The BEST Homemade Biscuit recipe you’ll ever try! These easy, homemade biscuits are soft, flaky, made completely from scratch and can be on your table in about 15 minutes! A weekend staple in our house! Love all things breakfast? Me too! Make sure to give my amazing Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes and Lemon Blueberry Scones a try!
Almost every weekend I whip up a batch of these easy homemade biscuits. It’s by far my favorite biscuit recipe and since it’s so easy, we make them all the time.
There is nothing quite like a warm, buttery, flaky biscuit straight from the oven that you can slather with butter and jelly, make into a biscuit breakfast sandwich, or enjoy with sausage gravy. I used to buy the mixes (and I’m sure I will pick up a box in the future again) but with a biscuit recipe this easy, it’s just as easy to make biscuits from scratch.
This easy biscuit recipe has never failed me and after much tweaking it is my go-to biscuit recipe. The biscuits rise up nice and fluffy and the copious amounts of butter ensure a tender, delicious biscuit each and every time.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Homemade Biscuits
Not a whole lot! And I’m pretty sure you have most, if not all, of these on hand in your pantry. The one ingredient you may see in this list that could be a little unfamiliar is the cream of tartar. I use it in my Snickerdoodles recipe and love it in biscuits but if you don’t have it on hand, please, don’t let that stop you from making this biscuit recipe. Go ahead and omit it from the recipe.
You’ll notice this list is very similar to the ingredients used in my scones recipe. My scones call for heavy cream instead of whole milk and a more substantial amount of sugar.
I should also note that my brother makes these biscuits every weekend and doesn’t use the egg, like, EVER. In fact, neither does my little sister. If you want to leave it out, go ahead.
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- salt
- baking powder
- cream of tartar
- COLD butter
- egg
- milk
Tips for Making Biscuits
- The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. You want to handle the dough as little as possible because we want that butter to stay cold.
- I use two methods tor incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.
- One is to cut the butter into small pieces, refrigerate or freeze until ready to use, and then use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the mixture when ready.
- The second is grating frozen butter with a box grater and then stirring it into the flour mixture.
- Both work great so use the method you prefer. Don’t go too crazy here – you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough.
- To keep the butter from melting at all, use a cold egg and cold milk as well.
- The dough is going to be sticky so you want to generously flour the surface before turning your dough out onto it. I also sprinkle some flour on top before working with the dough.
- You can either use your hands to pat the dough out, or, if you prefer, use a rolling pin to very gently roll the dough out. I always just use my hands because at this point, they’re already a mess. If the dough is sticky, just sprinkle on additional flour, about a tablespoon at a time.
Can I Use Buttermilk in this Biscuit Recipe?
Yes, you absolutely can and we frequently do. Since buttermilk is thicker than regular milk, you will need slightly more to get the dough to the right consistency. Start with one and one-quarter cup and add more as needed.
To get a nice, tall biscuit, I like to pat the dough out to 3/4 to 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter. I ended up with nine this time but depending on who is snacking on biscuit dough, I can get up to 12 biscuits.
Baking the biscuits is super quick – just about 10 minutes is all you need. I like to bake my biscuits on parchment paper but if you don’t have that on hand, lightly grease your baking sheet.
For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter…
And serve with jams and jellies for a serious treat.
What You’ll Need to Make Biscuits
- A baking sheet that can handle the size of the scones.
- Biscuit cutter so you get nice evenly sized biscuits.
- Parchment paper makes removal of these biscuits painless and ensures they come off in one piece.
- A pastry cutter makes quick work of cutting the butter into the flour. Two knives or forks will also work or you can use a box grater.
- A pastry brush to brush on melted butter when the biscuits are hot from the oven.
More favorite breakfast recipes:
- The BEST Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
- Ham and Cheese Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
- Baked Cherry Cheesecake French Toast
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
How To Make Biscuits
Perfect Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 3/4 cup COLD butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- The secret to excellent biscuits is COLD BUTTER. Really cold. Many times the biscuit dough gets worked so much that the butter softens before the biscuits even go in the oven. Try cutting the butter into small pieces and stick back in the fridge pulling out only when ready to incorporate into the dough.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into flour mixture. Don't go too crazy here - you want to see small, pea-sized pieces of butter throughout the dough.
- Add in the milk and egg and mix just until the ingredients are combined. The dough will be sticky but don't keep working it. You should be able to see the butter pieces in the dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on to the top of dough so it won't stick to your fingers and knead 10-15 times. If the dough is super sticky just sprinkle on some additional flour.
- Pat the dough out to 3/4 - 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass. I ended up with nine this time but depending on who is snacking on biscuit dough, I can get up to 12 biscuits.
- Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter...
Video
Nutrition
Recipe originally published May 22, 2012.
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Have a great day!
Lara K Hall says
I am a cornbread expert, but I’ve never quite been able to master the biscuits. This recipe made it so easy! The only thing I changed was cooking them in a cast iron skillet. But they still were light and fluffy (just with crunchy, buttery bottoms) and I still can’t get over how much they rose! This page is bookmarked and will be my go-to for biscuits forever. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and the easy-to-follow instructions!
Marc St-Pierre says
Hi! I always loved biscuits but only had them at restaurants as I couldn’t find a good recipe. I tried this one today and this is the best biscuits I have ever made! They were perfect, moist, light brown top, perfect! This will be our new family biscuits recipe from now on, thank you,
Wendy says
I have tried several biscuit recipes only to have them fail. I tried your recipe this morning and they were perfect. This will be my go to receipe from now on. Thank you 😊
Judy Rushton-Ross says
I am a baker, been a breadmaker for years. I just could not make a decent biscuit. I read the recipe, I watched the video and then used the grater to grate the ice cold butter….I think I put them too close together and made them too small. I will try again but unfortunately I seem to be the only one who messed this “never fail” recipe up… lol….par for the course. I will definitely try again and use the lesson I learned from my failed garbage bin biscuits! My mother always made the best biscuits and I just never quite got the hang of it so I stopped making them. I will try again…onward and upward!!!
Catherine S - Weatherford Tx says
Searched and came across this recipe this morning when hubby said he wanted biscuits. I cut in half and used a small egg. I put dough on parchment paper (should have put a little flour first), then dusted top with flour, placed another sheet of parchment paper and patted down with my hand… then used knife to cut into squares… rolled the little pieces into two more biscuits for a total of 8!
I could have used a bit more salt, and may try that next time. This recipe definitely a keeper! My husband wants me to try adding garlic, cheese and jalepeno in the future.
I was able to reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds and still yummy! Thank you for sharing this treasure!
Mike W says
Best of several biscuit recipes tried. Is now my “go-to.” How would/have you adjust the baking time when making a double batch? Thanks so much for sharing. Keep up the great work. Mike W
Patty Cupples says
This recipe is great, flaky but not crumbly, finished quality of texture and taste is restaurant quality. I did use buttermilk instead of milk and half the sugar. Thanks for a great recipe. Wish I could share a picture they are beautiful biscuits.
Noreen Dimeo says
I made these for the first time, m,y 5 grandaughters really enjoyed them, these will be my go-to biscuits from now on. I didn’t have cream of tarter but subbed fresh lemon juice and they were beautiful!!
Neely says
Made these tonight to go with vegetarian sausage gravy and the recipe is a keeper! Tried as written this time (except for cutting circles out – just sliced pieces off and slapped them into roundish blobs) and loved it. The sugar is the right amount to straddle the line of sweet-savory versatility. Since the egg isn’t necessary, I’ll be giving this a vegan try sometime with baking-reliable margarine (Earth Balance) and nondairy milk.
Jacqueline B says
A KEEPER ✨✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had to substitute cream of tartar and I think if I had it in stock, these would be supreme to any biscuit out there. For people who aren’t familiar with baking, please make sure you follow the recipe to a T. Watch the video to if you aren’t familiar with how to bake. Don’t over work the dough and don’t seal your biscuit when you use the cutter. A must try for sure! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Now, back to eating my hot biscuit! ♥️
Trina says
I tried another recipe this morning and they were awful. I was determined to find a good biscuit and I am so glad I came across yours. They are amazing and visually appealing as well. So easy and delicious.
Luci says
I made these biscuits last night as breakfast for dinner for my family and used the leftover dough for breakfast this morning. First off, this is probably my favorite biscuit recipe so far. the dough came together easily and baked up nicely. A good crisp on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside.
When rolled thinner, the biscuit takes a nice crunchy texture which makes a very nice kind of sandwich bread for breakfast sandwiches. When cut thicker it’s perfect for gravies or butter and honey or jam.
The only thing I did differently in this recipe was that I used my homemade butter milk because that is what I had on hand. I’ll likely continue to do that, as it added a lot of flavor to the biscuits.
I will definitely continue to use this recipe. Thank you for sharing this!
Lalo says
These are my new favorite biscuit recipe. They’re sooooo good !
Cathy says
Super yummy and easy! Thank you!
Kendall says
Has anyone tried baking an hour or so before and then broiling just before serving? Trying to coordinate holiday baking & oven usage.