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.
Sammu Dern
Exact recipe as my my grandmother ( born 1889) taught me except she always made a double batch.I stress that having fresh baking powder is critical when making biscuits. I date my can of baking powder with the date opened and replace it every six months as grandma taught me. I normally use it all before then but old baking powder will result in flat ugly biscuits.Many state they have had their s longer however, fresh will make a big difference. It is not expensive so why chance it. Now I’m hungey for biscuits.
Dennis Wilkes
Howdy Sam…I’m 82 & still teaching Art to children & adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities. This is my 50th year with Orange Grove Center in Chattanooga, TN. I felt especially creative this Saturday morning & gave your biscuit recipe a shot. I even grated the cold butter! Came out reasonably well. My wife & I eat 3 apiece, so I recon they were O.K. Thanks!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Dennis! 🙂
Ryan McDaniel
Best biscuit recipe I’ve ever tried 🙌🏼
Al
Great recipe!
can I double the recipe and get the same results?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Al! I double this recipe frequently with great results. The only thing I would caution you about is to make sure you don’t over-work the dough and warm up the butter too much. 🙂
Sandra Buck
Delicious mine came out perfect!
Rita
Do you think this could be used as the base for strawberry Biscuits?
Sam
Hi Rita! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work. 🙂
Pamela
This is the second time I made this recipe. They turned out great! Pam
Tamara
Would I get the same results if I use bread flour? And what would I need to change ingredients-wise if so?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Tamara! We haven’t tried using bread flour, but we think it should work here 🙂
Tricia
Fantastic, Sam! I have been on the hunt for the perfect biscuit. Something from scratch and with ingredients I have on hand, but has to be flaky. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! They were easy, quick, and rose beautifully. There is no reason I can’t throw a batch of biscuits on at (almost) a moment’s notice. As always, your recipes are the best. Thank you!
Jessica
I have repeatedly tried and failed to make a decent biscuit and I’m from the South so that’s just unspeakable. But your recipe and especially your tips made it super simple to make some of the best biscuits I’ve ever had. I sincerely thank you! It saved me from a bit embarrassment this morning.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you found our recipe, Jessica! Sounds like the biscuits turned out beautifully 😊
Angelina
mine came out gross 😭 was it supposed to be a tablespoon of baking powder or teaspoon?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re sorry to hear that, Angelina! It’s a tablespoon. If you tasted the baking powder, you might want to buy a fresh can (preferably a name brand!). Hopefully that does the trick for you!
Sammu Dern
It is one Tablespon baking powder. Make certain your baking powder is not old. I date the lid of mine and replace it every six monts to ensure nice tall biscuits. My grandma taught me to do that. Some say they have had one year old baking powder do well but I personally know fresh is best.
Pam Rogers
Great recipe, second time I’ve made them.
Araceli
Thanks for this easy recipe! I’ve used it twice to make biscuits. Fluffy and yummy.
Cassie S Harrold
I love the results of this recipe. the texture is flaky with a a moderate lightness to them. I add a little more butter and salt to my version, but overall this is a great recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Cassie! We appreciate you giving them a try 😊
Akari johnson
Very good for biscuits and gravy
Katherine Daniels
Perfect biscuits! I used buttermilk used a cold bowl and baked on parchment paper. They rose perfectly and they were light and fluffy. The unexpected treat was the crispy bottoms! So, delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the review, Katherine! We’re so happy you enjoyed them 🥰
Theresa
Really delicious!
Karen
I LOVE this recipe. My ? is can I make them ahead and freeze them?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Karen! You sure can. You will just need to wrap them well and store in an airtight container 😊
Emily
Great Recipe!!! These were easy, quick, soft and delicious. I’ve never made biscuits from scratch before, and although mine certain look a little rough and ready, I was proud! Yum!
Vincent
These were amazing! The first biscuit recipe I tried that came out right. Thank you for the tip on the wooden spoon, and the frozen, grated butter… I added an extra tbsp of sugar, and an extra half tbsp of butter 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe and tips, Vincent! 😊
Tanya
These came out perfectly! I baked in a pretty hot kitchen, so I had to keep freezing the dough to maintain a reasonable butter consistency, but it worked! I added a little extra sugar on top since they were for berry biscuit shortcake, and everyone loved it!
Nelly
Can you air fry these biscuits
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nelly! We haven’t tried it, but other’s have done so successfully 😊