These tender fluffy masa harina biscuits are everything! They’re kind of a cross between a classic biscuit and a corn muffin, and the perfect accompaniment to chilis, soups, and stews of all sorts.
masa harina biscuits are uniquely delicious
I originally formulated this recipe back in 2012 to go with my chicken chile verde, and I’ve been enjoying them ever since. The flavor and texture is out of this world, and unlike any other biscuit I make. What makes them so appealing? It’s all about the masa harina, and it starts with the fragrance that hits you when you open up the oven, it’s that unmistakeable tamale/tortilla aroma. The biscuits have a soft plush texture that melts in your mouth and a beautiful pale golden yellow color. If you love all things corn, these are a must try.
what is masa harina?
Masa harina is a very fine corn flour that’s used to make masa for tortillas or the filling for tamales. It has a wonderful fragrant corn flavor, and bakes up with a fabulous tender texture. Masa harina is made from dried corn that’s been soaked in calcium hydroxide, and then finely ground. Â It is not the same thing as corn meal. Look for it in the flour and grains section of your supermarket. You may also find it in the international section. (Bob’s Red Mill sells it as well.)
In addition to making amazing biscuits, I also use masa harina to thicken my chiles ~ it adds wonderful body to the chile, and lovely flavor, too. I just stir a couple of tablespoons at the end of cooking.
the 3 secrets to great biscuits
- Use cold butter and buttermilk.
- Don’t over work the dough. Pat it together, and then gently roll or pat out to the desired thickness.
- Make SURE your oven is at temperature before you bake.
masa harina biscuits faqs
Yes, you can freeze them after they’ve cooled completely. Put them in a freezer safe container or a heavy duty zip lock freezer bag. You can freeze the uncooked biscuits, too. Thaw frozen uncooked biscuits in the fridge overnight, before baking.
Yes, and while you won’t get the same flavor or texture, they will be delicious. You can use yellow or white cornmeal.
I like to cover them with foil and reheat in a 300F oven until warm to the touch, about 15 minutes or so.
The obvious answer is chili, and I mean every type of chili from a creamy white turkey chili, to a classic red chili, a Hatch pepper chili, or a zippy chile verde. But don’t stop at chilis, these biscuits are at home with all sorts of comfort foods like pot roast and soups.
more biscuit recipes
- 3 ingredient biscuits that will change your life
- Apple, Cheddar and Sage Biscuits
- Peanut Butter Biscuits from Princess Pamela’s Soul Food Cookbook
- Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits
- Down Home Sweet Potato Biscuits with Country Gravy
Masa Harina Biscuits
Equipment
- 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cold cultured buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup masa harina
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 12 Tbsp cold salted butter, cut in pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Mix the buttermilk and honey and set aside.
- Put the dry ingredients (flour, masa harina, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add the cold butter, in pieces, to the machine.
- Pulse in the cold butter, about 25 pulses, to combine and create a coarse crumbly mixture.
- Slowly add in the buttermilk, while pulsing, until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring the dough together, adding a little flour if it's too wet and to prevent sticking.
- Pat or roll to about 1 inch thick and cut into biscuits. I used a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter. You'll get about 10+ biscuits. Note: it helps to flour the edges of the biscuit cutter between cuts to prevent sticking.
- Place them on parchment paper or a Silpat liner and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. They don't get brown, so don't overcook waiting for them to take on color.
- Serve hot out of the oven (my preference!) with butter or honey.
Nutrition
I made a vegan tweak to this, instead of buttermilk, I used a cultured cashew cream I make, and put in muffin tray. I cooked for about 18 minutes and they are delicious
Yum!!
Boy, these sure are tasty. They do brown up a bit (exactly 15min) so that’s good too. They are a bit on the dry side eaten by themselves so it does help to have the liquid (soup, stew) to cleanse the palate. But still excellent! Wish I could add a pic they look so perfect. Made 1/2 batch BUT made 8 biscuits just cutting in squares (no having to re-mix the dough this way).
@Sue Moran I think the red masa worked ok. Full disclosure: I am not the best biscuit maker LOL. And to all readers: use salted butter!!
I’m going to track down some red masa!
Question: can you sub red masa harina?
Yes, that will work fine. I haven’t made these with red masa harina, so let me know how they turn out for you!
I added 2 T. of finely chopped fresh rosemary and they were delicious! I love the texture the masa harina gives them. I served them (used 1.5″ round cutter) at my book club with soft butter as our book was about a cooking school where masa harina was introduced as an ingredient. The ladies really enjoyed them.
Made a half batch last night. Really enjoyed them!
Thanks Laura, so glad you loved them!
These came out great! I substituted 2 Tbs. Of sugar for the honey. Also grated one stick of butter into my flour mixture and tossed it well before combining everything. Served with a chorizo gravy. They were spectacular!
Sounds wonderful!
I had a biscuit epiphany. Mixing in the food processor is genius. The smell and taste is rich with the corn essence of the masa harina. The texture is perfect. Thank you for this exceptional recipe
So glad you loved it Pat, the aroma of masa harina is so enticing!