As a James Beard Award–winning cookbook author and respected chef, Virginia Willis is a trusted authority on Southern cuisine. Raised in Georgia, she learned to bake biscuits at her grandmother’s side and later trained in French kitchens before returning to the South to write several acclaimed cookbooks, including Secrets of the Southern Table and Bon Appétit, Y’all. Drawing on a lifetime of experience with buttermilk, butter, and classic Southern ingredients like White Lily flour, Willis shares a biscuit recipe rich with practical tips for making soft, tender biscuits every time.
Celebrate National Biscuit Month with a White Lily giveaway: bake these biscuits and share a photo on Instagram for a chance to win a trip for two to Charleston, South Carolina. Follow @thebakefeed and @whitelilybaking, and tag your photo with #thebakefeed, #whitelilyflour, and #contest to enter. Check the Instagram post for entry details.
Get to know Virginia
Born in Georgia and trained in France, Virginia Willis combines classical technique with deep Southern roots. Her culinary adventures have ranged from making chocolate chip cookies with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to foraging berries in Alaska and harvesting capers in Sicily. Still, her cooking began in her grandmother’s country kitchen, where the foundational lessons of flavor and hospitality took hold.
Virginia has authored several notable books, including Secrets of the Southern Table: A Food Lover’s Tour of the Global South, Lighten Up, Y’all, Bon Appétit, Y’all, Basic to Brilliant, Y’all, Okra, and Grits. Lighten Up, Y’all: Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy and Wholesome earned a 2016 James Beard Foundation Award of Excellence. She has served as TV kitchen director for Martha Stewart Living, Bobby Flay, and Nathalie Dupree, worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, and produced food stories from cheese making in California to escargot farming in France. Her television appearances include Food Network’s Chopped, Fox & Friends, and Martha Stewart Living, and she has appeared as a judge on Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
Virginia writes the popular column “Cooking with Virginia” for Southern Kitchen and is editor-at-large for Southern Living. The Chicago Tribune named her one of “Seven Food Writers You Need to Know.” Her approachable style and practical advice have earned her a devoted following.
- 2 cups (250 grams) White Lily All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea salt
- ¼ cup (57 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ¾ to 1 cup (180 to 240 grams) whole buttermilk
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) and lightly spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk and stir just until combined; the dough will be shaggy. (Alternatively, pulse the dry ingredients and butter in a food processor until coarse, then pulse in the buttermilk until just combined.)
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly using the heel of your hand: press the dough away from you, fold it back over itself, turn slightly, and repeat four or five times.
- Roll the dough to 1-inch thickness with a lightly floured rolling pin. Use a 2¼-inch round cutter dipped in flour to cut the biscuits—press straight down without twisting—and place them on the prepared pan. Baking the biscuits close together yields tender sides; spacing them apart creates crisper sides. Reroll scraps only once, layering pieces rather than forming a tight ball to avoid overworking the gluten.
- Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool briefly on a wire rack and serve warm.
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