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!Â
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.
More breakfast recipes to enjoy:
For all breakfast recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Have a great day!
Barb says
I am going to try these biscuits, but would like to know if I can make them ahead of time and keep in the frig. until dinner time. Thanks Barb
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yep! That should be fine Barb!
Di says
Made these tonite….They are SOOOOO fabulous! Soft and light and buttery, the flavor is divine! They are a huge hit with the family. I do have to admit that I was too lazy to roll them out, and simply blobbed them out on the baking sheet…Even with that they came out great. THIS is the only biscuit recipe I will EVER need. I can’t wait to try it with your sausage gravy. Oh, and I know what you mean about snitching nibbles of the raw dough….It is THAT good!
Terri Hunt says
Very easy recipes. Common pantry ingredients. Love the taste. Will definitely makes these again. Thanks for posting.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Terri!! Thank you so much for stopping by!
C. Roy says
I’ve been looking for a good recipe for both sausage gravy & biscuits – I’m so glad I found your recipes. I can’t wait to try them!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
They are both really yummy and easy too – enjoy!
Allie|Baking a Moment says
Made these for my hubs this morning & they were by far the BEST biscuits I’ve ever made OR tasted! We happened to have buttermilk in the fridge, so I used that instead of milk. They baked up soooo fluffy & tender! Great buttery flavor, too. I’d never seen biscuits made with egg or cream of Tartar, so maybe that’s the secret??? I can say that I’ll probably never mess around with another biscuit recipe again though, this one is IT!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so sweet Allie – thank you! This has been my go-to biscuit recipe for years and it hasn’t failed me yet 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Candace says
I have been wanting to learn how to make good biscuits. I just made these with my kiddos and they turned out great! Thank you! I am planning to post these on my blog, theprekplanner.blogspot.com
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Glad you enjoyed the biscuits Candace! Have a great weekend!
Stephanie says
Yummy! I just whipped these up to go along with meatloaf leftovers. Everyone loved them. They were quick, easy, light and fluffy. The best comment was “THIS is why I don’t like Grands biscuits!” I put the butter in the freezer after I cut it up so that it was extra cold once I got the dry ingredients mixed up. I stirred my egg and milk together. I used salted butter and skim milk. This one is pinned on my go to recipes.
Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! They’re super easy right? The super cold butter is definitely the trick 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed the recipe!
GinnyT says
I just made these tonight for dinner…nothing beats good ole biscuits and sausage gravy for dinner. The biscuits were YUMMY! Thank you for sharing. Found this recipe through Pinterest.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I am so glad you found me Ginny and even happier that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by!
Theresa says
In ALL of my years cooking (or attempting to cook! lol!) I have NEVER been able to get biscuits to come out…..until today!! Your recipe was easy to follow, basic ingredients and they actually rose!! Yeah!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s so awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sharon says
I just saw your site via Pinterest, and cannot wait to make these. I knew a sweet, elderly lady that would make homemade biscuits and homemade syrup, then she would turn the biscuit on it’s side, take a butter knife and “drill” a hole halfway through the biscuit and then pour the syrup into the hole. They were out of this world!
I definitely want to try this recipe but use buttermilk.
Thanks for posting this.
Jessi @ Practically Functional says
Mmmm, biscuits and white gravy! These look great, thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!
Anonymous says
can u make these without the sugar
Trish says
Sure – it will just affect the flavor slightly.
momphotographer says
they look so good!
Joanne says
I am going to try these, my friend Becky makes her special biscuit recipe and when she cuts them out she uses a heart shape. Made from the heart!
Anonymous says
To duplicate buttermilk just put a little vinegar in regular milk and after a bit of time it will curdle up and be very similar to buttermilk. At least good enough for a recipe. I wouldn’t drink it though!
Trish says
Yep! You can use vinegar or lemon juice – and no, I wouldn’t drink it 😉