Amish Fluffy Homemade Biscuits Recipe - Amish Heritage (2024)

An Amish Cook

If you ever get to watch an Amish (or ex-Amish) lady while she's cooking, you may notice that she doesn't really do a lot of exact measuring or follow a recipe. Part of the reason may be that she's already made this dish so many times that she has a feel for it.

Years ago most women did more cooking from scratch than they do nowadays. Recipes would ask for a handful of this or a pinch of that. And this is still somewhat how a lot of Amish women cook.

I tend to tweak or make my own recipes by just putting together ingredients that I know pair well. So if I want to share a recipe, I have to make it first and consciously measure everything.

We also tend to not give detailed instructions because we think everyone would know how to do it. But sadly, many people are not privileged enough to grow up having their mom teach them how to cook.

And this is part of the reason that Amish kids only go to school through eighth grade because it is more important that they learn how to work. The girls need to know how to cook, clean the house, sew, garden, etc. before they get married.

How to Make Amish Fluffy Homemade Biscuits

Measure dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut cold butter into chunks and add to dry ingredients.

Using a pastry blender (or butter knives, if you don't have a blender) cut butter until crumbly. It's okay if there are still small pea-sized pebbles remaining.

For years, I used my hands to crumble the butter because I didn't think spending money on a pastry blender (affiliate link) was necessary. But I finally decided to buy one, and now I don't want to be without it. It really is a convenient tool for making biscuits, scones, pie dough, or any kind of pastry.

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Buttermilk Substitute

Commercial buttermilk (store-bought) makes the best biscuits. However, I don't very often keep buttermilk in my refrigerator, so I often substitute it with homemade.

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, put 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into your cup and fill it with whole milk (you can use 2%, but whole milk works best). Let this sit for a few minutes, it will thicken and work the same as buttermilk.

Do Not Overmix Biscuit Dough

After the butter is crumbled into the flour mixture, make a well in the center and add the buttermilk.

Now the secret to making fluffy Amish biscuits is to not mix more than you have to. Gently stir a bit to moisten. Then get in there with your hands. 🙂 It is messy, but you want to gently mix and squeeze together only until everything is moistened and sticks together.

Put a thin layer of flour in a circle on your countertop and place the dough on top, gently pressing it out. Sprinkle flour on top as needed. You can roll it out with a rolling pin if you desire.

I don't want to mess with this dough more than necessary. So I just press it into a nice circle with my hands leaving it about one to one and a fourth inches thick. It doesn't have to look perfect.

Cutting Old-fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits

Now you are ready to cut out your circles. If you don't have a biscuit cutter, you can just use a cup or any round object about the size you want. You may have to dip it in flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Try to make a clean cut and refrain from twisting as you're cutting.

After you've cut out all the biscuits that you could fit, shake off the extra flour and gently squeeze the remaining pieces back together into another circle. And just keep cutting biscuits until the dough is gone.

Don't give up if they don't turn out perfect the first time. Getting a perfect pastry can take some practice. But it is well worth the effort when you succeed!

I hope you get to try this homemade buttermilk biscuits recipe, they're so fluffy and delicious! I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.