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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For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Have a great day!
Kim says
These biscuits are so light and fluffy! They are excellent! They were made with gluten free flour and you would never know they were gluten free! Thanks for posting this excellent biscuit recipe!
Rita Boarman says
Absolutely the best biscuits I’ve ever made or eaten! I have been working on my baking lately and trying out lots of recipes and these were superb. I even used to skim milk because it was all I had and they were fantastic. I cannot thank you enough. I also used frozen butter and cut it up into pieces. While I was cutting it in with my pastry cutter, I would just pick some up and kind of crumble it but I kept it very very cold.
Karen Lacy says
I’ve been making these biscuits for about a year or more. It is my all time favorite recipe. I love it. My only issue is…I eat way more than a serving. I can’t help myself. They are super easy and super delicious.
Huong says
I love biscuits and I have tried a few recipes but haven’t found that one recipe that has eluded ne over the years. My godmother made amazing biscuits when I was young and those memories have lingered on 40 years later. This is my go to biscuit recipe from now on. The only thing I changed was the sugar to 2 tbsp. My husband loved it and we both agree it’s better than any restaurant recipes we’ve had. I have a recipe binder that I keep of my favorite recipes. My husband told me don’t forget to print it! I’m forever grateful that you restored my faith in good homemade biscuits again!
kristine carr says
Make your site so we can upload pictures, I would love to show you how they turned out! I played with the recipe a little I added a garlic mix and then when I patted the dough out I sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning, wow just wow! We’re eating ours with my homemade spaghetti for dinner. Thank you for making it easy.
D. Daniel says
Amazing, just made them for brunch. Best Biscuits ever!!!! They are moist and flaky, so yummy! My new favorite. Thank you!!!
Debbie says
These were the best biscuits I have ever made! I did not have buttermilk or whole milk. I used 2% with a table spoon of lemon juice, also grated frozen butter. Very careful t not to over mix.
Al Kalar says
Messy to make, but worth all the hassle! Best biscuit I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t use cream of tartar (I don’t have any).
Cutting up the frozen butter is the hardest part. I may not have done it right, but it still came out great!
BK says
These are really good. The only change I would make- cut sugar to 1 Tbsp.
Karen says
OMG! I am the world’s worst biscuit (or rather, hockey puck) make, but this recipe changed my status. My husband and granddaughter loved them! Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I’ll be making them again!
Pat K says
Excellent results! Best ever biscuit recipe. I really enjoyed the slight crunchy top and bottoms that gave way to the fluffy yum inside. A+
Tracy says
Amazing recipe! Definitely my new favorite
Kara says
So good. I used my sourdough discard to make these and they might have been the best biscuits I’ve ever had. Thanks for the recipe!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
We do that A LOT. It makes them even better in my opinion!
Chaddy says
Yum
5 stars
Emily Thorpe says
Also love these biscuits! Theyve become my staple biscuit recipe over the years – thank you so much! How do you use/replace ingredients with your sourdough discard for these?!
Emalie says
We made these. It was our first time ever trying to make biscuits and they turned out the first try. Thank you for this!!!
Angela says
I didn’t have cream of tartar so I used buttermilk rather than regular milk. And, I was being super lazy so instead of turning it out onto some flour and cutting biscuits, I just used a ice cream scoop and scooped them out onto the pan and flattened then a bit. A-maz-ing! These biscuits don’t even need butter or jam!
Janet says
My 9 year old son is obsessed with biscuits and gravy. I make it more weekends than not. This is my saved recipe for those occasions. I have made it soo many times and it works great every time. Crunchy on the outside, buttery and soft on the inside.