(The instructions for this recipe were updated 6/2/18)
Yes, I did. No, I don’t feel guilty about it, even one little bit. Neither should you.
Buttermilk biscuits, and biscuits in general, are hard to re-create, y’all. No joke. As I’ve mentioned before, there are some chemical properties of wheat and gluten that are very difficult to mimic. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to capture the qualities of a “real” buttermilk biscuit here (and Lordy, am I proud of it!), but it’s been a long road and included a lot of experimenting and testing (and re-testing).
In this recipe, there are two secret weapons: plain gelatin and plain MCT oil powder. You can skip these ingredients, but they make a texture difference. I have been testing this formulation for months. Trust me.
The gelatin helps the biscuits stay moist and tender, while also holding everything together well enough that they don’t crumble. For a Lenten Friday meal, I used one to make an egg and cheese biscuit and it was glorious!
The second secret weapon is the plain MCT powder. This stuff was truly the icing on the cake…. errr, biscuit. As I tinkered, getting the fat content just right was difficult. Adding more butter or lard, or even a liquid fat like mct oil or extra heavy cream would mess up the ingredient balance and run the risk of spreading or just being too wet. No one wants soggy, spreading biscuits.
Still, the more I tested, the more I realized something was missing. Something to give it a little extra crunch to the crust. That thing was the MCT powder. Just that little bit of extra fat, incorporated without throwing off the crucial wet-to-dry ratio, helped the tops and bottoms crust up perfectly. The result is a biscuit that’s super tender inside but with a good bit of bite to the outsides.
Notes: I didn’t list this as vegetarian or pescatarian-friendly, because it contains gelatin. Some practicing these eating lifestyles include gelatin, while others do not. For the purposes of my religious practices, gelatin is totally OK to consume during Lent, even though it’s derived from animal bones. For whatever reason, it’s not counted as meat (don’t know why, but I’m just going with it). However, if you consider gelatin off-limits in your vegetarian or pescatarian diet this is one you’ll probably want to skip. This recipe just works with the gelatin, and is well-below my personal expectations without it.
Obviously, I didn’t use buttermilk. To get the same richness that buttermilk provides, as well as that slight tang, I simply soured some heavy cream by adding vinegar. That’s really all there is to it.
Also, it’s really important that you don’t overwork the dough. Your hands are warm, and so is the ambient temperature in your room, so the more you mess with it, the more you run the risk of overheating the cold fat and having your biscuits spread. Same goes for processing it in the food processor. That wonderful gadget makes it super easy to cut the cold fat into your dry mixture, but remember that it produces heat as it runs, so go light on the pulsing.
Lastly, I put this in the notes below, but I pretty much always get 7 biscuits from one batch of dough. I know that’s an odd number, so if you wanted to use a cutter slightly larger or smaller to even it out, it’s fine. Just watch it once you turn down the heat in the oven. When the tops are golden, so are you!
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
Recipe updated 10/22/2020. The original instructions included preheating the skillet while making the dough, but this requires a very quick handling time. To avoid or minimize spreading, I’ve eliminated that step and listed another pan as an option, if desired.
Ingredients
- 3/4 c (6 fl oz/ 177 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. (1/2 fl oz/ 15 ml) white vinegar
- 7 oz (198 g) fine almond flour (I use King Arthur brand)
- 2/3 oz (18 g) coconut flour
- 1 level tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 envelope (1/4 oz / 7 g weight) plain gelatin (Knox brand is fine)
- 1 scoop (approx. 10 g) plain MCT powder
- 1/4 c very cold lard OR 1/2 stick (2 oz/ 57 g) very cold butter (if using butter, cube it)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp. (1/2 fl oz/ 15 ml) water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the heavy cream and vinegar and set aside. In a separate small bowl, beat the water and egg together to make an egg wash, and set it aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, lightly rub a cast iron skillet down with butter or lard. Alternatively, you can use a brownie pan with the individual wells for each brownie (if you’re worried about spreading, this is the option I recommend).
- Place all dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate.
- Add the very cold lard or butter to the food processor and pulse a few times more, just until it looks like very coarse crumbs. Don’t process it too far or try to get the incorporation too fine! There should be pea-sized globules (or slightly larger) of the powder-coated fat spread throughout.
- Turn the mixture out into a mixing bowl.
- Stir the heavy cream and vinegar mixture again, then mix it into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula until it is just combined. DO NOT overmix! This dough is going to be a bit shaggy, (ie, loose and wet-ish) and that’s OK.
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Gently pat the dough out until it’s 1/2″ thick. Work quickly and don’t overhandle the dough, or you will heat the cold fat too much and it will spread when it bakes.
- Using a 2″ round biscuit cutter (if using a brownie pan, use a square biscuit cutter 2” across), or a glass or can that is 2″ in diameter, cut out biscuits and set each one aside.
- Recombine the dough with your hands and pat back out to 1/2″ thickness, then cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used. This can make between 6 and 8 biscuits, but I typically get 7 exactly from a batch of dough.
- Arrange biscuits in the skillet (or wells of a brownie pan), then brush the tops with the egg wash (you won’t use all the egg wash, and that’s OK).
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- Turn down the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake an additional 5-8 minutes, until tops are golden.
- Remove from the oven and let stand to cool.
- Serve, as desired.
Notes
Macros are calculated assuming 7 biscuits, and do not include the incidental protein from the egg wash. Seriously, y’all, it’s miniscule. Don’t sweat it.
If you make a mistake and overhandle the dough, let it get a bit too warm, or just need a few extra minutes between cutting and baking, that’s OK. Stick it in the fridge for ten minutes and then try again.
Lard yields the best flavor here, but since finding one that’s not hydrogenated can be difficult, you may also use butter in its place. Yes, I know it sounds crazy to say lard tastes better than butter in anything, but it’s true.
Per biscuit: 353.4 cal, 8.4 g protein, 33.1 g fat, 8.2 g carbs, 4.3 g fiber, 3.9 g NET carbs
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit (1/7 recipe)
Keywords: Buttermilk Biscuits Bread, Biscuits, Baking
Hi Mandy l just want to say how much I appreciate the nutritional information being included, it makes so much easier to decide if the recipe can fall into my macros.
Also wondering if there was any substitute for the ballistic keto powder? A little harder to get here in Canada.
You’re super welcome! I’m always conscious of my own macros, so I want to make sure everyone has enough information to make an informed choice.
As far as the MCT powder goes, you can technically make it without it. It will still taste good. You just won’t get quite the same crustiness on the top and the bottom. If you can find a good quality plain MCT powder in your area that doesn’t have a lot of additives, that will work, too.
I also appreciate the nutritional information being added. Not only do I like to know what the carbs are but I have a daughter who has type 1 diabetes and she HAS to know how many carbs are in each meal. Thank you for adding the nutritional information.
You’re very welcome, Tonnia! I’m so glad it’s helpful. Thank you for commenting. ❤️
Since these biscuits are crustier than most keto biscuits. I am hoping to turn it into a Blueberry scone recipe. I am thinking I will not sour the cream, sweeten the dough a bit and add my blueberries.
Any other suggestions? I ordered the fat powder for my daughter at college. She is always on the look out for good biscuits. I bought it for me to make plain or Blueberry scones.
Thank you for your hardwork on helping us find unique ingredients for improving texture.
Carol
★★★★★
I would probably only lightly sweeten it. So maybe add a tbsp or two of your preferred sweetener. If it were me, I would still sour the cream, simply because I think that slight tang is awesome (and not overwhelming at all in this recipe) and could be really complementary to the sweet in both the dough and the blueberries, but that would be more of a personal preference.
These are incredible. This biscuit + Costco sausage round + Lakanto maple syrup = SO MUCH BETTER THAN A MCDONALD’S MCGRIDDLE!!! Thank you, Mandy.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked them.
What size for the cast iron?
Mine is a 9″, but you could get away with a little smaller diameter as long as you pack them in tightly.
AMAZING! That’s what my husband said, with his mouth full of biscuit! Seriously the best biscuit I’ve tasted on Keto, and I’ve made quite a few! The blueberry scone mentioned earlier is my next attempt. My only problem with this biscuit is that mine didn’t rise. I know my baking powder is fresh, so that isn’t the problem. I cut 8 1/2 inch thick biscuits and used an 8” skillet. Can you think of any reason why they didn’t rise?
★★★★★
Yeah keto baked goods don’t tend to rise much and there isn’t a lot of leavening in these to begin with. If you’d like them thicker I would recommend patting them out thicker and using a smaller diameter biscuit cutter. You’ll need to watch them more closely for timing in baking, but it will yield a thicker biscuit.
I’m glad y’all liked them so well!
I think you likely have your biscuit cutter size listed too small— I think you must use 3inch. At 2” they looked small and it made 17 and a fraction biscuits. doing the math on the difference in area between 2” and 3”, scales my quantity right smack between 7-8 biscuits of 3inch. otherwise this is a Fabulous find! Definitely met my mental need
Why not use buttermilk instead of cream?
Buttermilk has a much higher carbohydrate and lower fat content than heavy cream. For more information on which dairy products are suitable on a ketogenic protocol, see this article: https://www.ketovangelist.com/the-keto-guide-to-dairy/
My dough was super wet (but butter was cold). It spread into one big biscuit. I added almond flour when mixing because the dough looked too wet. Probably should have added more. Please put amounts in cups\T and not ounces. I’m sure the flavor will be great. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Weighing ingredients for baked goods is more accurate and yields consistent results. It is also more accurate for carb count. Explanation here:
http://www.ketovangelistkitchen.com/measuring-ingredients-volume-versus-weight/
Just realized I put in twice as much butter in 1/2 cup instead of 1/2 stick. Still I think it needed more flour.
Yeah, adding too much butter would do it.