Buttery, soft, and made completely from scratch, this easy homemade biscuit recipe deserves a permanent place in your recipe repertoire. This recipe is made with all butter, no shortening!
With just 6 ingredients that I bet you already have on hand, these homemade biscuits are so simple to make and I’ve included plenty of tips (and a video!) to make sure you end up with perfect biscuits every single time.
Two reasons I’m super excited to share this homemade biscuit recipe with you today:
One: because homemade biscuits are delicious (obviously) and they’re so easy to make. So many people buy the canned version without realizing that they already have all of the ingredients to make them from scratch in their pantry.
The taste of a pre-made biscuit doesn’t hold a candle to a homemade biscuit. Not. even. close. Preservatives and artificial flavors, you aren’t welcome here.
Two: because ever since I started working on this biscuit recipeย a few weeks ago,ย “Mind Your Own Biscuits” by Kacey Musgraves has been stuck in my head and I’ve been singing it off-key relentlessly.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Kacey Musgraves and her music, but every time I start singing my dog starts actually crying.ย It’s sad and hilarious, and if I wasn’t so embarrassed by my terrible singing voice I would have shared a video of it by now. Hopefully, by publishing this recipe I’ll release myself from the endless refrain and the animal abuse will finally stop.
But let’s talk more about the first reason.
Homemade biscuits call for just six ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter, and milk.ย And then more butter once they’re finished baking because of course we need more butter.
I mentioned that these biscuits are easy soย do not be alarmedย by all the tips that I have for you below. These biscuitsย are easy, but technique matters and I want to arm you with all the information that you need so that you can make these easily and have them come out perfectly the very first time.
The tips are simple but important, and while some more seasoned bakers already know them, I want to give everyone an even playing field.
Tips for Making Homemade Biscuits
- The butter and milk for this recipe need to be as cold as possible for fluffy and soft biscuits. I freeze my butter before using it and recommend keeping the milk in the refrigerator right up until it’s time to add it to the dry ingredients.
- Don’t overwork the dough! Keep in mind that you want your butter to stay as cold as possible when making these biscuits, and the more you have your hands on the dough the softer the butter will become. Definitely don’t use an electric mixer for this recipe.
- We’re going to do a little bit ofย laminating. This means folding the dough over itself multiple times (5-6 times here) to encourage flaky layers in our biscuits. You can watch the video below to see exactly how this is done.
- Don’t use a rolling pin, use your hands to gently work the dough into a flat rectangle before cutting out your biscuits.
- Don’t be afraid to add flour to the dough if it’s too sticky while you are handling it (and make sure to work on a lightly floured surface).
Visual clue:ย If you look at the pre-baked biscuit below, you’ll see that you can actually see the butter pieces in the dough. This is what you want, the ingredients won’t be well-combined like with a cookie dough and seeing bits of butter means you’ve actually done everything right here.ย Hooray!
A Few Notes on Butter in Homemade Biscuits
The butter is possibly the most important part of this recipe, and the way you handle it can make or break your homemade biscuits.
While you can certainly use a pastry cutter to cut your butter into the dry ingredients, I recommend freezing your butter for about 30 minutes before beginning. Then, use a box grater to grate the butter before combining this in with your dry ingredients.
I use this technique in my scone recipes andย highly recommend it with these biscuits, too. Not only is it much easier than using a pastry cutter, but it does a great job of finely shredding and distributing the butter throughout the mixture without overworking the butter (remember, you want to manage the butter as little as possible so that it’s as cold as possible when going into the oven).
Alternatively you could also use a food processor (like I do with my pie crust recipe), but it’s just so easy to grate in the butter that I always use this method instead.
And yes, I do recommend using unsalted butter in this recipe and then adding salt. If you want to know more about why I write my recipes this way, you can read all about it (and an easy substitution if you only have salted butter on hand) in this post that I wrote about salted vs unsalted butter.
I know I’ve mentioned to you guys a few times that I’ve been working on a baking contest/challenge/I’m really not sure what to call it, but I’m planning a post where I encourageย all of you to bake along with me. The goal is to get people baking recipes they may have not tried before, and I’m encouraging everyone to share their results for a chance to win a small prize.
Well, today’s homemade biscuit recipe is essentially the base for the baking challenge that I’ll be sharing in exactly one week, so take this as a hint that making today’s recipe is a great way to get a jump start for the challenge!
To make sure you’re among the first to be notified of all new recipes and baking challenges, make sure you’re subscribed to my e-mail list. It’s free, and you get a free e-book of 8 of my favorite cookie recipes.
Enjoy!
How to Make Homemade Biscuits
I know I talked a lot in this video, but I really feel that the tips are so important, and will help ensure your biscuits come out perfectly!
Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter very cold (85g), unsalted European butter is ideal, but not required
- ยพ cup whole milkยน (177ml) buttermilk or 2% milk will also work
Recommended Equipment
- Biscuit cutter
Instructions
- For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It's ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
- Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with nonstick parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter or (preferred) use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.
- Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don't over-work the dough).
- Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.
- Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.
- Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1" thick and lightly dust a 2 ยพ" round biscuit cutter with flour.ย
- Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than ยฝ" apart on baking sheet.ย
- Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.
- Bake on 425F for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
- If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Penny likes to supervise the photography process. Fortunately, this setup got her vote of approval.
Aleis Richardson
Thanks for the recipe! I made this morning with gravy and they were DELICIOUS! My husband said they are the best biscuits and gravy he’s had! And my toddler loved them as well! I used Almond Milk and they turned out perfect!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Aleis! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. ๐
Alexis
Iโve made these a handful of times. I love the flavor. But I can never get them to rise like in the photo you have here. Iโm really looking for a good rise and some softer fluff to fully replace that craving we get for the canned biscuits.
Whatโs the secret? I follow the recipe to a T.
Sam
Hi Alexis! Have you watched my video (just above the recipe)? That will show you exactly how I make them at home and would probably be the most helpful.
Alexis
๐ Yes, I have watched the video and follow along. I sift the dry ingredients to make sure thereโs no clumps and Iโve tried cutting the butter and grating it. I really like grating it. Iโve also found the dry ingredients to need a splash more milk than suggested.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so sorry that you are not achieving the best results, Alexis. If you are following the recipe to a T, the only other thing I can think of is that you might be over measuring your flour. This is a common mistake made in baked good so I have created a guide that can be used as a reference next time. This would explain the extra splash of milk that you need to add as well. Hopefully, this helps. Keep me posted. ๐
Sally
If you look at the original recipe on the NYT cooking website (called All-Purpose Biscuits Recipe), they call for 2 tablespoons of baking powder (versus 1 as her version states) it may help with making your biscuits more fluffy versus dense.
Erin D
I made these today but they didnโt rise much and were doughy in the middle. Too much butter? Too much milk? I couldnโt bake them any longer because the bottoms would have burned.
Sam
Hi Erin! If all of the ingredients were measured as indicated then I would guess either your baking powder was bad or the dough was over-worked (this would keep the biscuits from rising properly) and if the bottoms were burning but the centers weren’t cooked through then I would check if your oven temperature is accurate. It sounds like it might be running hot (also, make sure to place the biscuits in the center of the oven and not too close to the heating element). I do have a video above the recipe that might be helpful, as well. I really hope this helps!
Bree
If I use salted butter, do I skip the additional salt in the recipe??
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Bree! Yes, if you use salted butter, I would omit the additional salt listed. Enjoy! ๐
Jan Sisneros
Ok…I made these last night for dinner and my husband and daughter LOVED them! I had left over biscuits so I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast this morning – wahoo! My hubby was CRAZY happy over them. Such a great recipe!!!!! Never knew about freezing the butter – great tip.
Thanks mucho
Jan
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the recipe was such a hit with your family, Jan! Thank you so much for commenting. ๐
Kim
The only flour I could find was self rising. Can I use that in this recipe?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kim! Unfortunately, I do not recommend using self rising flour here. ๐
Brice Henderson
Tried them today.. they came out good but they didnโt brown on top at all. The taste was great though, nothing like a homemade biscuit.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Brice! I am so glad that you enjoyed them. Depending on the placement in the oven and how long you bake them for will determine how brown they get on the top. They may have just needed another minute or two. They should be light golden brown. Regardless, I am so glad that you enjoyed them. ๐
Myranda Becker
Once dough has been folded and is ready to be cut into biscuits, do you think it would do ok to be placed into the fridge to be used at a later time? (A couple’s hours tops)
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Myranda! Yes, leaving then in the fridge to bake a little later will be fine. I recommend wrapping them well so they remain fresh. Enjoy! ๐
Ali M
I see a lot of us are getting to some baking while on lockdown! I made these with whole wheat flour (because it’s what I have!), rosemary (so it wouldn’t go to waste), and parmesan (for no other reason than YUM)…and two extra tablespoons of butter so they wouldn’t be too dry.
They took a bit longer to bake, but they are yummy!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Ali! Yes, baking is a big stress release during this sad time. I am so glad that you enjoyed the biscuits and the whole wheat flour worked out wonderfully for you. Thank you for commenting. ๐
Rachel
I doubled the recipe and they were so dry and floury. I donโt know what I did wrong.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Rachel! I am so sorry that you experienced issues with this recipe. If they were dry, it sounds like you may have mismeasured/over measured the flour. This is a common mistake in baking so I have created a guide on how to measure flour properly that can be used as a reference next time. Again, I am so sorry they did not turn out perfectly for you. I do hope that you give it another try. ๐
Rachel
I just put my second try batch in the oven!
Sugar Spun Run
I hope this next batch turns out perfectly for you!
Donna
Can I substitute almond milk for the whole milk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Donna! Others have used it and have had success. ๐
Tom Grissinger
Omg! These are so easy to make! And they are awesome! I will never use tube biscuits again or the mix that makes all baked goods taste the same. Now I always keep a stick of butter frozen in the freezer. And with a good jar of preserves, heaven! This is my fourth time making them.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Tom! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. ๐
Vivie Broussard
Hi! I made these today and they came out perfect. Your tips really helped!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Vivie! Thank you so much for commenting. ๐
Katie
Great recipe and easy instructions!! I couldnโt believe how great these turned out on my first try!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you found the recipe easy to follow and delicious, Katie! Thanks for commenting. ๐
Marge radeback
Can you use 2% milk?โ
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marge! Yes, that will be fine. I hope that you enjoy them! ๐
Michele
Do you sift the flour?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Michele! You can, however, it is not needed. ๐