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:
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For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Have a great day!
Rachel says
I made these tonight for my family. They definitely had a fluffy, flaky texture. But they were a bit scone-like rather than biscuit…..maybe just a bit more sugar than I am used to in a buscuit? But the method and texture were awesome and my kids gobbled them up. I would definitely make them again, probably cut way back on the sugar and see if that gets the flavour I’m used to in a biscuit. Thanks for posting this recipe, we really enjoyed them, just wanted to give my full honest feedback ?
Stacie says
I made these for breakfast this morning. They are amazing! Fluffy, buttery and golden crust on the bottom.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you Stacie! They are a weekend staple around here 🙂
Debi says
I just made these this morning. and I must say they taste so much better than the drop biscuits that I’ve been making. This will be my go to biscuits every time.
Thank you Trish
Carol says
Made these today for Thanksgiving, they were delicious! Very quick and simple recipe. Will make again!
Dee says
Can you freeze the biscuits instead of baking them right away?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I haven’t tried that Dee but would LOVE to know if you give it a try and it works out 🙂
Jana says
I made these 2x and they didn’t rise either time. I got the butter REALLY cold…I sat it in the freezer for a little while. I didn’t have a pastrong cutter so I used 2 knites/folks to cut in butter. And my oven for fully heated to 450 degrees. Any idea what I did wrong?? They taste amazing but really want those beautiful fluffy biscuits. Help!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Sounds like you might need new baking powder. The butter has nothing to do with the rising – it’s for flavor and flakiness 🙂
Louann says
THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!!!! I am a stay at home mom and have been trying out new things to prep easier and this recipe definitely has help in the chaotic mornings for everyone! I have used it 2x already and have made multiple batches at a time so far. I have even frozen them on a sheet pan and then placed in baggies in the freezer. When I cooked them straight from the freezer, they were still just as good! Thank you again!!
Kathie says
This is a very old page so you may never see this. You can make your own buttermilk with just milk and white vinegar. 1 Tbl. vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Stir and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Longer doesn’t hurt.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yep – that works every time!
Amber says
These biscuits taste great! They would be even better if you remeber ALL the ingredients…like baking powder? Buuut…since that’s the sort of day I’m having I will just laugh at myself and try again some other time.
Mireille says
Thank you so much for this Biscuit Recipe. I haven’t made biscuits yet but will. What I did use the biscuit dough for was cinnamon rolls. My husband loves his cinnamon rolls made with biscuit dough. I was looking for a better recipe for biscuit dough and thought I’d give yours a try and I’m so happy I did. I will be using this recipe from now on. Thanks again! 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Wonderful! We love this recipe SO much!
Cathy says
Can these be frozen and baked later?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You know I’ve never tried that Cathy but I don’t see why not. Can you let me know if you give it a try? Thank you!
Lavonne says
Do you have the cheese biscuit recipe like the red lobster one that you posted?
Lauren says
I’ve never made homemade biscuits so off to Pinterest I went! Luckily I found your recipes pinned and decided to give it a go. They turned out PERFECT! I added some Monterey Jack and cheddar to mine to copy a biscuit we’ve had before with chicken stew. Definitely will be my go to recipe for biscuits! Thanks for sharing!
Angelica Morgan says
Made these this morning because I thought they were a different recipe that I’d used before, well Im glad for the mix up because these are delicious. A definite keeper!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome Angelica! This is my favorite biscuit recipe!
Regina says
I made a different biscuit recipe today and fully regretted it. These were super moist and delish. Thanks for sharing.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s happened to me too Regina 😉 So glad you like this recipe!