These glazed blueberry buttermilk biscuits are soft, buttery, and loaded with wild blueberries. They're finished with a sweet glaze for a perfect sweet treat to start your day!
If you're from the Carolinas like me, or have spent any time there, you're probably familiar with Bojangles and their Bo-Berry biscuit. If not, it's a delicious blueberry biscuit with a sweet icing, and it's one of the best fast food breakfast biscuits around. Unfortunately there are no Bojangles close to me, so I wanted to create a similar version at home. I think this blueberry biscuit recipe turned out even better!
I decided to use frozen wild blueberries instead of the dried berries they use in the restaurant. Wild blueberries are much smaller than typical store bought blueberries and are great for baking. I love that you can pack a lot of them into muffins, pancakes, and other baked goods without the mushy texture you sometimes get with larger blueberries. Wild blueberries are typically available in the frozen fruit section of the grocery store.
I also used a thinner glaze that wasn't as overpoweringly sweet as the icing they use. This is a very basic powdered sugar glaze using 1 cup of sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of liquid. I chose to make the glaze with milk but a lemon glaze made with lemon juice in place of milk would also be a fantastic choice to brighten the flavor.
Biscuit Ingredients
- All-purpose Flour
- Unsalted Butter
- Baking Powder
- Sugar
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Frozen Wild Blueberries
Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk or Lemon Juice
Tips for the BEST buttermilk biscuits
Biscuits are so simple but at the same time they can be a little difficult to perfect. Here are a few tips that will help you make perfect biscuits every time:
- Use COLD fat. For this recipe I prefer the flavor of butter. The key is to keep it extremely cold. Freeze the butter for at least 30 minutes before use. I like to put mine in the freezer the night before making biscuits.
- Use COLD buttermilk - the slight acidity of buttermilk not only lends a subtle tangy flavor to the biscuits, but it also helps to keep the biscuits soft and tender. As with the fat it is important to keep it very cold. Keep it refrigerated until the last minute. If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make a substitute by adding 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a measuring cup then filling the rest of the way with milk (preferably whole milk) to the 1 cup line then stir. Let it rest for 5 minutes before using.
- Don't overmix . Overmixing will develop gluten which will result in flat, tough biscuits. To avoid this mix the dough until it just comes together. Some recipes call for a precise number of stirs but it's really difficult to know how each person stirs so it can vary a bit. It's ok if not every bit of flour is mixed in. Just scrape it all out onto your work surface and work that in when folding the dough.
- Don't roll the dough. This goes along with the point above. Some recipes call for rolling out biscuit dough with a rolling pin which can overwork it, much like overmixing. Instead of rolling, pat the dough out gently with your hands to shape it.
- Keep them close. When you bake biscuits it is important to place them close together so that they are touching each other to help them rise. If you are making a small batch, a cast iron skillet works great.
How to make buttermilk biscuits
Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees F and greasing a cast iron skillet with butter or lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Pull the butter from the freezer and using the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture. After grating the butter lightly stir the mixture to evenly distribute the butter throughout the flour mixture. If you think your ingredients are getting too warm you can put them in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to chill before proceeding.
Remove the buttermilk from the fridge and add to the flour mixture and stir until the dough just comes together. Don't worry about getting every bit of flour mixed in, it's much more important to avoid overworking the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, scraping out the bowl if needed.
Lightly dust the top of your dough with flour and, using your hands, shape it into a rough rectangle, including any bits that didn't mix in while stirring. Lightly pat the dough out to approximately 9x5 inches and around ¾ to 1 inch thick.
Next you'll fold the dough to laminate it to help form the desirable flaky layers and also to incorporate the blueberries. To do this sprinkle around ⅓ of your blueberries on top of the dough, then fold ⅓ of the dough over itself long ways. Fold the other third over like folding you're a letter then again pat the dough out to around ¾ to 1 inch thick. A bench scraper works well to make the folding easier if the dough is a little sticky. Repeat this process two more times.
Using a biscuit cutter, press straight down on the dough to cut the biscuits, trying not to twist the cutter. Arrange the biscuits in the prepared skillet so that the edges are touching. Brush the top with a little melted butter or buttermilk to help the browning then place in the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the biscuits are light golden brown.
While the biscuits bake go ahead and make the glaze. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk in milk or lemon juice a tablespoon at a time until the glaze is smooth and you reach your desired consistency. Set aside until ready to use.
After baking allow the biscuits to cool for around 10 minutes then drizzle with the glaze before serving.
Make Ahead Instructions
Biscuits freeze well so you can enjoy fresh homemade biscuits at a moments notice! After making and cutting the biscuits transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer them to a large resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake as normal, adding an extra 3 to 5 minutes of baking time.
Glazed Blueberry Buttermilk Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 grams, plus extra for dusting
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter frozen, plus more for greasing and brushing the biscuits
- 1 cup chilled buttermilk
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries rinsed and tossed lightly in flour
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted to remove clumps
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk or lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and grease a 12 inch cast iron skillet with butter.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Using the large holes of a box grater grate the butter into the flour mixture and lightly stir to combine. Alternatively, you can cube the butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives to coarse, pea sized crumbs.
- Add the cold buttermilk and stir until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix!
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using your hands, pat into a ¾ to 1 inch thick rectangle, roughly 9 x 5 inches. If the dough is too sticky to work with lightly dust with flour.
- Top with ⅓ cup of the blueberries then fold the dough over itself in thirds, like folding a letter. Again pat the dough into a ¾ to 1 inch thick rectangle. Repeat this process two more times adding in ⅓ of the remaining blueberries each time.
- Using a biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and arrange in the prepared skillet so that the biscuits are touching. Brush with melted butter or buttermilk to help browning.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until light golden brown.
- While the biscuits bake prepare the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth. Glaze should be thick but slightly runny.
- Remove the biscuits from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before drizzling with the glaze then serve.
Notes
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
Try some of my other breakfast recipes
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