Growing up, weekends meant biscuits. My grandmother’s go-to biscuit-cutting method was to use a drinking glass to get perfect circles. Because her biscuits were light and impossibly fluffy, I had no reason to doubt this method.
Baking Tips
Want Taller Biscuits? Use a Biscuit Cutter
This small tool makes a world of difference.
By Published Nov. 3, 2023.
But it turns out, while that drinking glass did make perfectly shaped biscuits, they weren’t doing her any favors in the height department.
For biscuits with plenty of rise, she should have reached for a biscuit cutter instead.
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During their testing for new kitchen handbook Kitchen Gear, the ATK Reviews team rounded up all the tools home cooks commonly use to cut biscuits. The list included everything from old aluminum cans to overturned glasses (Gram’s go-to!), and even Mason jar rings.
However, as interesting (and easy) as it may seem to cut your dough with whatever you can find, using a makeshift cutter with rounded edges can compress the sides of the dough, leading to misshapen biscuits.
A biscuit cut with a drinking glass (left) vs. a biscuit cut with a biscuit cutter (right).
For these reasons, we highly recommend you use actual biscuit cutters, round cutting tools with sharp edges that make even cuts and thus produce tall, symmetrical biscuits.
And, if you’re adding ingredients such as cheese and potato flakes that would otherwise weigh down a delicate dough, you need the height. Note: A biscuit cutter will not affect the flavor of your biscuits, only the structure.
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What to Look for in a Biscuit Cutter
Not all biscuit cutters are created equal, so the reviews team put together key aspects to keep in mind.
- DO look for a sturdy design; flimsy and malleable cutters make misshapen biscuits.
- DO ensure the edges are sharp to cut cleanly.
- DON’T buy ones with handles as they limit your range of motion when cutting the dough. (The rounded edge of a one-sided, good cutter will protect your hands.)
- DON’T buy a double-sided cutter; the sharp edges will push painfully into your fingers as you use it.
The Best Biscuit Cutters
Do biscuit cutters really matter?Other Uses for Biscuit Cutters
On the fence about investing in a specialty tool when you don’t plan on baking often? Hannah Crowley, executive editor for the Reviews team, says, “Biscuit cutters are useful for more than biscuits. I use mine in a million different ways”:
- As round cookie cutters
- For cutting vents or creative dough designs in pie dough
- To shape dough for crackers
- To cut Empanada Dough
- For supple Shu Mai