Name: Buttermilk Cornbread Biscuit Recipe (Flaky with Cornmeal!)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour (272g); 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt; 3/4 cup medium grind cornmeal (114g, can also use fine ground, but not coarse ground); 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold and cut into large tablespoon sized chunks); 3/4 - 1 cup buttermilk (very cold!, added slowly and as needed to hydrate the dough)

Never choose between buttermilk biscuits and cornbread again - these Cornbread Biscuits are the best of both worlds! These biscuits are made with some cornmeal to give them a nutty, cornbread flavor while still remaining soft and fluffy with tons of tall, flaky layers. Made with just 8 pantry staple ingredients and 20 minutes of prep time, they're a delicious addition to any meal, including Thanksgiving or holiday feasts!

Buttermilk cornbread biscuits drizzled with honey on a wooden surface wit ha stack of biscuits in the background.

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With Thanksgiving on the mind and chili season in full swing, we're ditching plain dinner rolls (and even our honey cornbread muffins!) and swapping them out for homemade biscuits.

These aren't just any biscuits either - the cornmeal gives these a heartier texture, and amazing corn flavor for that perfect balance of savory and sweet.

Don't worry - we've still achieved those sky-high, buttery, flaky layers you expect from a great biscuit. Our step-by-step instructions will help you nail them every time.

Serve them alongside a bowl of hearty chuck roast chili or our beer chili, with Southern smothered turkey wings at Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, or just slather them with plenty of homemade whipped honey butter fresh out of the oven while they're nice and warm!

Ingredients

The beauty of this cornbread biscuit recipe is that it leans on baking essentials. You probably keep most of the ingredients on hand!

🧈Ingredient Notes

Cornmeal. We used a medium-grain cornmeal for a denser, crunchy texture. Fine-grain also works really well. You can use yellow or white cornmeal; it doesn't matter! However, we don't recommend using coarse-grain cornmeal for these.
Buttermilk. If possible, you'll want to use full-fat buttermilk to give the biscuits a more tender texture. More fat = more flavor and a more tender texture! Keep your buttermilk in the fridge until the last minute; ice-cold buttermilk is key to flaky biscuits!
Butter. Use very cold butter cut into roughly tablespoon-sized chunks - don't cut them too small! Those bigger pieces of butter flatten out as you work the dough and create those tall, flaky layers we're after. Using a high-quality, European-style butter will make a big difference in both texture and flavor. Our favorite (and the sponsor of the recipe video on Instagram!) is Plugrà butter, which is 82% butterfat and slow-churned. American butters are typically 80% butterfat, and that extra 2% really makes a difference when it comes to texture and flavor!
Salt. We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in all our recipes. If using Morton's kosher salt or table salt, reduce the amount by about half since it's more concentrated.

No buttermilk?

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or fresh lemon juice to one cup of whole milk. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to curdle, stir, and that's it! Homemade buttermilk. 😉

3 Tips for the Most Tender, Flaky Biscuits

1. Work Quickly and Keep Everything Cold. Once you start working with the dough, speed matters! Mix, roll, and cut your biscuits as quickly as possible to keep that butter cold. If the dough starts to feel warm or greasy (you'll smell that buttery aroma), just put the dough in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before continuing.

2. Don't Overwork the Dough. Tough biscuits are a result of overworked dough. Overmixing builds the gluten, which makes chewier, dense biscuits instead of fluffy, tender ones. Mix just until combined - the dough will look shaggy and rough, but trust the process. It'll come together!

3. Press Straight Down. When cutting the biscuits, firmly press the biscuit cutter straight down through the dough and pull it straight back up so as not to disturb those beautiful flaky layers we just created. Don't twist the biscuit cutter! Twisting seals the edges and prevents the biscuits from rising to their full height.

How to Make Cornmeal Biscuits

Making buttermilk biscuits always involves some technique; there's no doubt about that. With a little practice, you'll be making tender cornbread biscuits with beautiful layers in no time!

Mixing flour, cornmeal, and spices in a wooden bowl on a rustic kitchen countertop.

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, sift in flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the cornmeal.

Flour in a wooden bowl with baking ingredients on a wooden countertop.

Step 2: Whisk until well combined.

Flour and butter in a wooden mixing bowl for baking.

Step 3: Add in large chunks of cold butter. Toss to ensure the butter chunks are coated in flour. This will prevent them from sticking together.

Fresh homemade dough being kneaded in a wooden bowl, with hands pressing the butter into pieces to flatten them.

Step 4: Press the butter between your fingers to flatten it, tossing in flour to ensure nothing sticks.

Hands pressing chunks of butter into thin sheets in a bowl full of dry ingredients.

These thin sheets of butter are the perfect size, and those flat sheets will help us create amazing flaky layers in the biscuits as steam escapes in the oven.

Alternative methods for cutting in butter. If cutting in the butter by hand is too difficult, or you have hot hands, you have options!

Grating or using a pastry blender. You can grate frozen butter directly into the flour using a box grater or pastry blender, as we did with these honey butter chicken biscuits!
Food processor. Pulse the cold butter and dry ingredients together in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Though working the butter in by hand is now our preferred method, these other methods also work well - just be sure to work quickly to keep everything cold.

Buttermilk being poured into flour mixture in a wooden bowl.

Step 5: When all of the butter pieces have been flattened, drizzle the buttermilk over the mixture. Use your hands in a "claw" shape to gently fold the ingredients together until a loose, sticky, and shaggy dough forms.

Crumbly cornmeal biscuit dough on wooden surface with scattered flour and dough pieces.

The dough should begin to hold together at this point, but it will still be very shaggy and loose. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.

Be careful not to overwork the dough. Trust the process, it will come together!

Cracked biscuit dough on a floured wooden surface for baking.

Step 6: Pat the dough together.

Flaky biscuit dough on wooden surface with hands preparing pastry, surrounded by baking tools.

Gently push it together until it's a rough rectangle shape, about 1 inch thick.

To ensure the biscuits are extra flaky, you'll go through a process of folding the biscuit dough, similar to the classic French pastry technique of lamination, but not nearly as difficult. This step is crucial for creating the flaky layers we're after. Once you get the hang of it, it's really quite easy!

Flour dough on wooden kitchen counter with baking tools, home baking essentials, and a rustic baking scene.

Step 7: Use your hands or a bench scraper to fold the dough in half, stacked on top of itself.

Biscuit dough cut in half to show flaky layers beginning to form on wooden surface with flour and ruler, preparing baking ingredients.

Step 8: Use your bench scraper to cut the dough in half lengthwise.

Biscuit dough being stacked on top of eachother to create layers on a wooden surface.

Step 9: Stack the cut dough.

Plain dough on a wooden surface with flour, knife, and hands preparing baked goods in a cozy kitchen scene.

Press down to form another rectangle.

If the dough begins to stick, re-flour the surface, and keep the dough moving around. If your dough becomes too sticky or you can see butter melting, let the dough rest and even place it back in the fridge to firm it back up.

Dough pressed into a rectangle shape on a wooden surface with flour on it.

Step 10: Turn the dough 90 degrees, and press it into a rectangle shape again. Repeat this fold-cut-stack-turn process 2-3 more times (for a total of 3-4 times).

Biscuit dough being rolled out on a floured wooden surface with a rolling pin.

Step 11: After the dough has been cut, stacked, and reshaped at least 3 (preferably 4!) times, you can use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the dough into a rectangle with roughly ¾-1 inch in thickness.

Do not exceed 1 inch in thickness, or your biscuits will topple over in the oven!

Cornmeal biscuit dough with round pieces cut out from the dough on floured wooden surface.

Step 12: Using a 2-½ inch biscuit cutter (or standard mason jar lid) push the cutter straight down through the dough, and lift it right back up. Do not turn or twist your biscuit cutter!

To prevent sticking: Between stamping out each biscuit, dip the biscuit cutter in flour. This will help it make cleaner cuts that don't stick.

Hands pressing together leftover biscuit dough to re-roll it on a floured, wooden surface.

Step 13: Press the biscuit scraps together to re-roll them and cut out more biscuits.

Biscuit dough being re-rolled to cut out more biscuits on a wooden table with flour and kitchen tools.

Shape the dough back into a square or rectange shape that is between ¾-1-inch in thickness.

Buttery cornbread biscuits on a wooden surface with baking ingredients and utensils.

Step 14: Continue cutting out as many biscuits as you can get. There should be enough dough to make at least 12 biscuits, but up to 14 biscuits!

Work the dough as little as possible when re-rolling the scraps! The re-rolled scraps will definitely not be quite as pretty as the initial batch, and may become a little tougher, but they will still be very delicious!

Buttery cornbread biscuits placed on baking tray with parchment paper before chilling and baking.

Step 15: Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer to the freezer for at least 15 minutes to chill.

Biscuits on a baking sheet with a brushed with buttermilk before baking.

Step 16: Preheat the oven to 425°F, and brush the tops of the biscuits with buttermilk or egg wash for a golden finish.

Make-ahead tip: You can save time by prepping your biscuits in advance and storing them in the freezer. These will keep in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.

*If baking the biscuits from frozen, you may need to add 2-3 minutes extra to the bake time.

Pile of delicious buttery and flaky cornmeal biscuits in a small metal tin on top of a white linen napkin on a wooden table.

Step 17: Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the biscuits have a golden brown top!

If you're unsure if your biscuits are done, use an instant read thermomter.

You want them to be at least 190°F internally before removing them from the oven to make sure they're fully cooked and not raw on the inside.

*A target temperature of 200-205°F is ideal!

That's it! We like to brush the biscuits with a little bit of melted honey butter right when they are fresh from the oven.

Close-up view of tall, flaky cornbread biscuits with lots of layers, being brushed with honey butter.

Serving Suggestions

For a savory flavor, serve these biscuits slathered with bacon butter or roasted tomato butter in the summertime!

These go great with a bowl of our ham and beans soup with collard greens or a big bowl of our beanless chili.

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