Inspired by a classic Southern peach cobbler these Peach Biscuits are loaded with fresh peaches and are even better when topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel. A final drizzle of vanilla glaze makes these perfect for breakfast or add ice cream for a decadent dessert!
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When developing this recipe for Peach Biscuits I wanted it to be something iconic, that really meant something to me. My mind instinctively went to my Grandma's famous Peach Cobbler (famous in Noxubee County Mississippi anyway).
I also thought of a friend, and chef mentor, for whom I make a birthday peach cobbler every August. I brought those two dishes together into what I feel was divine inspiration, including an optional streusel topping that is absolutely something to celebrate!
After expanding my biscuit recipes with Strawberry Biscuits and glazed blueberry biscuits, I was excited to see how peaches would mesh with my classic buttermilk biscuits, and this Peach Biscuit with a buttery brown sugar streusel and vanilla glaze is better than I could have ever imagined. Delicious on their own for breakfast, they are equally amazing with vanilla ice cream for dessert!
Ingredients
If you've been following along with my blog, you have your biscuit pantry stocked! The photo below doesn't include the ingredients for the optional egg wash or the optional vanilla glaze, but those are really simple, use common ingredients, and aren't strictly required in the recipe. Grab some peaches and let's get going.
See recipe card below for quantities.
Sip your peaches If you love peaches, you're absolutely going to swoon over my Rosemary Peach Mocktail. Made with homemade peach nectar with a hint of fresh rosemary, and topped off with sparkling water, it's the perfect antidote for whatever ails you!
Substitutions & Variations
- Peaches - You can use nectarines just the same as you would peaches. If it isn't peach or nectarine season, you can use frozen peaches. I give you more info on that in my Frequently Asked Questions section below.
- Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk, feel free to use regular plain yogurt or kefir in this recipe.
- Peach drop biscuits - To make this recipe even easier you can make them drop biscuit style. Simply add additional 4 tablespoons of buttermilk, for a total of 1 cup, to your dry ingredients, and mix until you have a sticky dough. Use a medium scoop, or two spoons to drop portions onto you baking sheet. Egg wash and bake or flatten the top and add streusel before baking.
- Other fruits - I love these sweet peach biscuits, but you can really add any of you favorite fruits. Try other stone fruits like apricots or plums!
More peaches to love If you love peaches as much as I do, try them in my Yogurt Peach Parfait. They have brown sugar peaches, layered with honey vanilla yogurt, and are topped with crunchy homemade granola, for an easy and elegant breakfast treat.
Expert tip
When adding fresh juicy peaches to baked goods, one of the biggest worries is how to keep the fruit from making the finished biscuit soggy. In my time as a professional baker, I found the best way to do that was to chop my fruit and place it between layers of paper towels to allow the excess moisture to wick away.
This has the benefit of not only drying the surface of the fruit, but it pulls extra water out of the fruit, concentrating the flavor while also preventing sogginess! Adding the fruit to the dry ingredients, before incorporating the wet ingredients also has the effect of absorbing any remaining surface moisture and helping keep the fruit suspended in looser batters, like buttermilk muffins or fruit filled bundt cake.
Instructions
Like all of my biscuit recipes, this one utilizes flour, butter, and buttermilk to give you the a sweet, fluffy biscuit. We skip the cut and stack technique I use in other biscuit recipes, like my yogurt biscuits. I found that the moisture from the peaches made this a bit more challenging and the result is fluffy clouds of biscuits hugging nuggets of fresh peaches and I'm here for that!
- As shown in the Expert Tip above, dice your peaches into small pieces, about 1 cup, and place between layers of paper towel to wick away excess moisture. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
Making streusel topping
Step 1: In a medium bowl combine the granulated sugar, flour, salt, and butter. With a fork or your fingers, work in the butter pieces.
Step 2: Continue until the mixture is very crumbly and resembles a coarse meal with larger lumps. Set aside.
Making biscuits
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine your all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, brown sugar, and kosher salt.
Step 2: Toss cold unsalted butter cubes into the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Use a finger snapping motion to mix in the cold butter until you have a mixture of flat pieces and crumbly, pea sized bits of butter mixed into the flour.
Step 4: Add the diced peaches and toss to coat.
Step 5: Add buttermilk to dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula or dough whisk to gently bring the wet and dry together until you have a fairly uniform, soft dough.
Step 6: Dump the biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands and a bench scraper or flat edge, gently fold the dough over onto itself until it all comes together.
Step 7: Use a rolling pin or your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle at least ½ inch thick. Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter, cut out your biscuits. Gather your scraps as you go, gently re-form them together, and cut as many biscuits as you can. You should get 8 to 12 biscuits. Place on your prepared baking sheet.
Step 8: Put the sheet pan of biscuits in the freezer or refrigerator to chill while you preheat the oven to 425°F.
Remove from freezer and brush the tops of the biscuit with a bit more buttermilk, or you can use an egg wash of one egg whisked with one tablespoon of water or milk.
Step 9: Sprinkle the top of each biscuit with 1 tablespoon of streusel, if desired. I did half with streusel and half without.
Step 10: Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Step 11: Optional glaze: While the biscuits are baking, whisk together powdered sugar, milk or heavy cream, and vanilla extract until you get a nice drippy consistency.
Step 12: Allow biscuits to cool for a few minutes then drizzle with your glaze. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!
Can't get enough streusel in your life? Try my Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins, with a ribbon of streusel in the middle and crunchy streusel on top. They're delicious!
Recipe FAQ's
Because of the moisture in the peaches, I would normally recommend making these when ready to serve. If you must make them ahead, I suggest cutting out your biscuits, immediately freezing them, and placing them in a zip top bag until ready to bake, up to 3 months ahead. At that time, just take them out of the freezer while preheating the oven and add a few minutes to your bake time.
Yes you can. Allow your peaches (1 cup diced or 150 grams) to thaw between layers of paper towels to wick away any excess liquid. If your peaches are thawed and the paper towels are soaked, press them between fresh towels to pull away remaining surface moisture.
I wouldn't recommend it. They would get too mushy in the biscuits and make the dough too wet to work with.
Store leftovers in an airtight container or cake stand on the counter for up to 3 days. Freeze, individually wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to one month. Unwrap and allow to thaw at room temperature.
You can, but be mindful that the glaze will melt. If you are making these ahead, or know you will have leftovers, I suggest not glazing them until you serve them. That being said, they are delicious at room temperature.
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-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Peach Biscuits
Ingredients
Streusel
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter chilled and cut into tiny pieces.
Biscuits
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter very cold and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (150 g) peaches diced into small pieces (from 1 to 2 peaches)
- ¾ cup (180 g) buttermilk
- 1 large egg Optional: whisked with 1 tablespoon water or milk for egg wash
Optional vanilla glaze
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
Instructions
Make streusel
- In a medium bowl combine the granulated sugar, flour, salt, and butter. With a fork or your fingers, work in the butter pieces. Continue until the mixture is very crumbly and resembles a coarse meal with larger lumps.
Make biscuits
- Dice your peaches and lay the pieces in a single layer on a piece of paper towel. Cover with another paper towel and gently press. Let sit while you continue with the next steps. This will pull out excess surface moisture from the berries.
- In a large bowl, combine your all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, brown sugar, and kosher salt.
- Toss cold unsalted butter cubes into the dry ingredients. Use a finger snapping motion to mix in the cold butter until you have a mixture of flat pieces and crumbly, pea sized bits of butter mixed into the flour.
- Add the diced peaches and toss to coat.
- Add buttermilk to dry ingredients and use a spatula or dough whisk to gently bring the wet and dry together until you have a fairly uniform, soft dough.
- Dump the biscuit dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands and a bench scraper or flat edge, gently fold the dough over onto itself until it all comes together.
- Use a rolling pin or your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle at least ½ inch thick. Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter, cut out your biscuits.
- Gather your scraps as you go, gently re-form them together, and cut as many biscuits as you can. You should get 8 to 12 biscuits. Place on your prepared baking sheet.
- Place your biscuits on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Put the sheet pan of biscuits in the freezer or refrigerator to chill while you preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Remove biscuits from the freezer and brush the tops of the biscuits with more buttermilk, or use an egg wash of one egg whisked with one tablespoon of water or milk.
- Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with 1 tablespoon of streusel, if desired. Bake in a 425° oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Optional Glaze
- While the biscuits are baking, whisk together powdered sugar, milk or heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Allow biscuits to cool for a few minutes then drizzle with your glaze. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Amber says
Haha! I plan on trying it this weekend. I will let you know what works out best!
Cynthia Christensen says
Can’t wait!