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 recipeย a few weeks ago,ย “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.ย 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.ย And then more butter once they’re finished baking because of course we need more butter.
I mentioned that these biscuits are easy soย do not be alarmedย by all the tips that I have for you below. These biscuitsย 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 ofย 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:ย 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.ย 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 andย 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 encourageย 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
- ยพ cup whole milkยน (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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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 ยพ" round biscuit cutter with flour.ย
- 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 ยฝ" apart on baking sheet.ย
- 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.
Becky
I don’t ever have anything but skim milk on hand. Could I use skim milk and add extra butter? If so, how much butter would you recommend to make up for the lower fat content in the milk? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Becky! I don’t believe you would have to add any extra butter to the biscuits. Just use the same amount of skim milk as you would whole milk. The biscuits may be a little bit drier though.
Rhonda McCormick
I commented before about how much I LOVE these biscuits! Iโm just wondering if/what youโd change for making them at high altitude. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Rhonda! Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with high altitude baking. Maybe someone else that is can chime in to help you. ๐
Daniel
I made biscuits with this recipe. My family thought I was hiding my baking skills.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Daniel! ๐
Jennifer
I tried this recipe and the method of grating ice cold butter. I’ve never made or tasted better biscuits! My forever biscuit recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the biscuits, Jennifer! ๐
Halley
Can you go into a little more detail on why not to use a rolling pin? It seems like that would be the best way to get it flat enough to fold over on itself.
Sam
Hi Halley! Using a rolling pin is a good way to overwork the dough very quickly, which will keep them from being nice and flaky. ๐
Amanda
The tips helped demystify why my biscuits never turned out flaky. I felt like, for the first time, I made biscuits that rivaled the restaurants I dine at (which happens to be in the south). Best recipe ever!!!! Trust me have I tried them all.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the biscuits Amanda! ๐
Lori Hagemann
I am a picky biscuit person and these were the easiest and so yummy!!! Love the grated butter idea, I might try that for pies as well!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the biscuits, Lori! ๐
Walter Enos
My wife loves these biscuits, she thinks I’m the Pillsbury dough boy.
Sam
Except better right? ๐ I am so glad everyone enjoyed the biscuits, Walter! ๐
Bevp
How many carbs per biscuit? Thanks.B
Sam
Hi Bev! Unfortunately I have never calculated the carbs in these biscuits. The best way I have found to find this information is through My Fitness Pal. It is free and allows you to plug in all of the ingredients and it will calculate it for you. ๐
Sarah
These were a hit. The flakey layers were delicious. So easy to make and fast. I did freeze my butter so it was rock hard as well as put my milk in freezer for some time to make sure it was very cold. Wonโt be buying those store bought ones ever again! Thanks for recipe and helpful video. Served these with your chilli recipe which is just as awesome.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Sarah! ๐
Elizabeth
O absolutely love love LOVE this recipe!!! I substituted the whole milk for 2% and they are STILL absolutely delicious! I make these when I make biscuits and gravy! My friends amd family love them as well!!! Thank you so much for an amazing, yet simple recipe!โคโคโคโค
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them Elizabeth! ๐
Jill
Do these freeze well?
Sam
Hi Jill! I have not tried it, but I know others have and have reported success. ๐
Jasenda
Can you use buttermilk?
Sam
Hi Jasenda! I think that will work fine. ๐
Katie
Love the recipe!!
Sam
Thanks, Katie!! ๐
Henny Hall
I have been making biscuits for 58 years…..a friend, just today, asked me “How to make a biscuit” ? I truly found your site first by looking for ‘homemade biscuit made with butter’–She just called and told me they were so “damned” good–she is making a pan for her neighbor !! It is true–your recipe is concise, spot-on, and if followed exactly, will produce a homemade biscuit that is worthy alongside any plate of fried chicken, country style steak, pork chops, jam, or plain !! Thank you Sam-the Biscuit Man.
Sam
Thank you so much, Henny! I am so glad you enjoyed the biscuits! ๐