I almost wish I had a biscuit "philosophy" but alas, I have never made them. They just seem like so much work. (I know, I know.....)

I also very rarely make my own pie crust but thats another story.

My philosophy of biscuits is that they're a solid but unexciting side dish and should be made at the last minute according to whatever recipe doesn't require a trip to the store. (Frankly, that IS what I grew up with, I think!) So it's usually just all purpose flour and butter, and any add-ins that strike my fancy.

I make biscuits all the time, and I think that's because I don't have a biscuit philosophy: I make them from whatever flour is on hand, with whatever combination of fats I fancy at the moment, use milk or cream or buttermilk or --- most often these days --- yogurt thinned with extra whey, cut them to any ol' size I like, and eat them as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I am quite consistent in my method, though. Some of the fat has to be pulverized with the flour (I do it by hand, but a cutter or two knives of a food processor all work fine) to coat it, then the rest of the fat should be distributed in larger bits before mixing in the liquid.

I like to make a big batch, then freeze some cut, uncooked biscuits for another time. Flash-freeze 'em, then wrap up tightly and they'll keep beautifully and bake up as light as gorgeous as a fresh batch.

This is another baked good much like pie crust that people way overthink. I think there's 1 way to make a biscuit really, and different choices for ingredients. Same as pie, cake, you name it. And that is left up to the baker. No right or wrong, just what they like to use.

For me, I use butter or butter flavored Crisco (whichever I have on hand faster) regular flour and buttermilk.

My biscuit philosophy? Early and often.

Am I the only person who feels like buttermilk really makes no difference in anything ever?

plain for breakfast and add-ins for dinner (cheddar, garlic, poppy seeds, bleu cheese, green onions, etc.)

My biscuit philosophy is that most biscuits are not particularly tasty, and on the rare occasion I want one that is, I walk a block and a half to the restaurant that serves them and get one or two to go.

Biscuits should be fast and simple. If you spend more than 20 minutes making them, you are doing it wrong.

They also should be light, fluffy, and golden brown. slathered in good butter and local honey..

I wish I had a biscuit philosophy. I have very little counter space, so I can never make rolled-out biscuits. I occasionally make drop biscuits, but they aren't as good.

My biscuit philosophy:

Butter
Buttermilk
Hot from the oven
Eat them often!

In my area there are 2 hole in the wall diners that make fantastic biscuits, so I leave it up to them for my breakfast fix (along with wonderful sausage & bacon gravy), but when I do have a hankering for breakfast at home, I make Marion Cunningham's recipe for cream biscuits. So easy and you can't mess them up. Perfect with Plugra sweet butter and my homemade strawberry jam!

I just make drop biscuits because I'm lazy and prefer less clean up. No harm in that.

@elizabeth marley, buttermilk typically found in a grocery today isn't like the buttermilk our grandmothers used, but when you can get Real buttermilk it makes a Huge difference (I'm lucky enough to have access to the real thing through a local dairy farmer). If you don't, use buttermilk powder, the results are better than most storebought liquid buttermilk.

I make cream biscuits. They are so easy and never tough.
And in answer to elizabeth marley, in pancakes buttermilk makes a HUGE difference. So much fluffier.

I tried for years to make good biscuits--I could never figure it out. I made the Touch of Grace biscuits last month, and they seriously are perfection.

My mom has a biscuit philosophy which seems to be "never make them the same way twice". They are the last thing she makes while prepping dinner, takes no time flat, and whatever's on hand is what goes into them. Yogurt? Milk going a little sour? Soymilk? It's all good. Delicious add-ins too. But if she makes a version you really like, she'll never quite re-create it - so savour them!

My philosophy? They're all good, and I'll take them all.

My biscuit philosophy is put them in my mouth. Maximize biscuit to mouth ratio. Why do people need a biscuit philosophy? I just mash up some things and bake them and then NOMS.

We love biscuits, but almost always make drop biscuits because we're lazy. Buttermilk is great, but we'll use whatever is on hand. I don't you think you can really mess these up. They're not wrong, just different. Really... would you ever turn one down? I don't think so.

My father passed on my great-grandmother's biscuit recipe to me. Hers included lard and buttermilk straight from the cows on their Tennessee dairy farm. As I have no access to that, I usually make my own buttermilk with vinegar and Strauss milk and I use Crisco or store-bought lard. You also need extremely fresh baking powder so the dough rises tall (I don't use self-rising flour ever). The biscuits should basically be clouds of dough fluff.

My dad always said to handle the biscuit dough and treat it "gingerly, as if it were a bunny." I only knead my dough once or twice before I cut it out.

Now I want biscuits and apple butter.... Yummmm.

This makes me want to make biscuits! I never have, probably because it's never been a staple of my diet (being from the NW and all...) but now I'm thinking really hard to create a menu where I can have an excuse to make biscuits!!!

I am also in the cream camp. No cutting butter with knives or using a food processor or a pastry blender. Just the flour, heavy cream, baking powder, a little salt, a little sugar, combine it all with a fork, pat them square, cut them, in the oven and they're done!

Also - can we make a butter and honey on biscuits camp? Because I would like to join that camp as well. There's just something about the acid sweetness of honey on a tender biscuit with cold salted butter melting everything together. Yum! I'm totally making biscuits for dinner tonight....

It's not a philosophy but I make my biscuits with, believe it or not, MAYO (real stuff, not light) and whatever milk is around. I prefer buttermilk but if I have plain, that'll do. They come out delicious, fluffy, and with a touch of tang to them.

I also like mine a tiny bit under-baked so they are still doughy, but only when I'm alone and want to pull the centers out with my fingers and eat them, and then blow on my now-burnt fingers.

For company I go all golden-brown.

I'm in the "do it fast with what you've got" camp on biscuits. Getting persnickety about biscuits is very anti-biscuit in my book. You should be able to do it "wrong" and still have a nice biscuit for your trouble.

Kudos to anyone who is cooking and baking. If your family doesn't like it then it's wrong for you and you need to change things up. My biscuits are buttermilk, there is no kneading i cut them out with a 3 inch round cutter and when they need to be dressed up for Sunday dinner the get a dose of cheese or scallions or whatever goes with the main event. No complaints yet after 46 years of raising a family I'm not messing with the recipe at this point.

The best biscuits are handled gently and not over-worked, hand-rolled, tender, and flaky.
Butter is much tastier, but doesn't flake quite as well as lard, so you must ensure that you cut the butter into the flour in sheets to achieve that lovely flaky texture. My FAVORITE biscuits are actually made with goat butter!

My biscuit philosophy is to make them yourself unless it's around the holidays, and then you can go out and buy the ginger biscuits that Otterbein's makes.

My *scone* philosophy is to use ap flour, heavy cream, baking soda, and salt. Roll them and cut them or just drop them on a pan. The only acceptable additions are currants or raisins, and the only bastardizations are lemonade or ginger beer scones. Always serve warm from the oven with clotted cream and homemade jam alongside a cuppa.

My philosophy:

Make Biscuits. Eat entire batch of biscuits.

I make mine with 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour (I usually use 1/2 and 1/2 in my baking), margarine, and buttermilk powder. I've tried to mix them in the food processor like Cooks Illustrated recommends, but I always overprocess them, so I've gone back to using my pastry cutter. Then I just pat mine out, so they're thick, and cut them. Yummy!

I love how the term "biscuit philosophy" has taken hold here! My philosophy? Cheese. Cheddar sage biscuits are a perennial favorite, especially for Thanksgiving. I usually use butter and buttermilk, and always use a pastry cutter. I also like to freeze them cut but unbaked for later. Yum!

BUTTERMILK! I also do a half white flour, half whole wheat flour mix.

My biscuit philosophy is to eat them!!!

my biscuit/scone philosophy and my cookie/biscuit philosophy are one in the same - grandma's and lots of them LOL.

With butter and plenty of homemade strawberry jam, as often as possible.

Freeze your butter and then grate it in! No need to cut it in; makes for light and airy biscuits every time!

simple. from scratch. butter... I always use the same basic recipe, using heavy cream, buttermilk, or greek yogurt, depending on what I have on hand. i don't really sweat it. flours and "secret ingredients" vary.

I have been baking biscuits 37 years and use only Hudson Cream self rising flour because it makes the softest biscuits. I use buttermilk and Crisco. I don't over stir the batter and never reknead the scraps after cutting, they will be tough-unless you want dog biscuits.
Bake them quick and hot, 450. Slather on butter and homemade apple butter. Nothing better.

My main contribution to Biscuit Society is the square biscuit - just roll it out and cut the cough into rectangles of some kind. There are no scraps to worry about rekneading or not, and as a bonus, the corners get all crispy.

@Rucy
There is such a thing as buttermilk powder? You just made my day. I don't bake enough to use a whole container of buttermilk before it spoils. I love it for marinating chicken.
I'm off to search for buttermilk powder. Thanks!

Oh, and "yes, please" to the butter and honey camp.