Cathead Biscuits
Fluffy Southern Cat Head Biscuits Recipe – The biggest, softest, most amazing biscuit recipe with buttery golden tops! Flaky on the outside, pillowy inside!
Why We Love Cathead Biscuits
There are biscuits, and then there are biscuits.
The jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, knee-buckling, eyes-roll-back-in-your-head kind of biscuits made from scratch.
Although there’s nothing wrong with popping open the canned variety on occasion, nothing compares to a buttery scratch-made biscuit straight out of the oven.
After much trial and error, I learned that light airy biscuits come from gentle, yet speedy, hands.
Our Fluffy Southern Cat Head Biscuits have the most delicate texture on the inside, yet are crispy and flaky on the outside. The light airy flavor of butter and wheat creates a perfect platform for all sorts of toppings. Basically, they are what all biscuits aspire to be.
Why Are They Called Cathead Biscuits?
In the south, cathead biscuits are all about size… They are roughly the same dimensions as a cat’s head. Meow.
Weird name and association, but ridiculously enormous biscuit perfection! I mean, who wants a scrawny biscuit? Not me. As far as biscuit recipes go, the bigger the better!
Ingredients You Need
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar – for just a hint of sweetness
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – so the biscuits get super fluffy
- Sea Salt – or regular salt
- Butter – make sure to use cold butter
- Butter-Flavored Shortening – also known as Crisco, alternatively you can use lard
- Buttermilk – to create tangy, moist buttermilk biscuits
How to Make Southern Cathead Biscuits
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and grease a 12 inch deep dish cast iron skillet and set aside.
Next, prep the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, then scoop and level to measure the accurate amount. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
Add in the cold shortening and 1/4 cup cold butter. Pulse again until the fat is mixed into the flour creating a pebble texture. Continue pulsing as you add in the buttermilk.
Once the dough is thoroughly mixed, stop pulsing. The dough should look wet, but even.
Dump the dough onto a floured surface. Press and pat it flat with your hands until it is smooth, in an even 2-inch thick disk. Use a drinking glass, or a 3-inch biscuit cutter, to cut out 8 biscuits. If needed, cut out 7 and then gather the dough and cut out the last biscuit.
Place the biscuits in the skillet. Then brush the tops with melted butter and place in the oven immediately.
Bake in the center of the oven until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits have risen at lease 1 inch above the top of the skillet. Around 30-35 minutes. Make sure to move the oven racks, if needed, to allow room for growth.
Use a spatula or knife to separate the biscuits before lifting them out of the pan. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- Fluffy Southern cat head biscuits have the best texture and taste when the dough is cold as it goes into the oven, it hasn’t been over mixed, and the flour is well sifted prior to adding it to the dough. So use cold ingredients and move fast to get these into the oven!
- If the dough isn’t cold anymore after mixing and cutting them out, you can place the biscuits covered with plastic in the refrigerator until the dough is cold again, then pop into the hot oven!
- Using cold ingredients like buttermilk, butter, and refrigerated shortening creates a cold dough. When the cold dough is placed in the oven, it quickly creates an outer crust while the dough is still cool on the inside. The outer crust causes the biscuits to grow up, instead of flattening out, once the insides start to bake. Cold dough, that hasn’t been over-worked, is the secret to making the best biscuits ever!
- Baking this Fluffy Cat Head Biscuit recipe in a deep skillet serves two purposes. First, the sides of the skillet offer support so that the biscuits rise to ethereal heights. Second, the biscuits edges on the outside of the pan turn crispy, while the center edges are soft and feathery. That way you get a little crunch and a whole lot of tender goodness.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make a double batch in a 9×13 or 10×15 inch baking dish and refrigerate them overnight if needed. Just make sure to cover them well with plastic while in the refrigerator!
There are so so many ways to serve these biscuits that you will be making them ALL the time! You can eat them on their own with butter and honey, or your favorite jam. For a heartier breakfast, try pairing them with sausage gravy for amazing biscuits and gravy.
Biscuits can also be served as a side dish to your favorite comfort foods like Sausage and Kale Soup, Chicken Tortellini Soup, or Beef Stew!
Being that these are Southern cathead biscuits, these would also go amazingly as a side to Fried Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak, or Shrimp and Grits! For cheese biscuits, try adding some shredded cheddar cheese or use my Cheddar Bay Drop Biscuits recipe!
Biscuits will rise higher if you bake them in a fairly hot oven, at least 425 degrees. That way the butter melts and evaporates quickly, creating tall, flaky biscuits. It also helps to bake biscuits in a deep dish cast iron skillet because the sides will support the biscuits and encourage them to grow up instead of sideways!
Store any leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days! Reheat them in the microwave or pop them in a warm oven.
Biscuits for Every Occasion
The holidays are quickly approaching. Why not give these big beauties a try? Fluffy Southern Cat Head biscuits are perfect to serve a crowd for any special occasion.
You might decide these jumbo biscuits need to be on your Thanksgiving table or at Christmas morning brunch this year!
See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make Fluffy Southern Cat Head Biscuits.
Looking for More Biscuit Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Savory Breakfast Scones
- Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Truffle Parmesan Biscuits
- Air Fryer Biscuits
- Cinnamon Drop Biscuits
Cathead Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, well-sifted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter, divided (half cold, half melted)
- 1/3 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening, cold
- 2 cups buttermilk, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a 12-inch deep dish cast iron skillet and set aside.
- Sift the flour, then scoop and level. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
- Next, add the cold shortening and 1/4 cup cold butter. Pulse again until the fat is mixed into the flour creating a pebble texture. Continue pulsing as you add in the cold buttermilk.
- Once the dough is thoroughly mixed, stop pulsing. The dough should look wet, but even.
- Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface. Press it flat with your hands until it is smooth, in an even 2-inch thick disk. Use a drinking glass, or 3-inch cutter, to cut out 8 biscuits. If needed, cut out 7, then gather the dough and cut out the last biscuit.
- Place the biscuits in the skillet. Then brush the tops with the melted butter, and place in the oven immediately.
- Bake in the center of the oven until the tops are golden and the biscuits have risen at least 1 inch above the top of the skillet. Around 30-35 minutes. Make sure to move the oven racks, if need, to allow room for growth.
- Use a spatula or knife to separate the biscuits before lifting out of the pan.
The only issue I had was that 450 degrees was too hot and 30 to 35 minutes is too long. Next time I will try 425 degrees and 20 to 25 minutes
This is a great recipe! I only used 1/2 the salt. I also used the whole 1/2 stick of butter but mistake but they still came out great. I had like 17 biscuits because i made them a little thinner. Winner recipe!
Made these biscuits as a test run before Thanksgiving and they were a hit!!!! I planned on testing a few recipes but was done searching after this one. The biscuits have such a nice crust on them and oh so delicious. Thank you for the recipe.