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 recipe a few weeks ago, “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. 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. And then more butter once they’re finished baking because of course we need more butter.
I mentioned that these biscuits are easy so do not be alarmed by all the tips that I have for you below. These biscuits 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 of 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: 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. 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 and 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 encourage 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
- ¾ cup whole milk¹ (177ml) buttermilk or 2% milk will also work
Recommended Equipment
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.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- 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.6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 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).¾ cup whole milk¹
- 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 ¾" round biscuit cutter with flour.
- 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 ½" apart on baking sheet.
- 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.
Tina G
I’m all out of AP flour. I wonder if I can use cake flour instead? I’d really love to try and make these gorgeous looking biscuits!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Tina! Yes, that should be fine, but the outer crust won’t have as much bite to it. Keep me posted on how they turn out! 🙂
Tina G
Thank you, I’ll keep you posted. But just to be sure, I’m substituting the same amount of cake flour, right?
Sugar Spun Run
I haven’t tried it personally, but to substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. I hope that helps! 🙂
Jessica
Is it possible to use skim milk, instead of whole milk? also, can i used baking soda, instead of baking powder?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jessica! Others have used skim milk with success, so I hope that it works for you as well. As far as using baking soda instead of baking powder, I have found that baking powder is what has helped really bring the layers to life so I would recommend using that. 🙂
Mike
These are amazing. I’m new to baking, but love to cook. Making these biscuits have really made me want to bake more!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed them, Mike and I am glad this recipe makes you want to bake more too. I am excited to see what recipe you try next! 🙂
Stacey
Can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Stacey! Yes, you can! Enjoy! 🙂
Phyllis
I made these biscuits for dinner yesterday and everyone loved them! They were so easy to make so I will be making them all the time.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you found the recipe easy and delicious, Phylis! Thank you so much for trying it! I hope that you enjoy it for years to come. 🙂
Lily
I loooove this recipe! I have a question: is there anyway to make this recipe gluten free? I know most bread recipes rely on gluten development, but I’m wondering if these biscuits don’t. Please let me know! (asking for a friend lol! I know nothing about gf baking).
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Lily! Unfortunately, I do not have experience baking gluten-free so I can not advise. Others have used the gluten-free 1:1 flour in my other recipes with success, maybe it will work just as well here. Sorry that I can not be of more help. 🙁
Debra McDonald
Love, love, love these biscuits.
I’ve made these biscuits about four times already,
so easy to make.
Thank you and God’s blessings.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you loved the recipe, Debra! Thank you for trying it and for commenting. 🙂
Janine Yunginger
I’ve made biscuits before with not much success. Not any more! These biscuits don’t disappoint. The recipe is detailed but easy to follow, and the the biscuits are delicious, fluffy, perfect. I brushed them with butter after baking, and my picky eater asked for a second egg, biscuit sandwich. Success!! My new go-to biscuit recipe, for sure! Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that they turned out perfectly and you loved them, Janine! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Jo
I have been using this recipe for weeks, and it has been foolproof!
I like my biscuits to be herby, so i usually add some seasonings and herbs during the flour mixing stage, and it works like a charm. I have also added a little parmesan cheese, which adds a little cheesiness. But they are great as is too.
Thanks so much !
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear how much you have enjoyed this recipe, Jo! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Ellimac
I tried these tonight for my family (my first time EVER making biscuits) and everyone loved them!! Thank you for this awesome recipe.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the biscuits! 😊
Rachael K Skibbe
Every time I make them they come out amazing! As long as I have these ingredients I will never ever buy store-bought biscuits again! My Mama Jean would be so proud!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy the biscuits so much, Rachael! There’s nothing like a good homemade biscuit. 😊
Angie Smith
These biscuits are as delicious and fluffy as promised!!
Sam
So happy you enjoyed! Thank you for commenting, Angie!
Amy
We live in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at high altitude. Tried these tonight following your tips and they turned out beautifully even here! Yum! Thanks for all the detailed instructions!
Sam
Wonderful! I am so happy to hear this, thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Krystal
Quick! Easy! And delicious! Loved the box grater idea…made things so much easier. We are missing our local cafe’s fluffy biscuits but this recipe is a great substitute!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed, Krystal! Thank you so much for commenting!
April
Not sure why, but mine took nearly 30 minutes to cook at 425….I even buttered the tops and baked longer because they still weren’t golden. They tasted ok….kind of bland. I feel like I must’ve done something wrong.
Sam
Hi April! That’s very odd! I’m wondering if maybe the flour might have been accidentally over-measured?
Michael
Are you at a high altitude?
Abby
I’ve made this recipe twice now and they were a hit both times. They always come out perfectly! And so easy to make when you freeze and grate the butter. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Sam
I am so happy to hear they were such a success! Thank you for commenting, Abby! 🙂