory, and so for my sister and I, the whole tradition of taking recipes that have been in our family for generations and making them ours and passing them down to our kids is really what it's all about," she continued. "I hope that in, you know, 20 years when my grandkids are grown and telling their stories to their families that they talk about my grandparents and the big sky-high biscuits."
MORE: Trisha Yearwood shares her Thanksgiving recipe for sweet potato pudding
Yearwood, who released her latest cookbook "Trisha's Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family" in September, said these will be a hit with everyone at your table this year.
"This is the day everybody saves up for," she said. "And I feel like no matter what you have on the table, there needs to be a biscuit to sop up the gravy, to just kind of pull everything together. The sky-high biscuits are perfect for that because they're big and they hold a lot of gravy."
Here is the full recipe:
Ingredients:
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Kosher salt
5 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup warm water (90° to 110°F)
2 (¼-ounce) packets active dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into small cubes and chilled, plus more for greasing and 4 tablespoons (½ stick), melted
2 cups buttermilk
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 11/2 teaspoons salt, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar.
3. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir until the yeast has dissolved. Let stand until bubbles appear, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Using your hands, mix the 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter into the flour, breaking the butter into small pebbles, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk and the yeast mixture. Gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients. Keep mixing until a ball starts to form, then flour your hands and gently knead in the bowl 12 to 15 times, to create a smooth dough. If the mixture is too sticky to easily knead, sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour over the top as you knead. Cover with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
5. Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface. Flour your hands and press the dough out to 2 inches thick. Fold the dough in half, press it out again to 2 inches thick, then fold and press again into a 2-inch-thick square slab.
6. Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter. Cut the dough into 12 equal squares and tuck the corners under to make each biscuit into a ball, trying not to mash down too much, then add to the greased skillet. The biscuits will be snug and puff up together when they bake. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt.
7. Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted between the center biscuits comes out clean. Brush again with melted butter and serve warm.
Reprinted with permission from "TRISHA’S KITCHEN: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family" Copyright © 2021 by Trisha Yearwood with Beth Yearwood Bernard. Photography © 2021 by Ben Fink. Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
FAQs
Ingredients
- 4 cups self-rising flour, plus more for the work surface*
- 2 tablespoons baking powder.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda.
- 3 sticks salted butter (¾ pound), cold, cut into ½-inch pieces or grated.
- 2 large eggs, beaten, plus 1 large egg for brushing.
- 1½ cups buttermilk, or as needed, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing.
All biscuit masters agree: if you're going to use butter, use real butter, not that fake crap (margarine). But margarine is usually several times cheaper than butter, has lower cholesterol, and generally has much fewer calories.
How do you make Paula Deen's biscuits? ›
directions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients together.
- Cut in shortening. ...
- Add yeast and buttermilk and mix well.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll out to desired thickness.
- Cut with small biscuit cutter and place on greased baking sheet.
Fully incorporating the butter and flour guarantees tender, airy biscuits every time. Low-protein flours keep biscuits fluffy and light, never tough. Yogurt provides both hydration and structure, for biscuits that bake up straight and tall but moist.
What happened to Joanna Gaines Bakery? ›
Recognizing the potential of the e-commerce platform, Gaines transformed her brick-and-mortar bakery into an online food hub. Her baked delicacies are now easily accessible with a few clicks and taps, delivering sweet goodness to doorsteps nationwide.
What are the ingredients in farmhouse biscuits? ›
With a love of old family recipes, the finest ingredients, traditional baking methods and above all a simple love of baking biscuits. INGREDIENTS: Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed, Sustainable Palm), Sugar, Salt, Flavourings, Raising Agent: Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate.
Is buttermilk or whole milk better for biscuits? ›
Buttermilk can produce better results when baking biscuits than using regular milk or cream. Buttermilk is acidic and when it is combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise and gives the biscuits a light and flaky texture.
Is buttermilk or regular milk better for biscuits? ›
When you're making biscuits, you use buttermilk for its acidity as well as its fat and liquid content. The acidity is used, in conjunction with leaveners, to help the dough rise.
Why is buttermilk better for biscuits? ›
Buttermilk Biscuits vs. Cream Biscuits
Buttermilk is used in biscuit-making for its acid and fat content. Its acidity works with the leaveners to help the dough rise, producing a taller and fluffier biscuit. Buttermilk also adds a subtle tang. Cream biscuits are made with heavy cream.
What is the secret to an excellent biscuit? ›
Just bring it all together and let the ingredients do the work." In order to help the biscuits rise, all the experts agree that the fat — whether butter, shortening or margarine — needs to be cold, and there should still be visible chunks of that fat in the dough. Don't overmix.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly and about the size of peas. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead 3 to 4 times.
What makes Southern biscuits so good? ›
Southern cooks have several tricks when it comes to making tender and delicious biscuits, from the cutters they use, to the type and amount of liquid incorporated, to the number of kneads required to turn out a perfect dough. The not-so-secret ingredient they rely upon is soft wheat flour.
What is the secret to high rising biscuits? ›
Cut off uneven edges and put these scraps to the side; clean cuts on all sides will encourage rise. Pat scraps together to make 1 odd-shaped ninth biscuit. Place biscuits close together in a 9-inch square pan and brush with melted salted butter. Place pan on top of the warm stove for 10 to 15 minutes to rise.
Should you let biscuit dough rest? ›
Cover the dough loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Gently pat out the dough some more, so that the rectangle is roughly 10 inches by 6 inches. Cut dough into biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter (or even a glass, though its duller edge may result in slightly less tall biscuits).
What is the best flour for biscuits? ›
There is some actual science behind why White Lily flour is lighter than others and, thus, better suited for items like biscuits and cakes.
Can Joanna Gaines biscuits be frozen? ›
Technique tip: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, arrange the biscuits about 1/2 inch apart on two parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and freeze until solid. Transfer them to a zip-top plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
What episode does Joanna Gaines make biscuits? ›
Biscuits! - Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines (Season 1, Episode 6) - Apple TV.
Does Joanna Gaines eat healthy? ›
“Typically with sweets, I go all out,” she says. “If you're gonna make the cake, just make the cake.” The key, of course, is moderation. Gaines does stress that most of her family's food includes things like the nutritious vegetables and fruits that grow in their own garden—like this beautiful broccoli!
What is in Jim N Nicks biscuits? ›
Ingredients. Wheat Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin and Folic Acid), Sugar, Buttermilk Solids, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, and Monocalcium Phosphate), Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate.
