I Tried Grandbaby Cakes’ 7 Up Biscuits and They’re Deliciously Easy

Both of my grandmothers and my mother made biscuits on a regular basis. If we had a meal that didn’t involve piping-hot biscuits, it included piping-hot cornbread. One of those two classic Southern breads was present at every meal.

While most biscuits in my household were made with self-rising flour, butter or shortening, and buttermilk, my family also embraced Bisquick. The baking mix was a handy shortcut for making pancakes, waffles, biscuits, muffins, and more. 

When I saw Jocelyn Delk Adams’ 7 Up biscuits recipe, the first thing that struck me was the 7 Up. It’s a Midwestern and Southern specialty to work soda into dishes, like Coca-Cola cake, Dr. Pepper ham, and 7 Up pound cake, but I had never seen soda used in biscuit form. 

Then I noticed it called for a baking mix like Bisquick. I hadn’t had the stuff in years and was happy to have an excuse to buy a box and revisit my childhood. Beyond these two ingredients, all you need are sour cream and butter. I grabbed everything at the store and headed home to give Grandbaby Cakes’ recipe a try.

Get the recipe: 7 Up Biscuits

Start by preheating the oven. Melt butter (I used unsalted but she notes that you can use salted butter if you like a saltier biscuit) and add some of it to a cast iron skillet. I just moved, so my skillet was in the bottom of a box somewhere. To save myself the hassle of searching for it, I used an 8-inch cake pan, but I would recommend using a roughly 9-inch pan or skillet since my biscuits were a bit crowded.

Add Bisquick to a mixing bowl, followed by sour cream and 7 Up. Mix using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a dough forms, adding a little more Bisquick as needed. I ended up using about 2 1/2 cups of baking mix (the dough should be tender but not wet — otherwise you won’t be able to pat out the dough and cut it into rounds).

Sprinkle a clean surface with plenty of flour and dump the dough on top. Pat it out using floured hands, and then used a floured cutter to cut out biscuits and add them on top of the melted butter in the skillet. Pat together any remaining dough scraps to make another biscuit or two and snuggle them in.

The recipe says to bake for 8 to 10 minutes, but mine took 12 minutes. They should be browned, puffed, and feel solid when you tap them with your finger. Brush with more butter and let cool for about five minutes before serving warm.

Get the recipe: 7 Up Biscuits

These 7 Up biscuits are a quick and easy take on the biscuit, and the novelty of adding soda to a biscuit dough is just fun. Using a baking mix saves you a few ingredients when compared to making them from scratch, and because Bisquick has shortening added, it also saves you from having to cut butter or shortening into the dough (a step that many new bakers find tricky).

The 7 Up doesn’t add a strong flavor, so the biscuits are still savory and versatile. They’re fluffy and buttery, but not flaky. If you want flakes and layers, look elsewhere. If you want a pillowy biscuit with a crisp crust and good flavor, then give this recipe a try!

These biscuits are an excellent side dish for every meal, from breakfast to dinner. I have some leftover 7 Up in my fridge, and I’ll be making these again before it goes flat.

1. Don’t skimp on the butter. In the recipe, Jocelyn has you brush butter on the biscuits after baking, but in the video she tops them with butter before and after baking. I opted to do the latter because more butter is always a good thing. Plus, brushing butter on the biscuits before baking helps them to form a lovely brown crust.
2. Have fun with the leftovers. Biscuits are at their best right after they’re made, but the leftovers can be revived and used for some fun dishes. Reheat leftover biscuits in the oven or toaster oven and use them for biscuits and gravy or strawberry shortcake.