Honey Butter Cornmeal Biscuits are tender, flaky drop biscuits made from scratch with buttermilk, cornmeal, and butter. Slathered in sweet whipped honey butter, they’re the perfect quick bread for breakfast or a cozy dinner side.
And let’s talk about the honey butter—rich, slightly sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth good. Slather it on a warm biscuit, and you’ll see why these might just be the best biscuits you’ve ever made.
Jump to:
- A quick look at the recipe
- Why you’ll love this Southern classic
- Ingredient notes and smart swaps
- How to make the best honey butter biscuits
- What to serve with Honey Butter Biscuits
- Fun twists and tasty variations
- Shortcut to supper (time-saving tips)
- Supper and then some (reimagining leftovers)
- Make it ahead (planning and prep tips)
- Storing, freezing, and reheating tips
- Recipe FAQs (Common questions answered)
- Pro tips for foolproof results
- Try this recipe and let me know what you think
- Honey Butter Cornmeal Drop Biscuits Recipe
A quick look at the recipe
- ✅ Ready in: 24 minutes
- 🛒 Ingredients: 7 for the biscuits, 3 for the honey butter
- 🍽️ Yield: 24 biscuits
- 👩🍳 Difficulty: Easy → “No-Fuss Favorite”
- 🧊 Make-Ahead Friendly: No
Why you’ll love this Southern classic
- Fluffy, buttery, and slightly crunchy – The perfect blend of classic biscuits and cornbread.
- No rolling or cutting required – Just scoop and drop onto the baking sheet!
- Pairs with everything – Serve them for breakfast, alongside dinner, or as a snack with honey butter.
Ingredient notes and smart swaps
Below are my ingredient notes (including substitutions) for the main ingredients in this recipe and how you can make it your own. The recipe card below provides a complete list of all ingredients and measurements.
- Flour and cornmeal – The perfect mix of structure and texture. Use stone-ground cornmeal for a heartier bite.
- Cold butter – Key for flaky biscuits! Keep it chilled and cut into small pieces before mixing.
- Buttermilk – Helps create a soft, tender biscuit. No buttermilk? Make a quick substitute by mixing one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with one cup of milk and letting it sit for five minutes.
- Baking powder – Ensure your biscuits rise beautifully.
- Honey butter – Made with butter, honey, and powdered sugar. Swap the honey for maple syrup for a fall twist!
How to make the best honey butter biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare your baking sheet by greasing it, or lining it with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add the dry ingredients, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Then add the cold butter. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer dry ingredients to a medium-sized bowl, add buttermilk, and stir until the mixture just comes together. Do not over-mix or your biscuits will be tough. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more buttermilk, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture appears too runny, add a little more flour, about a tablespoon at a time.
- Spray the inside of a quarter cup measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray and use it to scoop out your biscuits. Drop the biscuits about an inch apart onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
- While the biscuits bake, beat softened butter, honey, and powdered sugar together until smooth and fluffy.
- Serve the cornmeal biscuits hot, and top with the honey butter! Enjoy!
What to serve with Honey Butter Biscuits
- Breakfast: Enjoy with a cup of coffee, or for a heartier breakfast serve with a spinach tomato quiche or broccoli mushroom frittata.
- Dinner: Serve alongside Country Style Steak, Chuck Roast Chili, or Creamy Mushroom Pork Chops.
- Sweet treat: My all-time favorite is to split the biscuits and add whipped cream and sliced strawberries to make a strawberry shortcake.
Fun twists and tasty variations
- Cheesy version – Add a half cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the dough.
- Honey butter swap – Stir a pinch of cayenne or swap out hot honey for regular honey. Or check out this delicious orange butter recipe.
- Maple butter swap – Replace honey with maple syrup for a warm fall flavor.
Shortcut to supper (time-saving tips)
- Make ahead and freeze: Scoop the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet and freeze. Once solid, transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen—just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
- No rolling or cutting needed: These are drop biscuits, so there’s no need to roll out dough or use a biscuit cutter—just scoop and bake!
Supper and then some (reimagining leftovers)
- Breakfast biscuit sandwiches: Slice a biscuit in half and fill it with scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon or sausage for an easy hand-held breakfast on the go.
- Biscuit croutons: Cube leftover biscuits, bake at 350°F until crispy, and use them as croutons on salads or soups.
- Southern-style bread pudding: Crumble leftover biscuits into a baking dish, mix with eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla, then bake for a unique bread pudding.
Make it ahead (planning and prep tips)
- Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and freeze. Place the frozen biscuits in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 2-3 extra minutes to the bake time.
- If you want to prep everything ahead and bake the same day, prep your dry and wet ingredients separately. Store the wet ingredients in the fridge. Before you are ready to bake, you can combine and bake as directed.
- The honey butter can be made several days before you plan to use it and stored in the fridge.
Storing, freezing, and reheating tips
- Storage: Keep biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Wrap baked biscuits individually and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: place on a baking sheet, and warm in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes or split and toast under the broiler.
Recipe FAQs (Common questions answered)
Why did my biscuits turn out dense instead of fluffy?
Dense biscuits are usually caused by overmixing the dough or not keeping the butter cold. Stir the ingredients just until combined—it's okay if the dough looks a little shaggy. Also, make sure you're using very cold butter, as this helps create steam pockets while baking, making the biscuits light and flaky.
What to do if my dough too dry or too wet?
If it is too dry, add one tablespoon of buttermilk at a time. If it is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour.
Can I use self-rising flour?
Yes! Use one and three-fourths cups of self-rising flour and omit the baking powder.
Pro tips for foolproof results
- Keep the butter cold! Cold butter equals flaky biscuits.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter in. Or, you can freeze the butter and grate it in using a box grater.
- The honey butter makes a fabulous hostess gift packaged in a cute jar with a bow.
Drop biscuits should be light and tender, not dense. Make sure you:
- Don’t overmix—stir just until combined.
- Use cold butter—it creates steam pockets for a lighter texture.
- Measure your flour and cornmeal correctly—spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off (don’t pack it in).
Try this recipe and let me know what you think
⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ Did you make this recipe? I’d be thrilled to hear what you thought! Did you add your own twist or have a tip to share? Drop a comment below—I read every one—and don’t forget to leave a star rating. Your feedback not only makes my day but also helps others find and perfect this recipe.
Thanks for stopping by Practical Southern Cooking! Your visit means the world to me. I hope you’ll swing back soon for more Southern-inspired goodness. 💛
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Honey Butter Cornmeal Drop Biscuits Recipe
These honey butter cornmeal biscuits are tender, buttery, and made from scratch with buttermilk! No rolling or cutting needed—just scoop and bake. Perfect for breakfast or as a dinner side!
Ingredients
Cornmeal Biscuits Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter frozen
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
Honey Butter Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Biscuits Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare your baking sheet by greasing it, or lining it with a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add the dry ingredients—flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt—to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Then add the cold butter. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer dry ingredients to a medium-sized bowl, add buttermilk, and stir until the mixture just comes together. Do not over-mix or your biscuits will be tough. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more buttermilk, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture appears too runny, add a little more flour, about a tablespoon at a time.
- Spray the inside of a quarter cup measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray and use it to scoop out your biscuits. Drop the biscuits about an inch apart onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the biscuits for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
Honey Butter Directions:
- While the biscuits are baking, combine the softened butter, honey, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Use an electric mixture and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Serve the biscuits hot, and top with honey butter! Enjoy!
Notes
No buttermilk? No problem! Simply mix 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar with 1.5 cups of whole milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Keep the butter cold! Cold butter = flaky biscuits.
If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter in. Or, you can freeze the butter and grate it in using a box grater.
Drop biscuits should be light and tender, not dense. Make sure you don’t overmix—stir just until combined. Use cold butter—it creates steam pockets for a lighter texture. And measure your flour and cornmeal correctly—spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off (don’t pack it in).
Leftover cornmeal biscuits are delicious the next day. Reheat them on a baking sheet in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.
Store leftover biscuits at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days.
Store the honey butter in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
Reinvent leftovers by splitting and filling them with eggs, cheese, and bacon, smothering them with sausage gravy, or splitting them and layering them with sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberries for a quick dessert
The honey butter also makes a fabulous hostess gift packaged in a cute glass jar with a bow.
Nutrition
Calories: 284kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 357mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 522IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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