Weekends just aren’t complete without a batch of soft, flaky biscuits! This easy Small Batch Biscuits recipe yields six perfect biscuits without the use of buttermilk. Breakfast accomplished. Don’t forget the bacon and Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole!
Small Batch Biscuits
Two years ago I shared my favorite biscuit recipe and over 350k pins later, it remains one of most popular posts on my site. I decided to share this small batch recipe today because sometimes 12 biscuits is just too many 🙂
This recipe yields six biscuits which is the perfect amount for our family. The biscuits are light, buttery and flaky – truly perfect.
We make biscuits almost every weekend and usually once during the week. We love them so much and find them to be the perfect addition to pretty much any breakfast or brunch menu. Frequently, we turn them into biscuit sandwiches or simple serve them along side scrambled eggs or top with sausage gravy.
You really can’t go wrong.
Do I Need Buttermilk?
This recipe doesn’t call for buttermilk which is a good thing because I rarely have any 🙂 If you happen to have buttermilk on hand, go ahead and substitute it for the milk if you like. You will need to use a little bit more to get the dough to right consistency.
Biscuit Ingredients
The one thing I love about making homemade biscuits is that the ingredients are ones that you most likely already have in your pantry.
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- salt
- baking powder
- cream of tartar
- COLD butter
- egg (my brother and sister leave the egg out and the biscuits are still great!)
- milk
Perfect with a little butter and some homemade jelly or pumpkin butter, this is most definitely a breakfast treat you don’t want to miss.
Biscuit Making Tips & Tricks
I have a TON of tips on the original biscuit post so please make sure to check those out. But here are a few you shouldn’t miss:
- Only use really cold butter.
- Grate frozen butter if you don’t want to use a pastry cutter.
- Don’t overwork the dough.
- Don’t over bake – you want the tops just golden brown.
- Brush with melted butter right out of the even for extra goodness.
What You’ll Need for 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 Breakfast Recipes You’ll LOVE!
- Buttermilk Pancakes
- Cranberry Almond Breakfast Cookies
- Easy Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
- Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Baking Bacon: A How-To Guide to Making Perfect Bacon Every Time
How To Make Biscuits
Small Batch Perfect Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour additional
- 5 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 6 tbsp butter cold
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Combine the dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in. (You can alternatively grate the frozen butter.) You're looking for 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.
- 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. Sprinkle additional flour if necessary.
- Roll or pat the dough out to 3/4 - 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass.
- Place the biscuits on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- For extra yumminess, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
Nutrition
Originally published November 7, 2014.
For all breakfast 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’.
Nancy Irvine says
I made these tonight and they turned out more than perfect. I have never been able to master light, flaky biscuits and now I have. Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I love this! Have a great week Nancy!
Trisha says
This is the first time I have EVER commented on a recipe! But these were absolutely perfect! My husband is from the South and I have been trying for 44 years to make decent biscuits. I usually settle for an adapted box recipe which were only okay. Most recipes I have tried have resulted in hard, dark bottom biscuits! My husband loved the flakiness with just a hint of crunch on these. So glad I decided to try one more time. My 92 year old mother-in-law, who is a biscuit lover, is coming over for dinner tomorrow and I plan to add these to the menu. Thank you! All my other biscuit recipes are going to be promptly deleted!
Robbie Fryzel says
If it were me I would go ahead and make the normal size “Perfect Homemade Biscuits” but freeze half of them to cook the next time. Dough freezes and cooks very well.
To Freeze:
Transfer the unbaked, cut biscuits (after step 5 above or after step 7 on the Perfect Homemade Biscuits recipe) to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover lightly with a plastic wrap and stick in the freezer. When the biscuits are frozen solid, you can remove them form the cookie sheet and put them in resealable freezer bags, label the bag with the date and contents. They can be keep frozen for up to 3 months. If you store them longer than that they are not quite as high-rising and tasty!
To Bake Frozen Biscuits:
You can thaw overnight in the refrigerator or cook frozen following the last two steps of the recipes. If you cook them frozen add 3 to 5 minutes for them to get “until golden brown”. They will be just as good as the ones you cooked right away.
Frankie says
The biscuits were quick and easy to make and have great texture! The recipe made about eight for me, using a biscuit cutter. They were a little sweet for my taste, so next time I might cut out 1-2 tbsp of sugar. Definitely will make again!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
They do have a touch of sweetness so yes, feel free to cut back a bit on the sugar. Glad you enjoyed them!
Mona fayaz Ahmed says
Is there a substitute for cream of tartar?!!!