No Biscuit Cutter? Here's Why You Should Actually Stay Away From The Mason Jar Hack

Whether you're making easy two-ingredient biscuits or a Southern-style version with leftover bacon grease, one thing is for sure: you want to make sure to get the perfect rise so that you wind up with the light and fluffy biscuit you're looking for. One component of achieving that biscuit bliss is cutting the dough correctly, and if you've been tempted to use a mason jar to shape your biscuits, you may want to think again. Cynthia Christensen, recipe developer and Biscuit Queen told Food Republic exactly why the hack isn't the path to the best biscuit.

"When not using a sharp metal biscuit cutter, the best tool to use is a sharp chef knife," she said. "Some people will tell you to use a drinking glass or a Mason jar, but the rounded edge will not cut the biscuit cleanly and ... will compress your edges[,] resulting in a more dense biscuit that doesn't rise as tall."

Even if you do use a biscuit cutter, you'll want to be mindful of not making a mistake that will cause the same problem — twisting the biscuit cutter. If you twist it, instead of just pushing straight down into the dough, you'll also press the edges down and wind up with a biscuit that's shorter and more compact.

When it comes to biscuits, a round shape is fairly ubiquitous, but there are some advantages to opting for angles when you're making them. The first, and most obvious, is that you needn't worry about having a biscuit cutter at all, or be concerned that it has gone dull (which can create the same issue as the Mason jar). Plus, it takes less time to simply grab a knife and slice than to use a circular cutter. Using the latter necessitates cutting through the dough at least twice, since you have to gather up the leftover dough pieces from the first time around. Plus, all of that work means your dough has the opportunity to warm up, deflating your chances for biscuit success.

The only caveat when it comes to choosing square over round biscuits is that, since they are apt to rise more, they may wind up tilting slightly. "Square biscuits ... rise more 'straight' then round biscuits, but the more layers you have in your biscuit[,] the more likely they are to lean a little bit one way or the other," Cynthia Christensen said.

If you do happen to have a biscuit cutter, there's no need to relegate it to the back of the kitchen drawer, though. You can easily repurpose it to make flawlessly round cookies with crispy edges. Or, whip it out for breakfast or brunch to make the perfect hash brown base for eggs Benedict.