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Claire Ptak's butter biscuits

In America, a biscuit is like a savoury scone, rather than a cookie

01 Oct 2019
Chris Tonnesen

The American South is the birthplace of the biscuit and it is usually made with a cultured buttermilk. The acidity makes the biscuits tender and gives them a slight tang, which stands up to the buttery richness. Here again I have used yogurt in place of buttermilk and found that I like it better. I also use a pastry cutter to cut up the butter into the flour, but you could use a food processor or even the backof a fork. Neal’s Yard Dairy makes a delicious plain yogurt, as does Yeo Valley. Makes 15 biscuits.


  • 250g plain flour
  • 250g strong white flour
  • 2tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 3/4tsp baking powder
  • 3/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 250g unsalted butter, cold
  • 340g plain yogurt
  • Sea salt flakes, for the tops


  1. Line a baking tray with paper. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/mark 6.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the flours, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and 2tsp sea salt, whisking the ingredients together well.
  3. Cut 220g of the butter into small, even-size cubes and use a pastry cutter to cut it into the flour mixture until the chunks are the size of peas.
  4. Stir in the yogurt until the mixture just comes together and holds its shape.
  5. Turn the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a square about 2cm thick and fold in half. Pat it out again and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Use a 6cm round biscuit cutter to get as many biscuits as you can. Take any scraps and pat them together before re-rolling it and cutting the remaining biscuits to get about 15. Place them close together on the prepared tray so that they almost touch.
  7. Melt the remaining 30g butter and brush the biscuits with it. Sprinkle on the salt flakes and bake for 15–25 minutes (this will depend on the heat of your oven). They are cooked when they are puffed, golden and springy to the touch.