Pastry chef Stella Parks spent several years writing for seriouseats.com, where she gained a huge following. Her book, "BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts," won a James Beard award (2018). It's become the go-to volume for home bakers. Her exceptionally flaky buttermilk biscuits, baked in a cast-iron skillet, are unparalleled. To blend the cubes of butter into the flour, you smash the butter with your fingers until it forms little sheets, then add enough buttermilk to form a sticky ball. The dough is not rolled, but rather patted out, folded three times, and stamped into rounds. Pack them very tightly in the pan and bake them in the lower third of the oven, so the bottoms turn golden and firm, and the biscuits, which rise and touch each other, have tender sides. Seven biscuits will fit nicely in an 8-inch skillet, which gives you two more to make in another pan, or stamp out minis; for the small ones, cut the baking time by 10 minutes. If your cast-iron skillet has been scrubbed too much (never scrub it!) and you're worried about sticking, cut a circle of parchment paper and set it in the bottom before adding biscuits. Serve them warm with butter and jam or marmalade, or cool, split, and make shortcakes with strawberries and cream. The biscuits take very little time and are no fuss from start to finish. Mom will be thrilled.

1. Slide an oven rack into the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 2 1/2-inch plain round cutter and an 8-inch cast-iron skillet.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and toss the pieces in the flour, using your fingers to smash each piece into a thin sheet. Continue until the butter has mostly disappeared into the flour mixture, leaving a few larger pea-size pieces.

3. With a rubber spatula, stir in the buttermilk. Stop as soon as the dough comes together in a sticky ball. If there are dry pieces in the bottom of the bowl, add more buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and sprinkle more flour on top. Pat gently into a 6-inch square. Fold in half. Repeat the patting and folding twice more for a total of 3 folds.

5. Pat the dough into a square about 3/4-inch thick. Dip the cutter into flour and stamp out rounds -- stamp straight down without twisting the cutter so the biscuits will rise straight up -- and arrange the 7 rounds very tightly in the ungreased skillet. Gather the scraps, pat them out, fold once more, pat to 3/4-inch thickness, and cut more biscuits. You'll get 2 more large rounds, or cut minis; bake either separately in a cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake the biscuits for 35 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the top and the sides. Serve warm with butter and jam. Or leave to cool and split to make shortcakes with strawberries and cream.

Sheryl Julian. Adapted from "BraveTart"

Pastry chef Stella Parks spent several years writing for seriouseats.com, where she gained a huge following. Her book, "BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts," won a James Beard award (2018). It's become the go-to volume for home bakers. Her exceptionally flaky buttermilk biscuits, baked in a cast-iron skillet, are unparalleled. To blend the cubes of butter into the flour, you smash the butter with your fingers until it forms little sheets, then add enough buttermilk to form a sticky ball. The dough is not rolled, but rather patted out, folded three times, and stamped into rounds. Pack them very tightly in the pan and bake them in the lower third of the oven, so the bottoms turn golden and firm, and the biscuits, which rise and touch each other, have tender sides. Seven biscuits will fit nicely in an 8-inch skillet, which gives you two more to make in another pan, or stamp out minis; for the small ones, cut the baking time by 10 minutes. If your cast-iron skillet has been scrubbed too much (never scrub it!) and you're worried about sticking, cut a circle of parchment paper and set it in the bottom before adding biscuits. Serve them warm with butter and jam or marmalade, or cool, split, and make shortcakes with strawberries and cream. The biscuits take very little time and are no fuss from start to finish. Mom will be thrilled.

2cups flour1tablespoon baking powder2teaspoons sugar1teaspoon kosher salt6tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes¾cup cold buttermilk, or more if needed Extra flour (for sprinkling)

1. Slide an oven rack into the lower third of the oven. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 2 1/2-inch plain round cutter and an 8-inch cast-iron skillet.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and toss the pieces in the flour, using your fingers to smash each piece into a thin sheet. Continue until the butter has mostly disappeared into the flour mixture, leaving a few larger pea-size pieces.

3. With a rubber spatula, stir in the buttermilk. Stop as soon as the dough comes together in a sticky ball. If there are dry pieces in the bottom of the bowl, add more buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and sprinkle more flour on top. Pat gently into a 6-inch square. Fold in half. Repeat the patting and folding twice more for a total of 3 folds.

5. Pat the dough into a square about 3/4-inch thick. Dip the cutter into flour and stamp out rounds -- stamp straight down without twisting the cutter so the biscuits will rise straight up -- and arrange the 7 rounds very tightly in the ungreased skillet. Gather the scraps, pat them out, fold once more, pat to 3/4-inch thickness, and cut more biscuits. You'll get 2 more large rounds, or cut minis; bake either separately in a cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake the biscuits for 35 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the top and the sides. Serve warm with butter and jam. Or leave to cool and split to make shortcakes with strawberries and cream.Sheryl Julian. Adapted from "BraveTart"

Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sheryljulian.

Work at Boston Globe Media