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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.
K Kirkland says
I made with homemade bisquick and they turned out great! Light and fluffy!!
Maggie Martin says
I have been using this recipe since I last commented and it is a keeper for sure! My gramma , the worlds best bisquit maker at 96 years old is in love these ! She says dump all the old recipes and stay with these so I am doing just that!
Thanks Karly’s dad and Karly
Maggie
Karly says
Oh gosh, that’s the biggest compliment. Thank you!
ScottS says
Looks really good, can’t wait to try them. Thanks for all the hard work testing and getting it the best they can be.
Toni says
Scrolled through a mile of blah blah blah to find you used Bisquick. Pathetic.
Karly says
Actually, you scrolled through a mile of all the helpful tips and tricks to make this recipe work. You’re welcome.
Sharon says
Thanks Karly! Look good!
Shauna A Fulenwider says
ACTUALLY the person complaining could have just looked at tge recipe title to see if Bisquick was used. (Ugh. Pathetic ) But these are DELICIOUS!!! THANK YOU
Joe Catoir says
Great recipe!! I’ve tried the sour cream soda biscuits and they were good but fell apart easy. These hold up perfect and are still soft. The mix of the flour and biscuit made them just right.it saves having to make bisquick yourself. I will make them often.
Karly says
So glad you gave them a try! 🙂
Sarah says
Hahaha! Tru, tho. Fantastic tips! Haters gonna hate! Asked my hubby to make these for me for Mother’s Day breakfast. I could not stop eating them. We actually used them at breakfast and again for dessert later that night (carbs don’t apply on Mother’s Day!) So yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Shona says
Thank you Karly – I will def give them a try. Thanks to your dad too for sharing his trade secret, much appreciated !
Regards Shona (South Africa)
Karly says
Hope you love the biscuits!
Pam says
But Darling, I’m here because I can’t afford Bisquik. I do love the tips and tricks. But Bisquik shouldn’t be a trick. Just saying. I’ll keep looking and am glad about all the ideas.
Bon Maritn says
I didn”t have the Bisquick so I had to sub with flour. It didn’t matter anyway, they turned out perfect! Thanks!
Kcaz says
These ARE the best biscuits I have ever had. Fantastic recipe and tips, Karly!
Karly says
Love to hear that! 🙂
Susie says
I love this recipe but my biscuits were good until you tried to pick them up and then they were very crumbly. I’m sure I need to change something. The dough was very sticky in the bowl so I sprinkled a little bit, maybe a teaspoonful and a half of flour on top and barely worked it in by folding 3 or 4 times. I was trying to work the dough just slightly. Can you make any suggestions as to what I did wrong? Thank you!
Karly says
Hi Susie! Sorry to hear the biscuits were crumbly. It was likely an issue of too much fat/not enough flour in the dough. If the dough is very sticky, it’ll need more flour. You just want to add it slowly so you don’t over do it. 🙂
Kaelen says
I tried this recipe exactly and it came out far too salty. Perhaps I did something wrong. I am going to leave out the salt next time. Also, Karly, how do you think crisco would work with this recipe and if you think it will work, how much would you use? TIA!
Karly says
Hi Kaelen! So strange that they came out salty. I’ve never had that issue at all. I think it would probably work with Crisco, but I would use the butter flavored variety to give them a buttery flavor.
Michelle says
Well the title says BISQUICK. So there’s no need to be rude. And they were absolutely wonderful!!! She adds helpful tips because it’s easy to screw up biscuits. Been cooking and baking for 25 years and I’m very good at it and biscuits are tough to get just right so I followed her tips for a reason. So thank you so much for a great recipe Karly! Best biscuits I’ve ever made ?
Karly says
So glad your biscuits turned out, Michelle!!
Kandice says
These were so yummy. So glad I found this recipe. Who’ll be saving it for the furore.
Namino says
Can I use shortening in place of butter?
Karly says
I’ve only made these with butter, so I’m really not sure.
Marie says
Hi, I just made your biscuits!!!!! You are right they are the darndest good biscuits. I didn’t use a spoon at all I just use my hand to mix the dough. They are the softest, fluffiest best tasting biscuits. Thank you, I love you for sharing
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the biscuits, Marie!
Dede says
I feel dumb asking this question but I don’t bake often. Is the butter salted or unsalted.
Karly says
Hey! No need to feel dumb! You can use either…if you use unsalted, add a pinch more salt to the mix. I always use salted because that’s what I keep on hand. 🙂
Cheryl Mak says
Hi! Karly,
Can you please share the sample packaging of Bisquick?
Karly says
Hi Cheryl! I’m not sure what you mean?
Ann Crist says
I have gone thru sooo many biscuit recipes posted ,all of them shouting praise, only to follow and be disappointed. I just wanted 1 great recipe that I could trust and perfect. How very happpy I was to make this recipe first time with great tasting biscuits. This is officially my go to recipe. Thank your Dad for me. Experienced cook always learning.
Karly says
Yay!! So glad these were a hit! <3
Zoe says
I only use this recipe! So yummy!
Jodi Keating says
OMG, just took these out of the oven. Thought I would try a new recipe using Bisquick. I wanted to see if I could improve the drop biscuits recipe that is included on the side of the box. I found your recipe and thought I would give it a shot. They turned out so good. Thank you to you and your Father for this recipe. They are soooo good. I have to make 100 of these for an annual breakfast. They will be great with my sausage gravy.. Better get busy…
Karly says
Woo, that’s a lot of biscuits!! I’m sure it’ll be worth it though. Enjoy!
Susan says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Mine tested great but were so crumbly you couldn’t pick them up…..any ideas what I did wrong? Thank you again.
Karly says
Hi Susan! I haven’t had that issue before. Did you use real butter? That’s always my first guess – when people use margarine they tend to have issues. 🙂
Caspersen says
Stumbled across this recipe and I love it. I read the reviews and gave it a try and like one other person it took only ten minutes in my oven. I’ll be using this recipe from now on..thankyou from Alaska.
Shirley says
Karly, sweetheart, I am so excited about this recipe. Thank you, and thank your Dad.
Carla says
Was looking for something to do and made these biscuits. They are the freakin bomb. Best biscuit i ever made. Thank you so much for this simple and delicious recipe. Am saving the rest for breakfast. Making sausage gravy and eggs….