- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper plus more
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
- Salt-and-Pepper Butter (optional)
- Special equipment: A 2 1/4″-diameter biscuit or cookie cutter
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk sour cream and 3 tablespoonss heavy cream in a small bowl.
- Pulse baking powder, kosher salt, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 2 cups flour in a food processor until combined; add butter and pulse until the texture of coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
- Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using a spoon, mix in sour cream mixture, then gently knead a few times just until a shaggy dough comes together (a light hand is key to tender biscuits, so be careful not to overmix).
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 3/4″ thick. Using cutter, cut out biscuits, rerolling scraps as needed.
- Place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream; sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper. Bake until golden brown on the tops and bottoms, 15–20 minutes. Serve warm with Salt-and-Pepper Butter, if desired.
- DO AHEAD: Dough can be made and cut out 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Biscuits can be baked 2 hours ahead. Reheat before serving, if desired.