Description
These Sweet Blueberry Biscuits are a delightful treat featuring tender, flaky biscuits studded with bursting frozen blueberries and finished with a sweet vanilla glaze. Baked in a cast iron skillet for a golden crust and soft center, they offer a perfect balance of buttery richness and fruity sweetness in every bite.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter (VERY cold)
- ¾ cup buttermilk (use enough until the dough is just barely wet enough)
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
Glaze
- ½ stick melted salted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk (or more if needed for thinning)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Freeze the Butter: Cut the unsalted butter into small pats and arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place the butter in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to ensure it is very cold for cutting into the dough.
- Prepare the Skillet and Oven: Lightly grease a cast iron skillet with a tiny bit of bacon grease – this can be done by frying a slice of bacon, wiping out the pan, and using the remaining grease. Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C).
- Mix the Glaze: In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir thoroughly until the powdered sugar is completely dissolved and the glaze is smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Then cut the very cold unsalted butter into the mixture until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
- Add Buttermilk and Form Dough: Slowly add buttermilk to the dry mixture, stirring gently until the dough just comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Avoid overmixing. Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface.
- Knead and Flatten Dough: Sprinkle flour on your work surface and over the dough. Knead the dough a few times gently and press it into a ½-inch thick rectangle.
- Add Blueberries and Adjust Thickness: Evenly scatter the frozen blueberries over the dough, knead gently a couple of times to incorporate the blueberries, then reshape and flatten the dough to about 1-inch thickness.
- Arrange Biscuits in Skillet: Transfer the dough to the prepared cast iron skillet, cutting or shaping the dough into biscuits that are placed touching each other for even baking.
- Bake Biscuits: Bake in the preheated oven at 500°F (260°C) for 10-12 minutes. About halfway through baking (6-8 minutes), brush the biscuits with the melted salted butter to enhance flavor and browning.
- Check and Cool: When the biscuits are lightly browned on top and the blueberries start bursting, remove the skillet from the oven. Keep in mind the biscuits will remain hot in the center and continue cooking slightly after removal from the oven.
Notes
- Using very cold butter is essential for creating flaky biscuits.
- Frozen blueberries can be used directly without thawing to prevent the dough from becoming too wet.
- If you don’t have bacon grease, you can lightly grease the skillet with butter or oil.
- The glaze is optional but adds a lovely sweet finishing touch.
- Handle the dough gently to avoid overworking, which can make the biscuits tough.
- Check biscuits closely near the end of baking to prevent over-browning due to the high oven temperature.
- Allow biscuits to cool slightly before glazing if you want a thicker glaze consistency.
