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Light, fluffy homemade biscuits, as made by my dad! His biscuits are seriously the best. We’re sharing all of his tips and tricks below. Scroll down to get straight to the recipe or keep reading to find out how to make homemade biscuits!
I recently shared a photo of my dad’s famous homemade biscuits on Instagram and you guys ate them up. Figuratively, of course. Literally, I did the eating.
I wanted to be sure that I had his biscuit recipe down pat before I shared with you, so I spent the next few weeks making batch after batch. We ended up making 10 batches of 10 biscuits each. It took me awhile to be sure I had them juuuuuust right.
I also wanted to make sure that I could answer any questions you guys might have and I knew that meant mastering the homemade biscuit.
I spent some time with my dad and he showed me all of his tips and tricks for making the perfect homemade biscuits. And then I came home and I made an unholy amount of biscuits over the course of the next few weeks.
Can confirm I am now a biscuit master.
Will I still make our 7 Up Biscuits? Absolutely – those are easy and delicious. But the truth is that this biscuit recipe from my dad will always have my heart!
Ingredients for Homemade Biscuits:
The Flour: You’re going to use a mixture of all-purpose flour and Bisquick biscuit mix. I haven’t tried this with any substitutions and I haven’t tried it with a homemade Bisquick biscuit mix myself, so I can’t tell you how well that will work. If you do try it, please report back so I can update this!
The Butter: We’re using softened butter instead of cold butter. I know, your whole life you’ve heard that you need to use cold butter! Some of you are probably grating frozen butter into your biscuits. This recipe works perfectly with room temperature butter!
The Leavening Agents: There’s a lot of baking powder in this recipe. I was actually pretty surprised by the amount my dad uses. But it doesn’t have a metallic or soapy taste! Baking soda is normally used when there is an acid present – like buttermilk, lemon, or vinegar, There isn’t any in this recipe, but my dad still adds a little baking soda and it just isn’t the same without it!
The Milk: You can use buttermilk if you really feel the need to, but my dad uses regular 2% milk and so do I. I actually prefer the biscuits that way. They get too tangy for me when you use buttermilk.
What Readers are Saying!
“I have never made homemade biscuits before so this was my first attempt. Oh my goodness! They turned out amazingly delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and tips!!” – Christen
How to Make Homemade Biscuits:
Dry Ingredients: These aren’t your average Bisquick biscuits! That means you’ll be adding some extra ingredients to the mix.
Add the Bisquick biscuit mix, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Wet Ingredients: Now you can start adding in the butter. Start with two tablespoons and work it into the flour, then repeat with the remaining butter. Next you can pour in the milk and stir it with a spoon until just combined. To finish fold the dough over on itself three times.
Shape: Pat the dough out into a circle about 3/4 of an inch thick onto a floured surface.
Helpful Tip!
Is the dough too soft to work with?
You may need to add more flour if the mixture is too wet. Just add in a tablespoon at a time until the dough is dry enough to handle.
Helpful Tip!
Don’t be shy about re-rolling the dough!
Get in there and re-roll that dough to get extra biscuits. You’ll probably get about 5 biscuits from your initial pat down of the dough. Definitely pat it back out and cut out the remaining biscuits. My dad isn’t at all shy about re-working the dough and you shouldn’t be either.
Bake: Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and let them sit for 5 minutes before baking. They’ll take about 10 to 15 minutes in the oven or until the tops begin to turn golden brown!
FAQ:
These brown spots are happening because you’re not mixing the dry ingredients together well enough. I won’t make you sift things (heaven forbid), but do really stir everything together, more than you think you probably need to. At least 30 seconds of non-stop stirring things around with a fork. Trust me. Even if you do end up with brown spots, the biscuits will taste great, they’re just not quite as pretty.
Is your baking powder old? It does eventually stop working well and you may need to replace it. If it’s definitely not that, are you mixing in your butter really super-duper good? Because you need to. I take a spoon and smear the softened butter into the flour against the sides of the bowl. I keep at it long after I’m bored of it, until the entire bowl looks like lightly damp sand. Almost like if you grabbed a handful of it and squeezed it, it *might* stick together.
Add in more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s just workable. The very least amount of flour you can get away with is the best in these biscuits, but don’t be killing yourself trying to roll out dough that is just too sticky. When you touch it, your hand should come away clean. When you pinch it, you should have a bit of dough left on your fingers.
Sounds like you overworked the dough or added too much flour. I had this problem the first few times I made these too. Just use a light hand when mixing and add just enough flour to hold the dough together.
Some days these guys only take ten minutes and other days they take 15. I can’t explain it (Humidity? Magic?), but I’m aware of it. I’m also aware that every oven is different. Some heat evenly, some do not. Some can’t hold a temperature and are fluctuating like crazy. So, get to know your oven and react accordingly. Or just set the timer for 10 minutes and start babysitting them. Pull them when the tops are just lightly golden. Nobody likes a crunchy biscuit, so don’t over bake these guys.
How to serve these biscuits:
- Cinnamon Honey Butter is the perfect topping!
- Sausage Gravy is a classic.
- Use these biscuits in my biscuits and gravy casserole.
- Chocolate Gravy is a Southern favorite and the kids will love it!
- Of course, butter and jam is always a win.
MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES!
- Fruit Loop Donuts
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Keto Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl
- Amish Breakfast Casserole
- Air Fryer Sausage Patties
- Chocolate Glazed Donuts
Easy Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour, plus more as needed
- 1 cup Bisquick
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Add the flour, Bisquick, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine the dry ingredients thoroughly.
- Add two tablespoons of the butter to the dough and use a spoon to press it into the flour mixture. I find it easiest to smear the butter against the sides of the bowl while working it into the flour. Once the first two tablespoons are completely incorporated, add in the last two tablespoons and repeat the process.
- Pour in the milk and stir with a spoon until just combined. The dough will likely be too wet. Add in more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough is just dry enough to handle. Dough should come away clean from your fingers when you touch it, but stick to your fingers if you pinch it.
- Dump dough onto a well floured work surface. Sprinkle lightly with flour.
- Fold dough over on itself three times.
- Use your hands to pat the dough to 3/4 of an inch high.
- Cut dough out with biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet. Let sit 5 minutes before baking.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are just beginning to turn golden. Do not overbake these!
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in March 2016. It’s been updated with a new video and FAQ section in March 2018.
Jennie says
Becca, your biscuits may not have been as fluffy as you’d have liked if you twisted or turned your biscuit cutter. You should always make the cut clean; just down and straight up…no twists or turns. If you twist or turn the cutter, you actually seal the sides of the dough to where your biscuit can’t rise up nice and fluffy.
Cooking in KS says
Big fan of this recipe! I was a little concerned about the “stickiness” but kept slow adding flour as instructed. Perfect for biscuits and gravy. My next biscuit will be with butter and jelly!!!! Thanks for this recipe!!
Sheila says
These biscuits are awesome. So fluffy and delicious. I didn’t have Bisquick but had Jiffy biscuit mix so I used that. I also used buttermilk instead of regular milk. They turned out great! I have tried lots of different recipes for biscuits and I can say this will be my go to recipe from now on! I baked mine in a cast iron skillet coated with bacon grease. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Karly says
Glad they were a hit!
Joyce says
These are amazing!!!
Becca says
Made these tonight to have with biscuits and gravy! First time at homemade biscuits! My family was impressed! I wish they would of been a bit fluffier, but I suppose that will come with practice! <3
Lisa Spacek says
Do you grade the pan?
Karly says
I assume you mean “grease” and not “grade?” No, I don’t. 🙂
Janie says
Enjoyed your article, but was disappointed to see Bisquick being used, not a healthy product!
marizabel says
Hola, hice la recetas y quedan geniales los biscuit yummy yummy!
Rebel Johnson says
I tried them with half whole wheat and half regular flour. They weren’t pretty but they tasted really good! Thanks! I’m going to keep practicing!
Charlotte says
Love these biscuits! I’ve actually never made biscuits from scratch before, so I was a bit nervous on the outcome. I followed your steps to a T, and they came out wonderfully! Thank you!!
Karly says
So glad they worked out for you!
Gina says
These are fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
Ericka says
Is there a way to print this recipe with out the large Instagram photo??
Karly says
Hi Ericka!
I’m sorry about that. I’ll have to look into it. In the meantime, your best bet is to copy and paste the recipe into a word doc. 🙂
Giselle says
Help!!! I’m in England I really want to make these but what’s an English alternative to Bisquick? Xx
Laura says
There’s recipes you can look up for homemade bisquick. Bisquick is a mix that has a leavening agent, flour, and shortening. You can make pancakes, waffles, muffins, and biscuits with it. Not sure if you have something like this in England, but it’s easy to make.
Karly says
You’d need to look up a recipe for a homemade version, most likely. 🙂
Glenn says
Home made bisquick : 1 cup flour (125G), 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (8G), 1/4 teaspoon of salt (pinch), 1 Tablespoon (15G) shorting, vegetalbe oil or melted butter. combine dry ingredients. cut in shorting. All purpose flour works best.
Leigh Richards says
I’ve made plenty of biscuits in my lifetime but something you said about reworking the dough made me think… Of course I haven’t used your Dad’s recipe (YET) but I wonder if you roll the dough out in, as much as possible, a rectangular or square shape, and then just use a knife and cut SQUARE biscuits, maybe 2 inches by 2 inches if that would work just as well as using the cookie cutter… Sure, they should be round, but I think square ones would be less time consuming and kind of unique. And for those squeamish about the “reworking” thing, that would be an excellent compromise… What do you think? If I try it, I will report back…
Karly says
Hi Leigh!
That would work great, if you don’t mind square biscuits! It’d definitely keep you from having to rework the dough! 🙂
Faith says
thank you for posting all the things to do, when I rewrite a recipe it is usually twice as long because I add all the extra steps that make it work for me. These biscuits look amazing, going to try them tomorrow have been on a very long search to find a good biscuit recipe.