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.
More breakfast recipes to enjoy:
For all breakfast recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
Sign up to get emails when I post new recipes!
For even more great ideas follow me on Facebook – Pinterest – Instagram – Twitter – Bloglovin’.
Have a great day!
Jennifer Guess says
Perfect for Sunday brunch!
Melissa says
First time I’ve ever made biscuits by scratch and they turned out perfect. They were so flaky and yummy. My batch made 13 total.
Brent Gilmore says
I love the flavor, but I found them a little greasy. I substituted 2 Tbs of olive oil and a stick of butter for the 1.5 sticks of butter. Also good recipe for shortcake..
Sylvia says
These have been the easiest, most delicious biscuits I have made in a long time. Very moist Alf the touch of sweetness from the small amount of sugar was perfect! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing
Lisa says
Made these for Thanksgiving brunch. They were absolutely wonderful, and nice to make without buttermilk since that’s not an ingredient I keep on-hand. Thank you for sharing – they were a treat everyone enjoyed.
Emily says
Not sure why you have to add an egg in your directions. It is not listed within your ingredience.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
It’s ingredient #7 in the list Emily…
Lindsey says
😂😂😂 🙌 best comment and reply I’ve ever read. Bonus: it’ll be here for years and years to come for many more to have a little laugh at. (Side note: these are my go-to biscuits and have been for a long time now, thanks for the great recipe, not sure about that egg though… 🤔)
Robert B says
I’ve made homemade biscuits plenty of times and these are hands down the best biscuits I’ve ever had. Saving this recipe for the rest of my life!
Thank you so much!!
Brya says
Can you make them a day in advance and refrigate before baking?
Britnee King says
I just made these and my family loved them ! They requested that I make them atleast once a week lol .
Whitney says
We have finally found a keeper! Thank you so much.
Lianne says
I just pulled my second batch out of the oven. I was too nervous to double the recipe. I made these with almond milk and they turned out beautifully! Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Melanie says
After I cut the butter in, I popped the following ur and butter mixture in the freezer so the butter would be very cold. I added the egg and milk and I didn’t even need additional flour to pay this out. It was very dry because the butter was frozen. The dough wasn’t the least bit sticky this way. They came out wonderfully though. I just will omit the sugar because I like a salty biscuit and these are kind of sweet. I might try brushing them in bacon grease as well so they’re saltier.
Jennifer says
Biscuits have always been my nemesis, and your recipe just helped me so much! Thank you!
Amy says
Not my first time baking, but definitely my first time making homemade biscuits. I rarely comment but I had to here, because thanks to your awesome detailed steps, my first batch turned out PERFECT. Pillsbury is gonna miss me.
PattiG says
Easy and so delicious! The secret is freezing the butter while gathering the other ingredients, and not taking the milk and egg from the fridge until it’s time to add it to the dry ingredients. I did not have fresh cream of tartar so I skipped it and the biscuits were still incredible! Thanks!