These pat in the pan biscuits are easy to make and really delicious, but they’ve fallen out of favor over the last few decades. Like most biscuits, they’re not traditionally made with an egg, but that egg adds a silky texture and even more flavor. Pat in the pan biscuits rise very well because they’re all up against each other in the pan, and they’re a great addition to your Thanksgiving table. They go very well with gravy of any kind and they’re perfect with butter and jam. As always, we’ve included gluten and dairy free substitutions.
We talk you through the making of these biscuits in Episode 260 of our podcast. If you like these biscuits, you may also enjoy our recipes for Cheddar and Chive Drop Biscuits and Pumpkin Rosemary Drop Biscuits.
Ingredients
10 Tbsp unsalted butter or dairy free butter, plus 2 more tablespoons
4 cups cake flour or gluten free 1-1 flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp table salt
2 cups buttermilk or non-dairy buttermilk, chilled
1 large egg, beaten and stirred into the buttermilk
Instructions
Cut the 10 tablespoons butter into small chunks and pop them into the freezer. Leave them in there for about 15 minutes, only taking them out when it’s time to add the butter to the flour. Set the other 2 tablespoons of butter aside.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Use one of those extra tablespoons of butter to grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add your chilled butter to the dry ingredients and cut into the flour with a pastry blender or your implement of choice. Stop when the butter has the texture of coarse meal with plenty of pea-sized chunks of butter left. Add the buttermilk and stir until all flour is moistened and the dough is pretty well sticking together. Dump your dough into your prepared baking pan.
Either flour your hands and sprinkle a bit more flour on top of the dough, or wet your hands and pat the dough into a relatively even layer in the pan. Using an oiled knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 9 equal squares (2 x 2) in the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top and sides are golden brown.
Let the biscuits cool for 5 minutes, then recut your original lines. Brush the tops with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and let the biscuits cool for another 10 minutes. You can place them on a plate of platter, or just keep them in the baking dish. Serve warm and enjoy!