Flaky Butter & Lard Biscuits

These butter and lard biscuits are easy to make using simple ingredients! Nothing compares to a homemade biscuit that’s tender, buttery and flaky. Enjoy these biscuits with some melted butter or pair with your favorite soup! Even better, the biscuits can be made ahead of time and frozen, until ready to pop into the oven. If you’ve never used lard to make biscuits, you’re missing out. Using lard gives biscuits a softer texture that results in flaky layers.

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Biscuit Variations

Use All Butter: This recipe calls for half butter and half lard; however, this recipe works fantastic with all butter. We promise these biscuits will still be a showstopper! Just swap in 8 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter instead of using lard. It’s that simple.

Why We Used Melted Butter & Lard

The traditional way to make biscuits is by using cold butter which steams in the oven to create these flaky layers; however, we’re always looking for ways to simplify recipes and dishes. Melted butter does create tender and buttery layers but they will be slightly more compact.

So we decided to throw all the dry ingredients into one bowl, add in the melted fat, milk, sour cream and form into a layer for cutting biscuits. No rolling pin is needed either, if you want to use your hands. Then we let the freezer do the work to cool the biscuits. We started making this recipe with cold butter years ago but decided to cut down on dishes by swapping in melted fats. Either way you decide to make these biscuits, they will be delicious!

Learn How To Render Pork Lard - Full Recipe

Flaky Butter & Lard Biscuits

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Makes 6-8 (using a 2 inch biscuit cutter)

Ingredients
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
4 tbsp unsalted butter (¼ cup melted)
4 tbsp lard, melted (¼ cup melted)
⅓ cup sour cream
½ cup milk

Instructions

1. On medium heat, place a small pot on the stove and add butter and lard. Stir occasionally to keep from burning, about 5 minutes.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.
3. Whisk together milk and sour cream in a small bowl, until well combined.
4. Drizzle in melted butter and lard into the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork to fold butter into dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
5. Then slowly add the sour cream mixture into the medium mixing bowl. Use the fork to toss and fold the mixture together. The dough will look a bit tacky but shouldn't leave a mess on your hands. If the dough is too wet add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until it sticks but then releases from your hand. It should be able to form easily when removed from the bowl.
6. On a lightly floured cutting board, press the dough together to make a 1 inch thick rectangle. Then fold the dough on top of itself and press down to flatten back into a rectangle. We use our hands so we can handle the dough gently but you can also use a rolling pin. Work gently as overworking the dough will create tough biscuits.
7. Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut into rounds. Gently press the extra dough back together and cut more biscuits. Repeat until no more dough is left to cut. This should make 6-8 biscuits depending on your cutter size. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter use a knife to make square biscuits.
8. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until cold and firm.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
10. Bake biscuits for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are slightly golden on top.
11. Remove from the oven and enjoy warm! Serve with melted butter topped with sea salt.
12. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer 15 minutes prior to warm up. Then bake per recipe above.