For tips on perfecting classic chicken and dumplings, I called my mom, who ended up giving me my grandma’s recipe. It’s as hand-me-down as it comes: One spoonful instantly made me think of my childhood. This easy comfort food recipe is perfect on a cold night, and simple enough to whip up when you don’t feel like making anything. If you’re looking to perfect this Southern staple, keep reading on down below for all of our top tips on how to make it the best it can be:

How to make the best dumplings:
It’s no secret: Dumplings are the star of this classic comfort food. We perfect the soft and pillowy dumplings with a mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, an egg, buttermilk, and melted butter. On our first test, we discovered that we needed to up the baking powder to create our ideal puffy, springy dumplings, which is what we did here.

The soup:
While some chicken and dumplings recipes only use a simple chicken soup in their recipe, we decided to give ours the treatment it deserves. We use chicken breasts and chicken thighs in this recipe, which we think is worthwhile, but feel free to use one or the other if you prefer. We add some body to our soup by incorporating some heavy cream—we truly think it makes a difference in creating a thick and savory stew.

Storage:
If you have any leftover soup, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for around 3 months. The dumplings are best enjoyed fresh, but if you have any leftovers, store them separately in the refrigerator for 3 days, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Have you made this yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!