In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, where culinary traditions run deep, lies a delectable Southern treasure: Sandy's Cathead Biscuits. These colossal biscuits, named for their resemblance to a cat's head, are a testament to the region's rich heritage and the magic that happens when simple ingredients are elevated to greatness. Buttermilk biscuits are a staple in Southern cuisine, and Sandy's recipe takes them to new heights with a combination of buttermilk, butter, and just the right amount of flour to create a biscuit that's both light and fluffy, with a golden-brown crust that shatters at the first bite. Served warm with butter and honey, or smothered in sausage gravy, these biscuits are a feast for the senses. This article offers three variations of Sandy's Cathead Biscuits: the classic buttermilk biscuit, a cheesy version studded with cheddar cheese and chives, and a sweet and tangy rendition swirled with cinnamon sugar. Whether you're a seasoned biscuit aficionado or a newcomer to Southern cooking, Sandy's Cathead Biscuits are sure to become a favorite.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
CATHEAD BISCUITS
Provided by Food Network
Categories side-dish
Time 1h
Yield 4 large biscuits
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and 3 tablespoons of the butter until the mixture is the size of small peas.
- Add the buttermilk, and stir until the dough is just mixed and starts to form a ball.
- Rest the dough in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Transfer the dough to the floured surface, and sprinkle with a little extra flour. Knead the dough 3 to 4 times. Do not overwork the dough. It will make the dough tough and difficult to work with.
- Flatten the dough into a 3/4- to 1-inch-thick disk with a rolling pin. Cut out biscuits with a large 4- or 5-inch biscuit cutter.
- Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Brush the hot biscuits with the butter. Turn on the broiler. Broil the biscuits until desired brownness.
SANDY'S MISSISSIPPI DELTA CATHEAD BISCUITS
Make and share this Sandy's Mississippi Delta Cathead Biscuits recipe from Food.com.
Provided by Teresa Johnson
Categories Breads
Time 42m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Blend above ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Dump a hand full of flour on a pastry cloth or whatever.
- A brown paper sack also works.
- Newspaper also works just fine.
- Dump the blended dough onto the flour.
- Pour a dash of oil into your skillet and smear it around with your fingers.
- Coat the inside of the skillet and the palms of your hands with oil.
- Knead the dough for about 30 seconds, rolling it in the flour and thickening it.
- Halve the dough.
- Halve it again, making 4 pieces of dough.
- Roll each piece of dough between your hands, making it into a ball, then put it in the skillet.
- Use a spoon or a pastry brush and put a little oil or bacon drippings on the top of each unbaked biscuit.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Bake 25 minutes.
- Broil/toast for 1 or 2 minutes.
CATHEAD BISCUITS
This is the old-time recipe from our grandmamas. There is no real measurement in this for the shortening. Wonderful and tasty heavy biscuit from the old times. Great with homemade sausage gravy. Always always always use White Lily® flour for the fluffiest biscuits. I usually don't always use all of the buttermilk. I seem to usually have just under a 1/4 cup leftover.
Provided by Hollinhead77
Categories Bread Quick Bread Recipes Biscuits
Time 25m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch cake pan.
- Sift flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Make a dent in flour by pushing flour from center toward sides of bowl. Add 2 walnut-size lumps of shortening and a splash of buttermilk to the flour where you made the dent. Work the shortening into the flour using fingers in a twisting motion (rub thumb against pointer and middle finger motion) until the shortening is fully incorporated into the flour.
- Pour buttermilk into the flour about 1/4 cup at a time, continuing to work it in with your fingers until the buttermilk is completely incorporated into a sticky dough.
- Roll dough into 8 large balls and drop into prepared cake pan, working around the outside and putting the last one in middle to fill the pan. Press dough balls with back of fingers to flatten until they touch and are about 3/4- to 1-inch thick.
- Bake in preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 336 calories, Carbohydrate 49 g, Cholesterol 17.4 mg, Fat 11.6 g, Fiber 1.7 g, Protein 8 g, SaturatedFat 5.2 g, Sodium 910.3 mg, Sugar 2.7 g
MISSISSIPPI BISCUITS
Steps:
- 1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then work in lightly the lard and mix with sufficient milk to make soft dough. Roll thin, cut into biscuits with small cutter and bake in a quick oven.
SOUTHERN "CATHEAD" BISCUITS
My father-in-law likes "cat-head" biscuits. For those of you from outside of the deep south, a "cat-head biscuit" is simply a southern buttermilk biscuit the size of a cat-head. He told me, "That way, it doesn't fall apart when you slice it for (homemade) figs (preserves.) I like to bake them with the sides touching so that they are soft on the edges. If you prefer a crunchier biscuit, place them about 2 inches apart on a flat stone/pan.
Provided by cook from scratch
Categories Breads
Time 20m
Yield 9 cat-head biscuits
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 450°F
- Measure 1 cup of buttermilk into liquid measuring cup. I use 3/4 cup whole milk with a splash of Heinz White Vinegar. Let sit a few minutes until you need it.
- In a medium bowl, measure the flour by spooning it into a one-cup measure and leveling off with a knife. (This is very important!) Sometimes I sift it. Most of the time I do not.
- Make a deep well and add the oil and buttermilk.
- Stir gently until moistened. Sprinkle with even flour to allow handling of the dough.
- I shape my biscuits by hand but you could also roll them out and cut them. Place them in a 9x9 Pampered Chef Baker (stoneware.) I have used Pampered Chef stoneware for the last ten years and it has never failed me. However, for those of you still using metal bakeware, just use a regular square baking pan.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 211.9, Fat 6.7, SaturatedFat 1, Cholesterol 1.1, Sodium 557.8, Carbohydrate 32.2, Fiber 1.1, Sugar 1.4, Protein 5
MISSISSIPPI DELTA CATHEAD BISCUITS
Steps:
- Step #1: Blend above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Step #2: Dump a hand full of flour on a pastry cloth or whatever. As you can see, I use a brown paper sack. Newspaper also works just fine. Step #3: As in the top photo, dump the blended dough onto the flour. Step #4: Pour a dash of oil into your skillet and smear it around with your fingers. Coat the inside of the skillet and the palms of your hands with oil. Step #5: Knead the dough for about 30 seconds, rolling it in the flour and thickening it. Step #6: Half the dough as in the middle photo. Half it again, making 4 pieces of dough. Step #7: Roll each piece of dough between your hands, making it into a ball, then put it in the skillet. Step #8: As you see me doing in this photo, use a spoon or a pastry brush and put a little oil or bacon drippings on the top of each un-baked biscuit. You're ready to start cooking. Preheat oven to 350° Bake 25 minutes at 350° Broil/toast for 1 or 2 minutes Enjoy!
CATHEAD BISCUITS
Don't worry, there aren't any actual cat's heads involved. The origins of the name are lost to time, but the conventional wisdom seems to be that they're called that because they're about the size of a cat's head. An old Appalachian favorite. Less fuss than rolled and cut biscuits. White Lily flour is preferred.
Provided by xtine
Categories Breads
Time 30m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Mix dry ingredients and sift into mixing bowl, then cut in lard or crisco until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Stir in buttermilk until it is incorporated with the flour mixture. The dough will be kind of wet and very sticky.
- Flour your hands and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough in the flour just enough to make it handleable - you don't want it to stick to your hands too much, but don't work in too much extra flour either or the biscuits will be heavy and taste of raw flour.
- For each biscuit, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a large egg or a small lemon and pat out in the ungreased pan with your hands. You don't want it to be really flat, just pat it down a bit so it's relatively biscuit-shaped and about 1 inch high.
- Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Keep your eye on them while they're in the oven so they don't burn.
- Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter, if desired.
SCALLION AND CHEDDAR CATHEAD BISCUITS
Southerners are known for giving their recipes colorful names. This one got its name because each extra-large drop biscuit is as big as a cat's head. The treats are crisp and golden outside, soft and pillowy inside, and filled with scallions, cheddar cheese and just the right amount of black pepper. These cathead biscuits are quick to fix and simple to make-you don't even have to roll out the dough. -Cheryl Day, Back in the Day Bakery
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 50m
Yield 1 dozen.
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment., In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter; toss to coat. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, or pinch it with your fingertips, smearing it into the flour. You should have various-sized pieces of butter, ranging from coarse sandy patches to flat shaggy pieces to pea-sized chunks. Stir in the scallions, cheese and pepper. , Make a well in the center, pour in 1-1/2 cups buttermilk and gently mix until mixture is crumbly but starting to come together into a shaggy mass. If the dough still looks too dry, add up to 1/2 cup more buttermilk. The dough should be moist and slightly sticky. , Turn the dough onto itself a few times until it forms a mass. Gently pat down the dough until it resembles a loaf of bread. Dust the top lightly with flour., Using a 3-ounce (89 ml) ice cream scoop, portion dough 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten biscuits., Lightly brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until biscuits are golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 351 calories, Fat 23g fat (13g saturated fat), Cholesterol 76mg cholesterol, Sodium 591mg sodium, Carbohydrate 28g carbohydrate (2g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 9g protein.
Tips:
- Use buttermilk at room temperature for tender biscuits.
- Do not overwork the dough. Overworking will result in tough biscuits.
- Handle the dough gently. Over-handling will also result in tough biscuits.
- Roll out the biscuits to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.
- Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve the biscuits warm.
Conclusion:
Sandy's Mississippi Delta Cathead Biscuits are a delicious and easy-to-make breakfast or dinner recipe. These biscuits are soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They are perfect for mopping up gravy or spreading with butter and jam. If you're looking for a classic Southern biscuit recipe, look no further. Sandy's Mississippi Delta Cathead Biscuits are sure to be a hit.
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