Irresistible Flaky Chocolate Chip Biscuits: Your New Favorite Sweet Treat Recipe
Prepare to fall in love with these Chocolate Chip Biscuits, a delightful sweet variation of classic flaky, layered biscuits. There’s something truly special about a homemade biscuit – warm, tender, and incredibly satisfying. But when you introduce the rich indulgence of dark chocolate chips and a hint of cinnamon sugar, you elevate it to an entirely new level of deliciousness. This recipe has been perfected over time, playing with dough thickness and cutter sizes to achieve what we believe is the ideal biscuit: perfectly golden, incredibly flaky, and studded with pockets of melted chocolate.
These sweet biscuits are not just for breakfast; they make a fantastic late morning treat, an indulgent afternoon snack, or a comforting dessert. You might be surprised to learn that even with a modest four teaspoons of sugar in the dough, these biscuits are wonderfully sweet. The secret lies in the harmonious combination of rich dark chocolate chips, which melt into delightful pools of sweetness, and a crunchy, sugary cinnamon topping that adds an extra layer of flavor and texture. This balanced approach ensures a treat that’s sweet without being cloying, allowing the buttery goodness of the biscuit to shine through.
The Secret to Flaky Biscuits: Mastering the Butter Technique
Achieving those coveted flaky layers in biscuits is an art, and it all starts with cold butter. Traditionally, cold butter is cut into small chunks and then incorporated into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingertips. This method creates small pockets of butter throughout the dough. As the biscuits bake, these butter pockets melt and release steam, pushing the layers of dough apart and resulting in that characteristic flaky texture. Over the years, I’ve experimented with various methods to maximize flakiness and ease of preparation.
My preferred technique, especially for consistently distributed butter and guaranteed flakiness, involves grating the butter. Instead of wrestling with chunks and a pastry cutter, a simple flat grater transforms cold butter into fine, feathery strands. This dramatically increases the surface area of the butter and allows for more even distribution throughout the flour mixture. It also helps keep the butter colder for longer, which is paramount for a high-rising, flaky biscuit. If you haven’t tried grating your butter for biscuits or scones, I highly recommend it – it’s a game-changer for achieving light, airy results.
Plain Layered Biscuits: A Timeless Classic
While chocolate chips add a delightful twist, this recipe is fundamentally rooted in the art of making excellent plain layered biscuits. To create a batch of simple, unadorned biscuits, you only need to omit the chocolate chips and the cinnamon sugar topping. The magic of distinct layers comes from a simple yet effective technique: folding the dough. After gently bringing the dough together, you’ll press it into a slab and fold it over itself in thirds, much like folding a letter. This process is repeated three times. Each fold creates new layers of butter and dough, which then separate beautifully in the oven, resulting in incredibly tall and tender biscuits.
The beauty of plain biscuits lies in their versatility. They are perfect companions for savory dishes like fried chicken, chili, or sausage gravy. You can also serve them with homemade jam and clotted cream for a truly traditional experience. Understanding this fundamental layering technique allows you to master the core of biscuit making, opening up a world of possibilities for both sweet and savory variations.
Baking Options and Customization: Size, Batch, and Baking Powder
One of the great things about this chocolate chip biscuit recipe is its flexibility. I’ve experimented with various cookie cutter sizes and dough thicknesses over the years, and I’ve found that a 2 ½ inch diameter biscuit is just right. This size offers the perfect balance of a slightly crisp exterior and a wonderfully tender interior. It typically yields 7 or 8 biscuits, making it a manageable batch for most home bakers.
Half Batch Chocolate Chip Biscuits for Smaller Cravings
For those times when you crave freshly baked biscuits but don’t need a full batch, this recipe scales down beautifully. You can easily halve or even quarter the ingredients to make a smaller quantity. A half batch (yielding 3-4 biscuits) is perfect for a cozy morning or a quick afternoon treat. I often bake a small batch in a six-inch cast iron skillet, which not only looks charming but also helps achieve an incredibly even bake and a lovely golden-brown crust. For smaller batches, remember to adjust baking times slightly, keeping a close eye on them to prevent over-baking. You can even customize individual biscuits within a small batch – perhaps some with chocolate chips, and some plain, as I did in my own experimentation!
The Importance of Baking Powder: My Experience with Bakewell Cream
The type of leavening agent you use can significantly impact the final texture and flavor of your biscuits. For many years, I’ve relied on Rumford baking powder for its consistent results. However, for a recent batch of these chocolate chip biscuits, I used Bakewell Cream Baking Powder. It’s important to note that this is distinct from regular Bakewell Cream, which is a single ingredient. Bakewell Cream Baking Powder is a unique leavening blend that includes the acid component, much like a complete baking powder. My husband picked this up from the King Arthur store, and I was intrigued to try it.
So far, I’ve been incredibly impressed with its performance. It delivers a beautiful, consistent rise and, notably, a very clean flavor. Some baking powders can leave a slightly metallic or bitter aftertaste, but Bakewell Cream Baking Powder avoids this entirely, allowing the pure flavors of butter and chocolate to shine. If you’re looking to elevate your biscuit game, or simply curious about trying new ingredients, I highly recommend sourcing it. It’s available through King Arthur Baking Company directly and also on Amazon, making it relatively accessible. Don’t underestimate the impact of a quality leavening agent on your baked goods!
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Biscuits
Anna
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold all-purpose flour (250 grams), plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
- 4 teaspoons sugar (18-20 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold (84 grams)
- ¾ cup well-shaken buttermilk, plus more as needed (ensure it’s very cold for best results)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon mixed with 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar** (for topping)
- 2-3 tablespoons melted butter for brushing on top (for a golden finish)
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the cold all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients together thoroughly to ensure even distribution. Now, prepare your very cold unsalted butter. Cut the butter into small, ½-inch chunks and scatter them over the flour mixture. Toss gently to coat the butter pieces with flour, then use a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingertips (working quickly to keep the butter cold) to cut the butter into the flour. The goal is a coarse meal with some pea-sized flecks of butter still visible. These butter pieces are essential for creating steam and layers during baking. Place this mixture in the freezer for about 20 minutes to ensure the butter stays firm.
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Alternative Method for Butter: For even easier butter distribution and potentially flakier results, instead of cutting, grate the cold butter directly into the flour mixture using a flat grater. Toss the grated butter with the dry ingredients occasionally as you grate to coat it evenly. This method helps prevent the butter from clumping and ensures tiny, cold butter pieces are distributed throughout the dough, contributing to superior flakiness.
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While the butter-flour mixture chills, position your oven rack to the center and preheat the oven to a hot 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). A hot oven is crucial for biscuits to rise quickly and achieve maximum flakiness.
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Remove the chilled flour and butter mixture from the freezer. Add the well-shaken, cold buttermilk to the mixture. Stir gently with a spoon or your hands until the mixture just starts to come together. The dough should still look a bit shaggy. You will likely need to add a little more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is moist enough to form a cohesive ball but still relatively stiff – be careful not to make it too wet. Overworking the dough at this stage will result in tough biscuits, so mix minimally. Once the dough is mostly formed, gently fold in the dark chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
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Lightly flour a clean work surface. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Press the dough gently with your hands (do not roll with a pin too much, as this can compress the layers) into a ½ inch thick slab. To create distinct layers, fold the slab of dough over itself into thirds (like folding a letter). Gently press down again, and repeat this folding process two more times. After the final fold, press the dough into a slab that’s a little over ½ inch thick (you can make it slightly thicker if you prefer taller biscuits). Using a 2 ½ inch round cutter, cut out as many biscuit rounds as possible. For the best rise, press the cutter straight down without twisting. Gently gather any dough scraps, press them together (again, don’t overwork), and cut out any remaining biscuits.
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Once your biscuit rounds are cut, generously sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar mixture. This adds a delightful crunch and sweet spice to the finished biscuits.
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Arrange the biscuit rounds on a heavy, parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about ¾ of an inch apart. Alternatively, for a slightly crispier bottom and a more rustic feel, arrange them in a cast iron skillet. Bake in the preheated 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) oven for approximately 15-18 minutes, or until the biscuits have risen beautifully and are golden brown on top and bottom. Baking time will vary based on the thickness of your dough rounds and the size of your cutter, so keep a close watch. Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the tops of the hot biscuits with melted butter for extra richness and a beautiful sheen. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes