Homemade Biscuits are made with just 6 ingredients and ready in 30 minutes. Fluffy and buttery, they make a great side dish for the holidays and can be used in dishes like biscuits and gravy, chicken and biscuits, and breakfast sandwiches. Or just enjoy them anytime with some butter and jam!
The Best Homemade Biscuit Recipe
Everyone should have a go-to biscuit recipe for classic fluffy, buttery biscuits. I’ve shared a few different biscuit variations before – like 7-Up biscuits, sour cream biscuits, and Cheddar Bay biscuits – but today we’re going back to the basics with what may be the best homemade biscuits you’ll ever make.
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These homemade biscuits are made entirely from scratch, with pantry staples like flour, baking powder, and butter. They don’t require any special tools (besides a biscuit cutter, though you can use a glass too) and the dough doesn’t need to rise.
In just 30 minutes, you can have warm, fluffy, buttery biscuits ready to enjoy!
Why You’ll Love Making Biscuits from Scratch
Here are a few reasons you’ll find yourself making these easy homemade biscuits again and again.
- Only 6 ingredients. And they’re all pantry staples, like flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Ready in 30 minutes. These easy biscuits require no rise time. From start to finish, you can have these ready in just 30 minutes!
- Soft and buttery. These biscuits have a lovely soft, fluffy texture with a buttery flavor. Absolute perfection!
What You’ll Need
One of the reasons I think this is the best homemade biscuit recipe? You only need 6 ingredients and there’s a good chance every one of them is already in your kitchen. See the recipe card below for measurements.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder – Baking powder is key to ensuring the biscuits rise up nice and fluffy in the oven.
- Granulated sugar – Helps to add a bit of flavor to the biscuits.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – Since we’re adding salt to the recipe, you want to use unsalted butter and not salted butter. You’ll need additional (melted) butter to brush the biscuits after baking as well.
- Half and half – Whole milk will also work.
How to Make Homemade Biscuits
Making biscuits from scratch is much easier than you may think!
- Prepare the butter. Dice the butter into 1/2″ cubes then place it in the fridge until needed.
- Make the biscuit dough. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix mill. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender, until the largest pieces are pea-sized crumbs. Add the milk and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined.
- Work the dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Gently work the dough with your hands, adding more flour as needed.
- Cut the biscuits. Pat the dough into a rectangle, fold in half, and form another rectangle. Fold a second time and pat it into a 5×10″ rectangle, about 3/4-1″ thick. Dip a biscuit cutter into flour then cut the dough. You should get 7-8 biscuits. Pull the scraps together into another rectangle to cut 2 more biscuits.
- Bake. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 450F for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown on top. Brush with melted butter immediately after baking.
Tips for Success
These easy homemade biscuits are pretty straight-forward to make but there are a few important things to note.
- Use COLD butter. It is key that the butter is cold when you start cutting it in. That’s why I recommend dicing it then returning it to the fridge. The colder, the better. You want the butter to slowly melt in the oven to create those super fluffy, buttery biscuits.
- Keep the milk cold too. In a similar vein, the half and half or whole milk should also be kept in the fridge until you add it to the dough.
- Do not overwork the dough. Once you cut in the butter and add the milk, mix the dough only as much as needed to moisten the dough. Additionally, don’t over-knead it or work it too much when folding it.
- Be sure to fold the dough. Folding the dough as shown in the directions is called laminating and this is what helps create the layers to make fluffy biscuits. Be sure to work it with your hands and not a rolling pin.
- Add more flour as needed. If the dough is super sticky, add in small amounts of flour until it’s easier to work with. Also be sure to flour your work surface.
Why Are My Biscuits Hard?
The main thing that can cause homemade biscuits to be hard is overworking the dough – both overmixing it once you add the milk and working it too much with your hands.
Overmixing the dough can release gluten strands which make the biscuits hard, plus it melts the butter which makes them not as flaky.
Ways to Serve These Fluffy Biscuits
There’s nothing like a biscuit still warm from the oven! These easy biscuits are super versatile and can be served in so many ways. Here are a few ideas:
- One of our favorite ways to use this biscuit recipe is with our amazing strawberry shortcake.
- Warm with some butter (bonus points for cinnamon honey butter)
- With your favorite jam or jelly (we like strawberry jam and apple jelly)
- In a breakfast sandwich
- Topped with some sausage gravy
- As a side dish for the holidays
- Served as chicken and biscuits
Truly, any excuse to eat these biscuits is a good one!
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover homemade biscuits can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. I keep them in a ziploc bag but any airtight container will do. I like to pop them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to reheat them as well.
More Biscuit Recipes:
Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (8 Tbsp, cold)
- 3/4 cup half and half or whole milk
- 1/2 tbsp melted butter to brush the baked biscuits
Instructions
- Dice butter into 1/2″ cubes and refrigerate until needed.
- Preheat oven to 450F 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.
- Add diced cold butter and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender , until the largest butter pieces are pea-sized crumbs.
- Add milk, use a wooden spoon or heavy 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 a bit more flour until it is manageable.
- Pat dough into a rectangle then fold it in half and pat into another rectangle. Fold a second time and pat into a 5″x10″ rectangle or 3/4 – 1″ thickness. Dip a 2 1/2″ round biscuit cutter into flour and cut out 7- 8 biscuits. Pull together scraps and form into a rectangle to cut an extra 2 biscuits.
- Place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart and bake at 450˚F for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. While biscuits are hot, brush tops with 1/2 Tbsp melted butter. Serve warm and enjoy!
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1 thought on “Homemade Biscuits”
Great directions for great biscuits. especially with jelly!