Don’t let the blueberry season end without making these delicious drop biscuits. Inspired by Southern-style cooking, these golden drop biscuits are crunchy and soft, sweet with a light sour taste of the berries. They’re ready in under 30 minutes, so no excuses!
Drop biscuits are a variation to the recipe of American Southern-style biscuits, which in turn remind me of English scones. Are they the same thing? Not really.
There are of course differences in the amounts of fat and sugar content. All these different recipes will give you buttery, crusty and fluffy, sweet and rich baked goods.
While biscuits and scones are rolled and then cut in a round shape with a cookie cutter, drop biscuits are literally just uneven mounds of dough dropped on the baking tray.
What this means is that drop biscuits are also very quick and easy to make! This recipe requires very few ingredients and is ready in just half an hour.
No baking skills or expensive appliances needed either; just a single bowl, a wooden spoon or spatula and a baking tray.
The key ingredient to drop biscuits is baking powder.
You will think there is a mistake in the ingredients, that I am asking you to use too much baking powder. Don’t skimp on that! Baking powder is what makes the biscuits rise and become fluffy like cake. After baking, these drop biscuits will be crunchy on the outside, but soft once you break them open.
I think these blueberry drop biscuits are irresistible as a mid-afternoon treat with a cup of coffee or tea!
There are many variations that you can make to this recipe. You can use stone fruits or any other seasonal berries, like strawberries or raspberries, or cherries. Or you could make these drop biscuits even more scrumptious by dropping the fruit altogether and replacing it with milk chocolate chips.
Make them savoury! If you prefer savoury baked goods, then I suggest doubling the salt amount and replace the blueberries with anything you like – for example sun-dried tomatoes, olives, pickles, gherkins or jalapeños.
Ingredients
Recipe adapted from NY Cooking. Yield: 10-12 biscuits
- 380g plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- 38g / 8 tsp baking powder
- 170g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 200g whole blueberries
- 160 ml double cream
- 1/4 cup water (plus more if needed)
Note: the butter must be fridge cold to create flakiness in the biscuits.
For the sugar glaze
- 60g icing sugar, unsifted
- 15 ml double cream
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Whisk the flour, sugar and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Toss the pieces of butter into the flour mixture to coat. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the mixture comes together.
Add the whole blueberries and toss with a fork to combine. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add 2/3 of the double cream and 1/4 cup water. Continue tossing with the fork until the dough is just evenly damp and shaggy. Be careful not to overwork the dough too much. Add 1 to 3 teaspoons more water, as needed, if the dough is still too dry to work with.
Drop 6 large scoops of dough (equal to a heaping 1/3 cup) onto the baking trays, leaving at least 3-4 cm of space between each mound. Gently pad any stray bits of dough back into place as you work.
Lightly brush the tops with the remaining double cream. Bake until deep golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
Add the icing sugar to a small bowl, and whisk in the double cream (plus more if needed) to make a thick icing that is just thin enough to drizzle. Spoon over the warm biscuits.
Serve the biscuits warm or at room temperature.
