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These are great biscuits, Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America. And this praise is coming from a frequent, passionate baker of biscuits – a biscuit maker-baker who almost didn’t post another biscuit baker’s recipe because I’m so proud and happy about my own biscuits.

I actually share a favorite (ultra lazy, mega simple) cathead biscuit in my own cookbook, but I’ve yet to share a more classic buttermilk variety in any of my blogging endeavors. So, here we are. We are here with these biscuits a’ la Alison Roman, who is having a bit of a moment in the culinary world right now, and deservedly so.

Alison Roman's Luckiest Biscuits in America
Alison Roman's Luckiest Biscuits in America

Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America

I adore Alison, and how she wields her voice and culinary interests in a way that grabs people’s attention and seemingly makes everyone want to run-not-walk into their kitchens and get to cooking all the things.

Alas, Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America are wonderful and you should have the recipe. I’m sharing this recipe intentionally on a Friday afternoon, in the hopes that you will be inspired to do some lazy weekend morning baking. Your weekend will undoubtedly be better for these biscuit babies – these famously lucky biscuits. Yes, these are Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America, and dare I say that it is US, the eaters of said biscuits, who are the lucky ones.

Why are they called “Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America?”

Wanna know what they’re so lucky? You can read the charming story in her smash hit book, Dining In, which is filled with plenty of other casual, no muss/no fuss recipes, many of which are right in line with the My Kitchen Little cooking philosophy.

Why are the biscuits square?

p.s. I like square biscuits more than round ones, because they’re just so perfect for breakfast sandwiches, you know? I think that’s what immediately attracted me to these. Also, I prefer round scones to the more classic triangular ones, because there are no pointy tips jutting out to get all dry and whatnot. So there you go. Now you know these incredibly small, preferential food facts about me …

What you’ll need to make Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America

These are very straightforward biscuits, their cast of characters reading in a very standard op sort of way. So, no big surprises here. I do like that she adds sugar to her biscuits, as not all recipes do that. I actually think that’s the one small change I gleaned from Alison’s recipe that I have now implemented into my regularly scheduled biscuiteering (which is a thing).

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, chilled
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, plus more for brushing
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

How to make Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America

I am a writer of Southern cookbooks. I live in Charleston, SC as I write this. So, I am essentially a student of Southern cuisine, and there may be no better representative of the genre than the humble buttermilk. That said, I don’t think one needs to be “a Southerner” or to have ever even resided in the South to make a killer biscuit. Alison is from California and lives in Brooklyn (learned this from her book), and these are some of the most delicious biscuits I’ve ever tried. So, there’s that.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Using your hands, smash the butter into the flour mixture. It should be almost like you’re making pie dough (you’ve made pie dough before, right?), with little bits of butter but no large chunks. 
  3. Drizzle the buttermilk all over the dry mixture and, using a wooden spoon or, better yet, your hands, mix everything until it comes together in a sort of ball. Knead the mixture a few times in the bowl, making sure to get any at the bottom up into the mix.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead another two or three times.
  5. Pat the dough into a 1 1/2 –inch-thick rectangle, about 12 inches long, and 6 inches wide. Cut it in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 4 pieces (you should get 8 biscuits). Alternatively, you can pat the dough into a 1 ½-inch-thick disk (or whatever shape) and punch out 2-inch circles.
  6. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk, letting some drip down the sides. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt, if you’re feeling fancy.
  7. Bake, rotating once, until the biscuits are deeply, fantastically, wonderfully golden brown on the bottoms and tops, and the sides have puffed up like an accordion, 20 to 25 minutes. 
  8. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before destroying. 

If you like the looks of Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America, you might also want to check out:

Honey Cream Dinner Rolls

Ultimate Cheesy Garlic Bread

Casear Salad Topped Focaccia

Whipped Vanilla Shortbread

Raspberry Dream Bread

Best Angel Biscuits

Tomato Cobbler with Basil Butter Biscuits

Garlic Butter Bubble Bread

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Alison Roman’s Luckiest Biscuits in America

Print Recipe

Recipe from Dining In, by Alison Roman

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1.5 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, chilled
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, plus more for brushing
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Using your hands, smash the butter into the flour mixture. It should be almost like you’re making pie dough (you’ve made pie dough before, right?), with little bits of butter but no large chunks. 
  3. Drizzle the buttermilk all over the dry mixture and, using a wooden spoon or, better yet, your hands, mix everything until it comes together in a sort of ball. Knead the mixture a few times in the bowl, making sure to get any at the bottom up into the mix.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead another two or three times.
  5. Pat the dough into a 1 1/2 –inch-thick rectangle, about 12 inches long, and 6 inches wide. Cut it in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 4 pieces (you should get 8 biscuits). Alternatively, you can pat the dough into a 1 ½-inch-thick disk (or whatever shape) and punch out 2-inch circles.
  6. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk, letting some drip down the sides. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt, if you’re feeling fancy.
  7. Bake, rotating once, until the biscuits are deeply, fantastically, wonderfully golden brown on the bottoms and tops, and the sides have puffed up like an accordion, 20 to 25 minutes. 
  8. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before destroying.Â