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!
Virgie Ford says
not once did I see on your recipe how much flour you use you told everything else but you didn’t say whether to use a cup or half a cup two cups you never said how many cups of flour that was supposed to been used with your recipe
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
It’s the very first ingredient listed…
Renee' says
I just whipped these up.. 20 minutes and they were done from start to finish. I did this all with my Kitchenaid Mixer. Used the paddle to mix the dough and grated the frozen butter with grater attachment. Using the Mixer instead of my hands kept the dough cold. I dumped it on my cold floured marble counter.. patted it down with a spatula. The batter stayed cold the entire time and they came out amazing. I’m not trying any other recipe for biscuits again. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
This makes me so happy! Thanks for giving the biscuits a try!
Suzi says
These are absolute phenomenal! I am an avid baker and have been wanting a solid biscuit recipe for a while. I just forget most of the time. I made these to accompany sausage gravy and I can absolutely declare that the combination was utter perfection, which is not something I think I have ever said. I am quite critical. I will absolutely be making these a staple!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you SO much Suzi! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Hope you have a great weekend!
Barbara says
I’m 70 years old & tried lots of biscuit recipes over the years. This is the very best one I’ve ever found. My whole family loves them. Easy to make & delicious. I’ve got company coming in for the holidays & would love to know if anyone has tried freezing them yet?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Best compliment EVER Barbara – thank you! I have had readers freeze the biscuits but I haven’t done so. It can be done though!
Mary says
Can I sub Buttermilk for whole milk? If so would I still use 1 cup
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can! You’ll need a bit more actually, just add a tablespoon at a time until you have the right consistency.
Tracy says
Definitely a winner! Awesome recipe. I followed the recipe and they do turn out perfect! I have a question… Can I freeze these before cooking? I am willing to try more of your recioes
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Tracy! I haven’t actually tried freezing them beforehand but I would assume that would be okay. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Tracy says
Definitely a winner! Awesome recipe. I followed the recipe and they do turn out perfect! I have a question… Can I freeze these before cooking?
Cathena says
Slightly sweeter than what im used to. But very good. They were tender, buttery and had good texture.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
A lot of readers reduce the sugar which, of course, is totally fine and a personal preference. I’m so glad you like the recipe Cathena! Have a great week!
Debbie says
I love trying new biscuit recipes I will have to give this one a try. Thank you for posting never put egg or cream of tartar in a biscuit. But they look delicious. One question though who snacks on raw biscuit dough. Just curious about that one.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’d love to know what you think!
ron says
thanks!! all agreed these were the best ever! Made them for Texan friend visiting ! She made sausage gravy and mom made eggs, the butter is the key as this had more than others
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Ron!
William Kelly says
One Word….Excellent
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much William!
Jenny Bell says
I made this recipe today for lunch. It was so easy to make and absolutely delicious. Much better than any store bought biscuit I ever had. Kudos!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for stopping by!
Christina Solorio says
First time ever making homemade biscuits and although not all of them looked as good as yours, they were delicious. I loved the addition of sugar. I used the biscuits to go with Pioneer Woman’s Sausage Gravy for Biscuits and Gravy and everything was delicious.
Thank you
Angelina says
I’m going to make them with butter milk.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
We love making them with buttermilk! Just remember you will need a bit more since it’s thicker.
Tillie says
Very good recipe; like the unusual tiny bit of sweetness. Have made my great grandmother’s biscuit recipe for years and we all still love them just like when she made them, but I have to say, this recipe of yours just may end up on the table more often than hers now. Grandma’s tip for never fail high rise biscuits was to chill the cut out unbaked biscuits for several hours or even freeze them before baking. The secret to her mile high biscuits was to place them close together (or even touching) in the baking pan. They have never failed to rise beautifully every time. Thanks again for the great recipe.