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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.
Wayne Trusler says
THESE ARE NOT BISCUITS!!!!!!!!!… THEY ARE SCONES!!!… PLEASE DO A SEARCH FOR ‘SCONES’ ON THE INTERNET!
Karly says
Hi Wayne! In America, these are most definitely called biscuits. I ate many a scone in Europe on my trip there a few months ago and these are quite different than any I tried. The scones in America are also a bit different from the scones I had in England, but they’re more similar in taste and texture.
Abbie says
These were AMAZING!!!! My boyfriend thanks you!! I only had 3/4 cup of Bisquick so I used 1 & 1/4 c of flour and they turned out perfect!!!! Now I have to use that same ratio always!! Thanks again for sharing!!!
Karly says
Awesome!! Glad to hear that!
Cheryl Masters says
These biscuits look absolutely scrumptious. Unfortunately, my portable oven only goes to 350 degrees and there’s no way around that. Any suggestions are more than welcome. Thank you. Cheryl
Karly says
You could try baking them at a lower temperature, but biscuits really need the higher temps to help them rise nice and tall and get that crunchy exterior and soft interior.
Becky T says
Oh My Goodness. On the bases of this biscuits posting alone I am marking your blog to check out each day. Love the way it is written and the details and the humor!!!!
When the weather cools down in my part of the country these are the first thing I am baking!!!!
Karly says
Thanks, Becky! <3
Patsy Conlon says
Mind came out good, but the bottom of the biscuits were hard, cooked them for 15 min. Do you tough the biscuits together or not??? Let me know and inside was not done to me. I used 6T of flour before I added the dough to my board. I think I over did it with the flour, what do you think?? I do not know how to made biscuits did rise and my husband thought they were good. Any help would be appreciated.
Let me know how I can do better.
Thank you
Patsy
Karly says
Hi Patsy!
If the bottoms were hard before the insides were done, it sounds like you might need to reduce the oven temperature a bit. It’s hard to say if you overdid the flour – if the biscuits were tough, then yes, maybe. You’ll use different amounts of flour depending on the humidity of the day. The more you make them, the more you’ll recognize the right feel of the dough. 🙂
Hope that helps!
David says
This recipient is delicious made some country gravy and eggs with them was a family hit…. thanks for sharing
Ashley says
These turned out soooo good! I’m the official biscuit maker in our family and have a tried and true recipe that we all love. But I was feelin’ kinda feisty & wanted to try a new recipe yesterday. Your picture is what hooked me. At first I was all like, no buttermilk….gasp, no grating & freezing butter….double gasp! But I went exactly by your recipe and they turned out wonderful! So light and buttery. And I used homemade bisquick & they looked just like the picture! Now I’m off to go eat the last one I hid from the fam ?
Karly says
So glad these were a hit for you!
Mary Gilmore says
I am almost 70 years old and have TRIED sooooo many biscuit recipes, BUT these are the absolute best. I had to lower my oven as it cooks hotter and cooked only about 12 minutes. Easy and awesome.
Jennifer Heinecke says
In England, Australia and New Zealand we have always called these SCONES. Served with Jam and Thick Cream . Usually served for Morning or Afternoon Tea.
An easy recipe is 3 Cups Self Raising Flour, 1 small can Lemonade, 1 cup thickened cream, a pinch of salt if you like. They come out tasting like normal Scones. I make these all the time. Serve cut into two the Strawberry or Raspberry Jam and Thickend whipped cream or doloping cream…Yummy! They freeze well too!
Deanna Cummings says
These biscuits are “great” and so easy to make. They turned out so tender and flakey and light weight (they really are better than the dairy case varieties). I made sure to mix all of the ingredients, thoroughly, and took extra care to be sure the butter was cut into the dry ingredients as directed (turned out great the first time). Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Lisa says
I made these tonight with a homemade bisquick mix and they turned out wonderfully. Thanks for the recipe.
Karly says
Glad to hear! 🙂
Mari says
I just made these they came out perfect. I’ve never made biscuits from scratch before until today. I will never buy them at the store thanks to your dads recipe.. thank you ?
EWildi says
I made these biscuits with homemade bisquick. They were wonderful! Great recipe! I patted out the dough and cut 5 biscuits. Then, I loosely piled the scraps together and cut 2 more. Even the “scrap” biscuits were fluffy and soft! Thank you (and your dad!) for sharing this delicious recipe.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed these!
Mary McGinnis says
My biscuits are always hard on the bottom. Can you tell me why? Thanks in advance!
Karly says
Your oven might run hot. You could also try raising the shelf and keeping the biscuits closer to the top of the oven, rather than the bottom. 🙂
Pamela Marshall says
After 30 years of biscuit making, I’ve found the perfect recipe. These are excellent and easy. Thanks for the great recipe!