Pumpkin Buttermilk Biscuits
These tender pumpkin buttermilk biscuits are lightly spiced, flaky, and golden at the edges. They make a cozy breakfast or dinner bread with butter, honey, or a bowl of soup.
This recipe is american style, breakfast, scaled for 8 servings, with 20 min prep and 15 min cook.
Prep: 20 min · Cook: 15 min · Total: 35 min · Serves: 8
Quick cooking notes
- Core ingredients include all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ground nutmeg.
- Follow all 12 steps in order for the intended texture and doneness.
- Ingredient quantities listed below are for 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 2.25 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 0.125 tsp ground nutmeg
- 0.75 tsp kosher salt
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (very cold and cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 0.25 tsp ground ginger
- 0.33 cup buttermilk (cold)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp heavy cream (for brushing)
- 0.75 cup pumpkin puree (chilled)
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven, set the oven to 425°F (220°C), and line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper while the oven preheats for at least 15 minutes.
- Whisk 2.25 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 2 tbsp packed brown sugar, 0.75 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 0.25 tsp ground ginger, and 0.125 tsp ground nutmeg in a large mixing bowl for 30 seconds, until the leavening and spices are evenly distributed.
- Add 8 tbsp very cold cubed unsalted butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry blender or your fingertips for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture looks shaggy with pea-size butter pieces still visible.
- Whisk 0.75 cup chilled pumpkin puree and 0.33 cup cold buttermilk in a medium bowl for about 30 seconds, until smooth and evenly orange.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture over the flour mixture and stir with a flexible spatula for 45 to 60 seconds, just until a craggy dough forms and a few dry flour patches remain; do not stir until smooth.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour, turn the dough out, and gently press it with floured hands into a 1-inch-thick rectangle; the dough should feel cool, soft, and slightly tacky but not wet.
- Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, rotate it 90 degrees, and pat it back to a 1-inch-thick rectangle; repeat this folding and patting process 2 more times over about 3 minutes to build flaky layers without overworking the dough.
- Use a floured 2.5-inch round biscuit cutter to press straight down through the dough without twisting, then place each biscuit on the prepared 13-by-18-inch baking sheet about 1 inch apart; gather scraps once, pat to 1 inch thick, and cut the remaining biscuits.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with 1 tbsp heavy cream using a pastry brush, keeping the cream off the cut sides so the biscuits can rise evenly.
- Bake the biscuits on the center rack at 425°F (220°C) for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 8 minutes, until the tops are golden, the bottoms are browned, and the centers reach at least 200°F (93°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the biscuits cool for 5 minutes, until the crumb sets and the biscuits can be lifted without breaking.
- Serve the pumpkin buttermilk biscuits warm from a bread basket or platter, splitting them with a fork so the flaky layers stay tender.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories: 258
- Protein: 5 g
- Fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 379 mg
Nutrition values are estimates based on stored ingredient totals and serving size.