Vodka Biscuits Recipe | Bon Appétit

Step 1

Grate 1 cup (2 sticks/225 g) salted butter, frozen, on the medium side of a box shredder. Add to a large bowl, along with 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (49 g) light brown sugar, 4 tsp. baking powder, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Freeze the bowl for 15 minutes, or up to 24 hours, covered.

Step 2

Toss the mixture with two forks, not your hands (to keep it cold). You can stop when the ingredients are well-integrated, meaning the butter shreds are still intact, but they’re coated in flour and sugar and evenly spaced throughout the bowl. Pour ¼ cup (49 g) vodka, chilled in the freezer, and 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. (250 g) cold buttermilk, shaken to combine, over the top (not all in one place) and stir to combine—just until you have big rocky clumps of dough and some floury bits on the rim and bottom. (Don’t overmix.)

Step 3

Dump the mixture onto a clean cutting board or countertop. (Bonus points if you have a cold surface, like a marble pasta board, but no worries if not.) Press it gently into a large (roughly 10×10″) square, pressing the floury dust into the top and sides as you go. You’ll end up with a shaggy, not quite cohesive square a little more than 1″ tall.

Step 4

Take a pastry cutter or your two widest spatulas and slide them under the neatest (most stuck together) side of the messy square, and as best you can, still messy and crumbly.) For those keeping track, you’ll now have a crumbly 10×5″ rectangle a little more than 2″ tall. Gently repeat, folding one short side over the top, so you end up with a shaggy 5×5″ square. With just barely damp (from the sink) hands, press in any remaining floury matter into the top and press out your 5×5″ square back into a 10×10″ square, like a more cohesive version of what you began with.

Step 5

Repeat step 4 just until you have a 5×5″ square. THIS TIME, press it out with your hands from its top and center (not sides) just until it’s a little flatter, about 7×7″. Take a pastry cutter or sharp knife and cut straight down the center, and stack one half on top of the other. Press it down from the top and center (not sides) just until it’s roughly cohesive and repeat: Slice it down the center and stack. Then, press it gently from the top back into a 7×7″ square. Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, divide the square into 6 tall biscuits (each will be about 3.5×2″ wide and about 2″ tall). (For more and smaller biscuits, just cut each of these in two.)

Step 6

Freeze the biscuits for at least 20 minutes, uncovered, or tightly wrapped for up to 3 weeks.

Step 7

When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 400°F. Place the frozen biscuits on a metal sheet pan or in a cast-iron skillet; give them at least 1 inch of space to rise properly. Place in the oven and lower the heat to 375°F. Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, until browned in places across the top, fluffy, and set on the sides.