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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Have a great day!
Nick says
Hi Trish,
This is a great recipe. I’ve been working on my biscuit game and think I’m going to try the cheese grater tip to see if things get better!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
It is a GREAT tip and works so well! My sister actually does this when she makes biscuits. Have a great weekend Nick!
Cynthia says
Easy breakfast favorite. Made them for my daughter before she went back to college. I actually didn’t have whole milk, so I mixed some 1/2 and 1/2 with my skim milk. It worked. Also…I sifted the flour first. I don’t know if it helped, but it’s the way my mom made them. Quick question. Would you ever use self-rising flour? If so, what would you change the baking powder and salt?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks Cynthia! Sifting the flour is always a great idea but usually people don’t have the time, that would be me lol! I’m too lazy. So yes, self-rising flour could be used. The baking powder would be reduced some but the salt I think would stay the same.
California Red says
Just made these, in my food processor and with 1% milk – meaning that I only mostly followed the recipe and they turned out GREAT! I love biscuits, but as a So Cal gal I did not grow up making them, and have not been successful -ever. These are so yummy and perfectly biscuit-y. Don’t forget to brush with butter, which I did, so they aren’t as pretty but still delicious! Thank you!
sahar says
Hi, can I don’t use the cream of tartar? can I replace it with something else?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can just leave it out Sahar – no problem!
Erin says
Biscuits are my favorite thing ever! These are so flaky and perfect!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Right?? Mine too! Thanks Erin!
Ben Rayl says
These really are the perfect biscuits!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
They really are amazing Ben! I hope you give them a try!
Connie says
Great recipe! I’ve made it several times now and love it every time!! Thanks for all your hard work!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks so much Connie!
Haley COLE says
So these turned out so good! I only had half a cup of butter so I added an extra egg and it worked out just great!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Awesome! Good to know you can make that substitution and have them still turn out. Thanks Haley!
Julia says
I always have had trouble getting my biscuits to turn out, but these were amazeballs! Light, fluffy, tasty and they didn’t fall apart when used as sausage sandwich. New favorite recipe
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yay! We love them too Julia 🙂 Thank you!
Bonnie H says
I made these for strawberry short cake and they tasted super. I had to taste them right out of the with butter. Yummy so good. Thank you Trish for posting. ?????. It’s a keeper.
Danielle says
Question-could you make the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge pre cut to make them in the morning?
Maria Fish says
I just finished baking these. I love the texture (not crumbly) and flavor. I didn’t have any cream of tartar but found that I could substitute 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar in lieu of it. I also added a touch more milk to incorporate nearly all of the flour and then just flattened it by hand and cut them into squares – no messy cutting or dealing with scraps. So, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I will make these often!
Tara says
Omg seriously the best biscuits I’ve ever had!!! I’ve tried making biscuits before and have always failed. These came out perfect the first time!! Will absolutely be making these again:)
Sharon says
No need for ANY other biscuit recipe! This one is great! Thank you Trish!
Rachel says
These were the best biscuits i have ever made! Having sausage gravy and biscuits, but couldn’t wait to try them. I have one and they are delicious! Thank you so much for posting this!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Rachel!!