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
- 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.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.
Katie
These are my go to biscuits! They are easy, as far as biscuits go, and so good. I grate the butter in my cheese grater and then put it in the fridge while I make the dough. Works great!
Whats the best way to make these ahead of time? Freeze the dough as a whole, cut them out and freeze before baking, or bake first and freeze and reheat. Thanks!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed them, Katie! I would cut them out and freeze (make sure you freeze them in an airtight container). They may need a little bit more time in the oven when baking from frozen.
Sue giffin
Made these and they were wonderful. I’ve grated butter before and made a mess so I cut my butter frozen with a knife into little bitty pieces and put them back in the freezer till I’m ready for it
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Sue! ☺️
Laura Rice Sutherland
Will they turn out okay if you substitute almond milk for the whole milk?
Sam
Sorry Laura, I am not familiar with using almond milk, but I don’t think they would turn out.
Gilberta Curley
Terrible recipe!
Sam
Hi Gilberta, what went wrong? Maybe I can help troubleshoot.
Izzy Moreno
So I am in no way a baker. I love to cook, but baking has always flustered me. Not today! These biscuits were simple, even though I kept questioning whether I was doong it right. They came out so yummy, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. I recommend this recipe to any level baker.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Izzy! ☺️
Rechiel archer
I made a perfect biscuits today for my husband’s breakfast using your ingredients and fallowing your procedures. It’s very easy and delicious.. My husband feel like he was in the south eating biscuits.. 😊😊😊thank u for sharing!!!😘😘
Sam
I am so glad he enjoyed them! I have heard southern biscuits are amazing so that is quite the compliment. ☺️
Annie Nielson
very easy and delicious. I even did 1/4 whole wheat and they were still super fluffy. My only complaint is that they have a slight baking powder aftertaste after you eat a couple of them.
Keri
I never comment on blogs but I just had to say thank you for this recipe! I love biscuits, but honestly, I am abysmal at making them. I could never get the technique just right, and my biscuits would be tough or would not rise.
Your tips and tricks made all the difference ! I whipped up a batch of perfect biscuits on the first try by watching your video and doing as you instructed. I never knew that it was so important for the butter to be ice cold or the milk. I knew you shouldn’t work the dough much but I didn’t really know how to avoid it when using a rolling pin. I had never heard of layering the dough.
Thank you for your simple, easy help!!
Also, the biscuits are delicious. Now that I’m a pro (ha!), I’ll try adding in things like cheddar or bacon.
Sam
Thank you so much, Keri. I am so glad you enjoyed it and I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how it went. <3
Marie Daniels
Due to some minor health issues, moving in with grandchildren & 4 great grandchildren who have never had homemade biscuits. While I’m not much of a cook, I intend to dazzle them with these homemade biscuits. I know I’m taking a chance on having to do these every day… but I’m willing to risk it. They sound awesome.
Sam
I know everyone will enjoy them! They are in for quite a treat they get to see Grand-mom every day and get biscuits!
Dan
I used a bit of honey and increased the salt and butter slightly, and it was exactly what I was looking for. Avoiding overworking the dough and encouraging lamination are spot on. Been using this variation with a special at my restaurant that is shaming our permanent menu.
Sam
That is awesome! ☺️ I am so glad you enjoy them so much and I hope all of your customers do too.
Chelsie M Bishop
Do these taste sweet I’m wanting to make them for homemade biscuits and gravy
Sam
Hi Chelsie! They are not sweet. They work well for biscuits and gravy. ☺️
Kristen
These biscuits are divine and even high altitude proof! Served them up with chili and they are a HUGE hit. Thank you!
Sam
Yay! I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Kristen! ☺️
Rita
Made these biscuits which were so simple and delicious! Family loves them 🤗🙌!
Learn an easy trick too with putting butter in freezer for 10 minutes and cut so easily with cheese grater! Thanks!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Rita! ☺️
Eartha
Hello 👋🏽!!
I’ve always been told that butter is better for baking; however, can one use margarine (Parkay) in place of butter??
Sam
I would not recommend using margarine as I don’t know how it will turn out.
Eartha
Thanks for replying… i used the butter instead of going for the margarine; these biscuits were “the bomb” omg my family loved them!!!! Thanks!!
TsL
Those little quarters are deceiving. I just realized I picked up margarine instead of butter so I used it anyway (lazy day). It turned out just fine. But…Butters Always Better!!
Eartha
Wow cool! Thanks!
Jessica
Can you make in big batches and freeze?
Sam
Yes that will work just fine. Just make sure not to overwork the dough when making a large batch. ☺️
Caitlin
When do you freeze them, though? Fully bake and then freewe? Or freeze the dough? Sorry for the dumb question but I’m planning to make them for thanksgiving and would love to prep ahead if I can…
Sam
Not a dumb question! I would make the dough and cut it out and then freeze those in an airtight container before baking. They may need a little bit longer in the oven when baking from frozen. Enjoy!
Leonela Lepe
Hi Jessica, Do you cook the frozen batch at the same temperature?