At one point in 2022, I went into a biscuit-making craze. I made various biscuit recipes, revisiting my Cheesy Garlic Biscuits, as well as trying out Joshua Weissman’s take on Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits (But Better). Wondering what else I could try making, I thought about Texas Chicken’s honey butter biscuits. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? After some searching, I landed on a recipe by Let’s Dish as a starting point.
I used a lower-protein AP flour to approximate pastry flour (9%), and made a second batch with vanilla and I think it had a wonderful aroma. I was out of honey so I added some malt syrup in the glaze, which gave it a rich dark color.
The result: incredible texture and flavor. The sweet glaze nicely contrasted with the salty, buttery biscuit, and they were perfectly fluffy. I’m hoping to eventually replicate the same texture for my cheddar bay biscuits. Yum yum!
Step by Step
The Biscuits
In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, vanilla powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add the butter and cut into the dry ingredients, until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
Add the milk. Mix lightly until the mixture comes together.
Knead about 15 times, to flatten the butter pieces and strengthen the dough a little. Do not overknead.
Scoop into a greased tray lined with baking paper.
The Honey Butter Glaze
Make the glaze. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, honey, and malt syrup if using.
Bring the mixture to a boil, and remove from heat.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (fan 210 degrees C).
Glaze the biscuits with the honey butter mixture.
Bake in the oven and bake, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Brush the baked biscuits with another layer of the glaze.
Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm.
Copycat Honey Butter Biscuits
Ingredients
For the biscuits
- 236 grams all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 4 teaspoons baking powder 12 grams
- 1 tablespoon sugar 14 grams
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 3 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder 3 grams, see Note 1
- ½ teaspoon salt 3 grams
- 115 grams cold butter cut into cubes
- 160 grams cold full cream milk ⅔ cup
For the honey butter glaze
- 60 grams salted butter about 4 tablespoons
- 85 grams honey
- 25 grams malt syrup see Note 2
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, vanilla powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the butter and cut into the dry ingredients, until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
- Add the milk. Mix lightly until the mixture comes together. Knead about 15 times. Do not overknead.
- Scoop into a greased tray lined with baking paper.
- Make the glaze. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, honey, and malt syrup if using.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C (fan 210 degrees C).
- Glaze the biscuits with the honey butter mixture.
- Bake in the oven and bake, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Brush the baked biscuits with another layer of the glaze.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- If unavailable, substitute with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Optional, otherwise use equal amount of honey.