I discovered Mark Bittman’s recipe for Yogurt/Buttermilk Biscuits one winter day when the larder was low and I was making do with what I had to avoid going to the store. The kids had been outside playing in the snow, and when they came in we polished off an entire pan of these biscuits with butter, honey, and cups of hot cocoa. In altering the recipe I’ve added whole-wheat flour and lessened the butter a bit.

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the entire mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
3. With a large spoon, stir the yogurt into the dry ingredients, just until the mixture comes together. If some of the dry ingredients are still loose at the bottom of the bowl, stir in an additional spoonful of yogurt, then with your hands press all the dough together into a shaggy ball.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times, until the dough is holding together. (Don’t worry if it’s a little sticky.) On the floured surface, press dough into a ¾-inch-thick rectangle and cut into biscuits with a round glass or biscuit cutter dipped into flour.
5. Place the biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet. Reshape the leftover dough, being careful not to overwork it, and cut out more biscuits.
6. Place the baking sheet on top of an identical baking sheet (a double pan lowers the chance of overbaking the bottoms of the biscuits) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the biscuits are golden-brown. These biscuits are best served warm.