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.
N. Daing
I was craving biscuits when I saw this recipe! Had all the ingredients, thankfully and had a go, very cautiously as I am usually not a very good baker. They turned out beautiful! Am so happy I found you (and this recipe!) 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so happy you found our recipe too ❤️ Enjoy!
Carm
Hi Sam, i hope all is well with you. I plan on making this recipe soon. I watched your video and read the steps. Can i prepare this at night, put in the fridge and in the morning I can just put the biscuit in the oven and bake them?
Thanks in advance for your reply. (~_~)
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Just be sure to store them in an airtight container. Enjoy, Carm 😊
Fellz
Omg. These turned out so friggin good! I used 2% milk and they’re perfect!! Just perfect. Thanks for the easy recipe and directions <3
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Fellz 😍
June
SO easy! My dough was dry and crumbly, but I mashed it together and persevered. Delicious! I am neither a baker nor a good cook – and these were awesome!
Melissa
Thank you. This biscuit was perfectly crisp around the edges and soaked up gravy like a champ. Definitely 5 stars!
Beth
I don’t normally leave reviews on things, but these biscuits are AMAZING. We have made them almost a dozen times in the last two months and they come out perfect every single time. They are super quick and easy! Thank you for sharing!
Sam
Thank YOU for trying my recipe, Beth! So glad to hear everyone has been enjoying them!! 🙂
Bob
I’ve made this recipe several times. Everyone enjoys these biscuits. I make about sixty at a time for our youth at church. We serve biscuits and sausage gravy at different times during the year.
Kai
Do you think this would work with soy milk instead of whole milk?
Sam
I haven’t personally tried it, but many others have commented that they have used soy milk with success. 🙂
Sheila
I used this recipe this morning. It was super easy! I liked the consistency. It seemed like too much salt for me so I’m wondering if I can skip the salt.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Did you happen to use salted butter? We’re glad you liked them otherwise 😊
Lorraine
Made these biscuits this morning we were out of bread. They turned out perfect and were fluffy and delicious 😋. I will be maki g these again
Miss Susie
I’ve been looking for a homemade biscuit recipe for years. THIS ONE is what I’ve been looking for! I’ll definitely be making these again and again and again …
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you found our recipe, Miss Susie! Thanks so much for giving it a shot ❤️
marla
They were a hit, thanks so much for the recipe!
Bev
Am I use skim milk instead of 2% or whole milk?
Sam
Yes that would be fine 🙂
Shelia
My biscuits did not rise. Any suggestions?
Sam
Hi Shelia! I would check that your baking powder is good and make sure you are not over-handling the dough (you don’t want the butter to get too warm).
Laura
Best biscuits I’ve ever made. Made 4 huge biscuits.. so many layers and of course had to cook them a bit longer cause they were huge! I’ll never look for another biscuit recipe again
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you loved them, Laura! Thanks for commenting 😊
kayla
just a question, does the dough keep well in the freezer? thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes it does! We recommend cutting the biscuits before freezing so you can just bake from frozen 😊
Amanda
Would you bake them at the same temp for the same time from frozen?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Same temp, but they may need just a minute or two longer 😊
Bee
I made a triple batch and it turned out so good! I didn’t add the sugar and I think they tasted perfect. However they needed about 5 extra minutes in the oven because they were slightly raw and doughy inside Super easy and pretty quick recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how you enjoyed them, Bee! 🥰
Alisha
The first time I made these, they came out completely PERFECT!! I have made them a few more times (following the steps closely) and I can’t seem to get them to rise like the first time I baked them. With that being said, even when they don’t rise, they still taste great!! I was just wondering foe any tips to get a consistent rise? Thank you for the recipe!
Sam
Hi Alisha! Have you checked out the video, that might be helpful! Also, make sure your baking powder is not expired and take care to not over-handle the dough (you don’t want the butter to get too warm). I hope that helps!
Bea
Used almond milk (all I had & had an emergency biscuit craving!) and they were GREAT!!
Definitely will be my forever biscuit recipe; thanks so much!