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:
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Have a great day!
Rachael says
I am so glad I found this recipe because the biscuits are AMAZING!! Thank you for posting it! Do you have a recommendation on how to warm leftover biscuits a bit? I tried microwaving them for 20-30 seconds in a slightly damp paper towel and the texture wasn’t quite the same afterwards. I don’t know if it was because of the microwave or if the texture just changes a bit over time as they become less fresh, but I was just curious if you had any suggestions. Thanks!
Haylee says
Just made these for my family to have breakfast sandwiches! We LOVED them; so delicious on their own too. Thank you so much for sharing this. It will definitely be my go-to biscuit recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks Haylee!
Jan S says
I made these this morning, and they are wonderful. I used buttermilk to make them.. Very fast to put together even with grating the frozen butter. Absolutely delicious.
Marcuss Maximus says
Made them today and turned out great. Could have been a little more golden on top but I didn’t want them too dry and they looked done. Great flavor and a big hit at the house. I’ll be making these again.
Misty says
Perfect “giant” biscuits! Hubby likes big biscuits and I get 7 big and 1 normal from this recipe without doubling. Everyone agrees they taste great, are light and fluffy and with a thumbs up from the mother-in-law that’s all I needed to make sure this recipe is saved to favs.
Amanda says
I made these for the first time tonight and they were the best biscuits I have ever had! I am definitely keeping this recipe!
Sarah says
Very good! I will make again for sure. I made sausage gravy to top them. They were a little more on the sweet side for a savory dish so I will decrease the sugar in the future for that. Perfectly sweet if using for a shortcake. Thanks for sharing this!
Bernie - A Gouda Life says
They really are PERFECT biscuits even for a first time biscuit maker like me! Husband said they taste like his grandma’s- and who can’t get behind that?! Thanks for an easy recipe made easier with all the tips in your post. Definitely recommend this recipe – will be making again ASAP!
Tamara Daniel says
As a Southern girl raised on canned biscuits, I have searched and tried many biscuit recipes with inconsistent results. THESE biscuits never fail! I even rolled them out super thin to make a breakfast casserole that got rave reviews at our Thanksgiving family gathering. Thanks so much for this recipe. Off to the kitchen to make a batch to eat with sausage gravy!
Judy says
These are the best biscuits! Thanks for the easy to follow directions and tips. Made 17 yummy biscuits, so hard to stop eating them.
Lynn says
Made these biscuits for the first time tonight to go with a homemade soup. They are fantastic! Delicious and quick to throw together!
Caroline says
I loved how easy and delicious this recipe was! My second time making these, I want to use buttermilk. Can I sub the milk for buttermilk at a 1:1 ratio?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You might need a tad more buttermilk since it’s a bit thicker. Thanks Caroline!
Julian Mwebaza says
I made these today. I didn’t have cream of tartar so I used fresh lemon juice instead. I must say they’re the best biscuits I ever had all my life.
Thank you for this recipe!
Donna says
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk? Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes, you sure can!
Carol A says
Made as written except I used a cast iron skillet instead of parchment lined cookie sheet. These were the best biscuits I’ve ever made. Thank you for de-mystifying the process!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Love these biscuits in a cast iron skillet!
lise says
Hi!
Just made them for breakfast and they were the most delicious biscuits I have ever had!! Hubby was pleased too. Will definitely add this recipe to my box! thank you very much.
Marlene says
I made these last week and they were amazing! I have been making biscuits for many years, trying to find “the recipe”, never finding one that resulted in high, fluffy, tasty, beautiful biscuits. Until now. Not sure why, exactly, these are so different – maybe the cream of tartar? I’ve never used it in biscuits before and I don’t know what it contributes here, but I don’t care – I’ll keep using it! Thank you for this recipe. They were SO good, I want to make some again today. Yum!