Brenda Gantt's 3-Ingredient Biscuits Are the Most Delicious I've Ever Made (2024)

If you love biscuits, then you’ll love Brenda Gantt. The Alabama Native cooks approachable Southern classics on her YouTube Channel, Cooking with Brenda Gantt. After watching several of her videos, I can see why she has more than 240,000 followers. She’s fun, she’s honest and she makes tasty looking food, including her famous Buttermilk Biscuits.

What Are Brenda Gantt’s Biscuits?

Believe it or not, Gantt’s biscuit recipe only requires 3 ingredients:

1. Self rising flour: The type of flour matters. Gantt uses White Lily Self-Rising Flour exclusively for her biscuits. It’s light and low in protein, which means the resulting biscuits are fluffy and tender. It’s likely that any self-rising flour will be a fine replacement, but Brenda makes it clear that this is the flour she trusts for her biscuits.

2. Shortening: Gantt uses neutral-flavored Crisco. The shortening is a key ingredient to keeping the biscuits ultra-tender.

3. Buttermilk: The acid in the buttermilk adds flavor but also works with the baking powder in the self-rising flour to help the biscuits rise. We recommend using store-bought versus making it at home. Store-bought versions tend to have a bit more acidity and viscosity, which make them ideal for biscuits.

What Makes Brenda Gantt's Biscuits So Special?

Gantt provides minimal guidance when it comes to ingredient measurements, opting instead for visual references throughout her video—she "measures with her heart" if you will. This might be a bit frustrating at first, but ultimately it challenges you to be a more active participant in your cooking, which I love. With her guidance I was able to create the most tender and delicious biscuits I’ve ever made. Three simple ingredients did all the work for creating a soft biscuit with a perfect tangy flavor.

How Do Brenda Gantt’s Biscuits Taste?

They’re delicious. They really are. I tried one hot, straight from the pan and it immediately put a smile on my face. I tried another one about 30 minutes later, this time with butter and jam and it didn’t disappoint either. I will absolutely make these biscuits again, likely with a smile on my face and a messy countertop to prove I had a good time.

How to Serve Brenda Gantt’s Biscuits

The biscuits are delicious hot, right out of the oven with nothing on them. They’re also great served with a swipe of butter and/or your favorite jam or jelly. Cut the dough into larger rounds (about 3-inches) before baking and they become the perfect base for breakfast sandwiches or biscuits and gravy. They’re great as a snack too! I’ve been enjoying them with sliced turkey, cheddar cheese and apple butter!

How To Make Brenda Gantt's Biscuits

Ingredients

• ¼ cup shortening plus extra for preparing the pan
• 5 cups White Lily flour
• ¾ cups buttermilk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and coat an 8- or 9-inch cast iron pan with some shortening.
2. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl and spread it around up the sides. Use the back of your hand to push the flour down into the bottom of the bowl to create a “bird’s nest” or well. Press down to ensure the flour on the bottom is firmly packed.
3. Add 1/4 cup shortening to the well along with buttermilk and mix with clean fingertips, pinching the shortening and buttermilk together to combine, but not incorporating the flour. Use your forefinger to start sweeping the sides of the bowl to grab a bit of flour and bring it towards the center of the bowl. Continue sweeping and gathering until the dough starts to come together. Once you have a bulky, very tacky ball of dough, transfer it to a floured work surface (You’ll only end up using about 2 cups of the flour for the biscuit dough; Gantt covers and saves the extra flour left in the bowl to use for her next baking project. If you decide to do the same, we recommend using the flour within 1 to 2 days).
4. Flour your hands and pull the dough from the outside to the center, until you’ve created a smooth, round ball. Flip over and then press softly with your hands until it’s about ¾-inch thick.
5. Cut out biscuits with a floured a 2-inch round cutter and place in the prepared pan. Gather up the unused dough, press together and repeat the cutting process.
6. Bake the biscuits until they're puffy and golden on top, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Makes 14 to 16 2-inch biscuits