Food and Recipes Bread Biscuits Cathead Biscuits Just Like Mama Made 4.8 (5) 3 Reviews Cathead biscuits aren't your typical breakfast bread. These soft and fluffy biscuits are bigger than average, or as the name suggests, about the size of a cat's head. By Julia Levy Julia Levy Julia is an experienced cook with a demonstrated history of working in the publishing industry. She is skilled in catering, food & beverage, event planning, and menu development. She tests and develops recipes in the DotDash Meredith Test Kitchen for Southern Living. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on September 12, 2024 Recipe tested by Amanda Holstein Recipe tested by Amanda Holstein Amanda Holstein fell in love with baking at the age of 6, and continued growing her passion through culinary school and working in bakeries for over 10 years. Learn more about the Southern Living Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Active Time: 20 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 12 The only thing better than a regular ol' buttermilk biscuit is a big buttermilk biscuit. Enter: cathead biscuits. Legend has it that these biscuits are so affectionately called "cathead biscuits" because they're as big as a cat's head. Southerners know: They're as delicious as they are big, and you're only a few pantry ingredients way from taking a bite. Without further ado, learn how to make classic cathead biscuits. Ingredients for Cathead Biscuits Essential biscuit-making ingredients are needed for this recipe, so if you have a well-stocked baking pantry, you'll be ready to go: All-purpose flour: We recommend Southern-style all-purpose flours, such as White Lily or Martha White, which are finer and have less protein than other all-purpose flours, for a lighter, fluffier crumb. If you don't have either of these handy, any conventional all-purpose flour sifted together with fine cake flour will mimic these favorite Southern all-purpose flour mixtures.Baking powder: Acts as a leavening agent to give the biscuits a lift.Kosher salt: A bit of salt rounds out the flavor of the biscuits and helps to control the rise.Granulated sugar: Just a little bit of sugar balances all the flavors and adds a touch of sweetness—but only a touch. It also helps with light browning.Unsalted butter: Chilled cubes of butter that are cut into the flour like pastry—being careful not to overwork the butter, the butter helps lock in little bits of fat that keeps the biscuit extra tender when baked.Whole buttermilk: Along with the butter, whole buttermilk brings some fat to the dough for succulence and tenderness, but also ensures the biscuits are not too dry. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox What Are Cathead Biscuits? Cathead biscuits refer to the large size of the biscuit rounds, which are bigger than usual or otherwise "as big as a cat's head." It's not certain exactly how this feline-forward term came to be, but you'll notice that when cathead biscuits are served in the South, they are always noticeably larger and fluffier. While they might vary slightly in precise shape—from lumpy and oblong to drop biscuit style or square—our cathead biscuit recipe calls to cut the biscuits into rounds. What Makes Biscuits Fluffy? The secret to fluffy biscuits is the type of flour you use. According to Virginia Willis in Secrets of the Southern Table, Southern all-purpose flour is different than all-purpose flour that you might typically get at conventional grocery stores in the rest of the country. Southern all-purpose flour is milled from soft red winter wheat which has less of the gluten-forming protein that can make dough tough. Willis's family uses White Lily flour, which is a staple across the South, but Martha White is a Southern brand that is equally dependable. Using a fine flour, such as White Lily or Martha White is especially important for cathead biscuits which, in their size, require a finer flour to keep a good, light structure even in their larger "cathead" size. Many cathead biscuit aficionados bake theirs close together in a large cast-iron skillet in close proximity for tender, pull apart cathead biscuits. This recipe calls to bake them farther apart to keep the sides crisp and the biscuits ideal for sandwich-making. Tips for Making Cathead Biscuits The Southern Living Test Kitchen knows a thing or two about biscuits, so they shared their best tips for making excellent cathead biscuits: Freeze the butter: While these biscuits do not have any distinct flaky layers, processing very cold butter into these biscuits helps to keep the crumb tender, fluffy, and buttery. We recommend popping your butter in the freezer just before using to get it extra cold.Work quickly: This recipe calls to use a food processor, simply because it requires quite a bit of flour and butter that can be overwhelming otherwise, but you are welcome to use your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter. Just be sure not to overwork the butter or dough at this stage.Roll out: Only reroll scraps once. The more times the dough is rerolled, the tougher the biscuit is.Don't do the twist: Be sure to firmly press the biscuit cutter straight down, and resist the urge to twist it. This ensures that the biscuits rise evenly when they are baked.The sides have it: If your cathead biscuits are baked close together, the sides will be tender. If you bake the biscuits far from each other, the sides will be crisp. Ingredients 6 cups (about 1 lb. 8 oz.) all-purpose flour (such as White Lily), plus more for dusting 3 Tbsp. baking powder 1 Tbsp. kosher salt 2 tsp. granulated sugar 2 cups (16 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-in. cubes, chilled 2 cups whole buttermilk, chilled Directions Prepare oven and baking sheets: Preheat oven to 500°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Set aside. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Make biscuit dough: Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse until combined, about 3 pulses. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Add butter cubes, and pulse to coat cubes with flour mixture, about 5 (1-second) pulses. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal and small chunks of butter remain, about 25 (1-second) pulses. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Drizzle buttermilk into food processor, and pulse until just barely combined, about 8 (1-second) pulses. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Cut biscuits from dough: Turn shaggy dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and, with floured hands, lightly flatten dough into a 3/4-inch-thick (11-x 11-inch) square (dough will be very sticky). Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Using a 3-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut straight down to cut out 9 rounds. Reroll scraps, and flatten into a 3/4-inch-thick shape. Cut out 3 more rounds (to make 12 biscuits total). Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Use a lightly floured spatula to transfer 6 of the rounds to each of the prepared large rimmed baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Bake biscuits: Bake biscuits, 1 baking sheet at a time, in preheated oven until golden brown and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Let cool at least 5 minutes before serving. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Frequently Asked Questions Can you use shortening for cathead biscuits? Many older biscuit recipes call for lard or shortening. While that's not in this recipe, we certainly won't judge you if you use it. Can cathead biscuits be made ahead? Yes, cathead biscuits can be cut and frozen. To freeze, place freshly-cut rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer until frozen, about two hours. Place frozen rounds in a ziplock bag or airtight container, and store for up to six months. To bake from frozen, add about five minutes baking time. Can you reheat cathead biscuits? Yes, after cathead biscuits are baked, you can reheat them at 350°F for about 5 minutes. Rate It Print