Name: Cornbread Biscuits (Flaky Buttermilk Recipe!)
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, from summer cookouts to holiday feasts!

Close-up of honey being poured over warm biscuits on a wooden surface, what a stack of biscuits in the background.

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These Buttermilk Cornbread Biscuits Are Flaky, Not Crumbly 🌽

Somewhere between a tender buttermilk biscuit and a skillet of good cornbread, there's this. We stopped choosing and started making both at once. (Best idea we've had in a while, to be honest! 😂)

The cornmeal gives these a heartier texture and that sweet, nutty corn flavor, without turning them dry or sandy. These have the crumb of a biscuit, with the soul of cornbread.

They're sky-high and buttery with the flaky layers you expect from a great biscuit, and they're easier than you think! Our step-by-step instructions will help you nail them every time.

Serve them warm from the oven with plenty of whipped honey butter, or split alongside a bowl of chuck roast chili. They're just as good in July with barbecue as they are in November at Thanksgiving!

🌽 Ingredients for Cornbread Biscuits

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

Flour, baking powder, sugar, and ingredients for baking on a brownish pink surface, labeled to denote each ingredient.

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.

Whisk until well combined.

🌽 Which cornmeal? We used a medium-grain cornmeal for a denser, crunchy texture. Fine-grain also works really well, and yellow or white both work; it doesn't matter! We don't recommend coarse-grain cornmeal for these.

Flour and butter in a wooden mixing bowl for baking.

Step 2: Add in large chunks of cold butter. Toss to ensure the butter chunks are coated in flour. This will prevent them from sticking together.

🧈 Use cold butter & cut big! Cut the butter into roughly tablespoon-sized chunks. Don't cut them too small! Those bigger pieces flatten out as you work the dough and create the tall, flaky layers we're after.

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

Step 3: 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.

🧈Speaking of butter... A high-quality, European-style butter makes a real difference in 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 shows up here.

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 4: 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.

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. 😉

Cracked biscuit dough on a floured wooden surface for baking.

Step 5: 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.

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

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 fun!

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

Step 6: 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.

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 7: 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 starts to feel warm or greasy (you'll smell that buttery aroma), or you can see butter melting, let the dough rest and even place it back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm it back up. Keep the dough moving, and add flour if needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your work surface.

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

Step 8: 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.

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 9: 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 10: 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 rectangle shape that is between ¾-1-inch in thickness.

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

Step 11: Once you've rolled and cut your first round of biscuits, gently press the scraps back together and re-roll to cut the rest. You'll get 12 biscuits from this dough. Try not to overwork the scraps - those last biscuits from the re-rolled dough won't rise quite as tall, but they'll still be tender and delicious.

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 12: 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.

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 13: 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 thermometer.

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 or maple 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.

What to Serve With Cornbread Biscuits 🍴

Split them over a bowl of beer chili or ham and beans soup with collard greens when it's cold out to soak up everything at the bottom of the bowl. 🤤

You can slather them with bacon butter while they're still hot from the oven, or roasted tomato butter when tomatoes are at their peak!

For a holiday table, they shine next to our Southern smothered turkey wings instead of dinner rolls.

Blue bowls with rice and smothered turkey wings split open to reveal the tender, juicy interior.

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