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.
Kayley
Is there anything I should do different living at a high altitude? I baked these this morning and the flavors were 10/10 but they didn’t rise all that much. Any tips for baking these living above 6k feet?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kayley! Unfortunately we don’t have much experience with high altitude baking. Hopefully someone else can chime in and offer some advice 🙁
Connie Tacke
I’ve made these a few times now and they consistently turn out well. I realize biscuits are supposed to be “bland”, but; these do tend to be just that. They need additives like butter and jelly and don’t stand alone. I will keep making them with the understanding they need something to go with them. They work well for chicken and biscuits.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so sorry to hear this, Connie! Definitely make sure to add the sugar and salt, and if you can get your hands on it, use European butter. It makes a huge difference!
Dorothy
Is there a way to store these uncooked in freezer for busy mornings ?
Sam
Sure thing! Just wrap them tightly and store in an air tight container. You can bake them from frozen, they just may take an extra minute or two. 🙂
Misty
Wonderful recipie! I always double the recipie so I can put some in the freezer for convenience! My family loves these biscuits with your apple butter recipie & your potato bacon soup recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much, Misty! We’re glad you’ve been enjoying everything 🥰
Barbara Clayton
Made these biscuits this morning and they came out perfect I immediately brushed the tops with melted butter and they had a crunch on the outside and fluffy on the inside. This recipe is a keeper!! Thanks 🥲
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds like they were a hit for you, Barbara! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment 😊
David
The best recipe! Great with deer sausage and tomato gravy!!
Tom
Made these tonight to go with my pumpkin/turkey/corn chowder. First time making biscuits…ever…and they were a hit! Used half and half because I had some leftover from the chowder and came out with 9 biscuits. Also, I remembered from like 30 years ago when my mom made biscuits that you can use the rim of a regular drinking glass to cut it the biscuits and they come out just fine! I will save this recipe for sure.
Monica
They were quite good, but I found them to be a little salty. Next time I would only use about half to 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
Andrea
Made this recipe just now for my family for a brunch. They came out amazing! So light and fluffy and delicious! Husband said to print it and save the recipe! It’s a keeper.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for the review Andrea ❤️
Annie
I’ve made biscuits from scratch in the past, they always came out pretty good. Last night I used all your tips and also laminated the dough (something I’ve never tried)
This time the biscuits came out amazing!!! I loved seeing all the layers in them. Thank you! I am now a subscriber, and will be excited to try more of your recipes!
ps
I’m not new to baking, or baking from scratch my father was a pastry chef. I grew up in a bakery!
Trena Seymour
Hello!! Can I use gluten free baking flour?
Sam
Hi Trena! I have not tried it myself, but I believe other commenters have done so with success. 🙂
em
i love these. literally make them multiple times a week. and generally use half&half (because that’s what we have). sometimes i water it down to be closer to whole milk. sometimes i leave as is! Always amazing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you love them, Em! Thanks for the review ❤️
K
Delicious and easy biscuits! I’ll keep this recipe for sure. The recipe made over a dozen though, not 6. I doubled it and got about 30!
Mimi
So easy and delicious! I mix up the dry ingredients the night before. In the morning I used my Salad Shooter with the grate cone to shred the butter. These are the easiest biscuits I have ever made!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you love them, Mimi! Thanks for commenting 😊
Antonia
I made the biscuits exactly as the recipe except I used almond milk since we never have dairy milk. They turned out fantastic! So I decided to make a double batch for tomorrow (thanksgiving). I had heavy cream and used it watered down… The dough was pretty hard thoug, I guess it’s because I made a double batch and it couldn’t come together good enough or because heavy cream… I brushed the layers with room temp butter before each folding. Didn’t wanted to add more liquid since I was scared to overwork. I putted them in the fridge and will bake tomorrow. Hope they’ll turn out good 😩
Keila
Are you able to freeze these? I wanted to make sausage and cheese biscuits for my husband to take to work.
Sam
Sure thing! Let them cool completely, wrap them up and store in an air tight container. 🙂
Jan
Hi Sam,
I made your biscuit recipe yesterday (first time making biscuits) and they were FANTASTIC. My three year old grandson said “SO delicious grandma”❤️. They were so fluffy and had risen to at least 2”. I’m thinking next time I might try buttermilk in the recipe and/or maybe shredded cheddar. Will definitely be making them again. I used a box grater that I threw in the freezer along with the butter. Only thing is the butter sticks to the inside of the grater so might use a bit more butter for what’s lost in the grater but doesn’t really need it.
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe, very good.
Jan
Kristin
The biscuits were easy to make and soooo delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Aarya
I was wondering if I can bake these ahead of time for thanksgiving?
Sam
Sure thing! You’ll want to store them in an air tight container until use. I personally prefer a fresh biscuit so I prepare the dough ahead of time, cut out the biscuit shapes, store them in an air tight container and bake right before serving. 🙂
Liz
Hi Sam, your comment about making them ahead and baking right before serving is EXACTLY what I was looking for! They should be refrigerated, correct? And how far in advance can they be made? Thank you so much!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Liz! You can refrigerate the cut out biscuits in an airtight container for several days, or you can wrap the cut biscuits and store in the freezer for several months. 🙂
Liz
Thank you very much, Sam! I can’t wait to try these! Happy Thanksgiving!Liz