I have been so excited to share this recipe with you ever since my sister made these mouth watering biscuits a few weeks ago. She made three cookie sheets full and within the course of a meal our family (extended family) ate every last one.
My parents went on a trip to South Carolina and enjoyed some of the best southern BBQ they had ever had. They even were able to visit Paula Deen’s restaurant and home town (how fun!). We celebrated them coming home with a full blown southern BBQ style dinner. We had a lot of fun, and the food was amazing!! I am excited to share some of our favorite recipes from this night with you throughout the week.
Tradition idea…any time anyone in our family comes home from a vacation of some kind we always welcome them home to a meal from the place they were visiting….ex: a Hawaii reunion would warrant Hawaiian Haystacks, a trip home from Disneyland wouldn’t be the same without Monte Cristo’s, a return trip from Boston would need Lobster Rolls, etc. This is just a fun way to get together with family and bring a piece of the vacation fun home to the family who didn’t get to go. Kind of silly, but we sure love it!
Now..back to the biscuits. I am generally not a huge fan of biscuits, I would usually prefer a homemade roll over a biscuit any day. I think this is usually because biscuits tend to be flavorless and too dry. These biscuits are the complete opposite. They are filled with buttery flavor and have an incredibly chewy texture. I could eat one of these for breakfast, lunch & dinner and never get sick of them. Smother a biscuit with gravy, or a spoonfull of jam and this is better than any sweet treat any day of the week! You won’t know how amazing they are until you make them. Serve these biscuits with some BBQ pork and you have a meal made in heaven! Tomorrow I will post my favorite recipe for coleslaw and later in the week, homemade cheesy grits. Enjoy ya’ all!


- 3 cup flour (I have used 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat and they turn our great!)
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 stick butter
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (I have made these with buttermilk as well as the 'homemade' buttermilk version of 3/4 c. milk + 2 T. lemon juice and they work out amazing either way)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and butter until crumbly. Mix in buttermilk, egg and just enough water to make a workable dough. Mix the dough until it is just barely combined (don't over mix). Roll the dough onto a floured cutting board about 1 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter, or a 2 inch round cup. Place on a greased baking sheet (touching each other) and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 12-15 biscuits, depending how thick you make them.
- *ONLY hand mix your dough. Don't mix in a Bosch or with a hand mixer. The dough will be too tough and the dough will become dry if you use a mixer. You don't want to over mix this recipe. The best way to mix this dough is with a pastry cutter or using two knives and cutting the dough back and forth. This method takes a little longer but will ensure the perfect biscuit. You want pieces of butter left in your biscuit, that is what keeps the dough light and flaky.
- *Next tip is to keep your biscuit dough fairly thick. You want a tall and thick biscuit more than you do a thin and hard biscuit. Keeping the dough thick will ensure a chewy and soft biscuit. I keep my dough about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (cooking times may vary depending how thick you make them).
These look super yummy! How many biscuits does the recipe make.
Sorry, I left that out. One batch makes one cookie sheet worth (I believe about 20-24). It depends how large and thick you make your biscuits. I always double this batch for good measure 😉 You can always freeze the extras for later.
These biscuits look so yummy and puffy. I will definitely have to try this one!
http://lexmallabooks.com/
Thanks for your comment Raysha, I hope you love them as much as I do!
Colorful recipes and watering in mouth. great your idea and easy make tips share so i just try make this recipes at my home . thanks
I have a pan ready to go in the oven now! Have never seen a biscuit with an egg in it, can't wait to try them with our chicken and noodles tonight. This recipe made 11 for me with a 2" cutter, and dough an inch and a quarter maybe ;). Plenty for three of us. Lol
I hope you love them! Thanks for your comment 😉 Enjoy your biscuits.
I am about to make these but was wondering if the butter needs to be soft?
Hilarie,
The butter can be at room temperature or cold. The colder the butter the larger butter chunks you will have in your biscuit, the more flaky they will be. Either temperature will work just fine, just don't have the butter melted and it will work. Good luck and thanks for your question and comment 😉
Just tried these. They're delicious!
Thanks for the recipe!!!
Awesome recipe!!!! We were actually planning on making biscuits and gravy tonight for dinner and I was looking for a better biscuit recipe. can't wait.
ps, i about died laughing when you said a hawaii trip would warrant "Hawaiian Haystacks" I lived nearly my entire life in Hawaii and the only time I'd ever had Hawaiian Haystacks was on a trip to Utah!!!
That is so funny–you gotta' love our Utah version of Hawaii. Hey..we should introduce the haystacks to Hawaii..they are yummy!
Thanks for your comment. That made me smile 🙂
I'm a bit of a novice in the kitchen….. is there a difference between the capital T you use with the sugar as compared to the lowercase t used with the salt/baking powder? Are they both teaspoons? Can't wait to make these!
Capital T is a Tablespoon
Lowercase t is a teaspoon
What type of flour did you use? All-purpose?
Thanks!
Becky
Hayley, yes there is a difference. The capital T means tablespoon. The lowercase t means teaspoon. 🙂
Here I was thinking it was a typo!! That's what I get for thinking + cooking! Thanks anonymous!
Glad you got that figured out–that does get confusing 😉 I always tell my kids that the upper case T is for the tablespoon because a table is big, like the tablespoon. And.. the small t. is for teaspoon, just like a teacup is small. Silly, but it seems to help them remember which to use 😉
Thanks for your comments and hope you love these!
(I use all purpose white flour in this recipe 😉
I agree with you on biscuits, but good ones from restaurants are killer. I am definitely giving these a try – egg and 1 to 1 1/2 inches high – now that sounds like a winner!
Ok so I just made these and they are very yummy … I have a few questions … I was so scared to handle these too much I think I mIght not have combined them enough ? Because they were falling apart and a little dry ? When you roll them out do you use a roller or your hands ? Also do you put something on top to make them more moist … Did I use too much flour on the cutting board ? I am so excited to make these again and freeze them … One last question can you double or triple the recipe ?
Hi, I am looking to make a bunch and freeze some for my biscuit eating son. Any tips on freezing and reheating? (I noticed you mentioned freezing the extras)
I would just bake them as normal and then let them cool. Once they are cool just put them in a Ziploc bag in one layer (as best you can). Place them flat in the freezer. When ready to re-heat, remove them from the freezer, let thaw and then warm in the oven or the microwave for a few minutes until they are warmed through.
Glad you love them 🙂
LeLe,
Yes I have doubled this recipe and it works great.
If your biscuits were a little too dry, add a little more water until they are a smooth, soft texture. Or..just use less flour when mixing. Depending on the altitude you are cooking your biscuits, it will slightly change the texture.
When I roll them out I do use a rolling pin and it seems to work fine. Either one should work well 😉
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about this recipe. Thanks for stopping by!!
Making them right now for dinner, they look so good!
Good, but WAY too salty!
Sorry! I tend to air on the side of more salt. I have a sweet & salty tooth 😉 Glad you liked them still. Feel free to cut back the salt if you need.
Made these, they didn't rise much. I think next time I will measure 2T lemon juice and add milk to make 3/4 cups, and add more than 1 1/2t baking powder. The flavor was good…just didn't rise much.
Thanks for the recipe.
P.S. I don't pack my flour when I measure for baking…I spoon it into a cup. This will avoid making cakes and quick breads, etc.,too dry.
P.S. I don't pack my flour when I measure for baking…I spoon it into a cup. This will avoid making cakes and quick breads, etc.,too dry.
It's 5:30 am. I LOVE biscuits. I am getting up and making some to go with my coffee!
That is impressive! Hope you love them 🙂
Is the butter unsalted? Also, have you tried this recipe without the sugar? I'm just thinking that the sugar might make the bicsuits cakey…but maybe that is what you like
Our stick of butter is one half cup….is that correct?
MMM! I will save this recipe to make for the weekend!!
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Have you tried mixing cinnamon and vanilla in with it? For a nice morning biscuit 🙂
Also, do you think it would work with all wheat flour? I don't buy white flour but I do have two different kinds of wheat flour, and wheat pastry flour.
It is worth a try 😉 All wheat might make them a little heavy and dense, but they could still be good. Let me know if you try it and they work out. Thanks for your question 😉
Yes, 1 stick of butter is a half cup 😉
Sadly, I like sodium, so I always buy salted butter 😉
I have never made these without the sugar and I would only be afraid of them being a little flavorless. It might be worth a try though 😉 Let me know what you try and how it work. Thanks for your comment.
If I used lard instead of butter would I use the same amount? Lard is a southern thing lol
I have them in the oven right now, can't wait!
I lived in Utah for years and moved away. Since moving, I have been trying.to find a recipe for Ruth's biscuits. My friends and I have tried and tried but.to no avail. I will try this one and hopefully fills the absence of Ruth's biscuits. And yes people, Ruth's biscuits are that good! Thanks for the recipe.
This might sound silly, but THANK YOU for using the correct measurement abbreviations! I have always cooked using these, and now when I see a recipe with the words spelled out (cup, teaspoon, etc.), I wonder why the writer doesn't just use the abbreviations, and since I'm OCD about it, I have to correct it when I want to print the recipe out. Thanks for the recipe; I can't wait to try it!
That is a great question 😉 I have never cooked with lard before, but I am sure it would work just the same. Let me know if you try it and it works 😉 Thanks for the comment!
ok so made your biscuits and they taste really good but they don't look like yours. What am I doing wrong?
My only suggestion would be to make sure you are following the 'tips' portion of the recipe at the end of the post. The biggest one being don't mix the dough with anything other than a fork or pastry cutter. Also, have your butter fairly cold. You don't want the butter to melt or the dough to get to combined. Keeping it layered with cold butter is what will keep the biscuits tall and puffy. You can always place two biscuits on top of each other if you want them to be taller and fluffier.
Hope this helps 😉 Good luck!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I AM GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN NOW 🙂 LOL I NEED THE LUCK!
More tips for biscuits:
Freeze all of your dry ingredients before starting. Even the flour and the bowl. I cut my butter into small chunks, add it to the flour/salt mixture and then freeze it before mixing it with the pastry cutter. Makes a big difference in how fluffy and tall they get, and especially how flaky they are.
Excellent advice. I think I will try this.
Excellent advice. I think I will try this.
Found your recipe on Pinterst and just made half a batch (to test it out). Took a little while as I had to convert measurements to UK equivalents (ie: grams and ml). Great result!! I will definitely be making a full batch next time. Thank you.
Stephanie
Angie,
Those tips are excellent! I will have to try those 😉 Stephanie, I am glad they worked out for you! Yes, you will want to make a whole batch. They sure go quickly 😉 Thanks for your comments!
I tried making these and the dough was like glue :/ so I had to add more flour and it made them short and hard.. Any tips?
Brittany,
I am sorry they didn't work out! The only time I had the wrong texture was when I didn't mix them by hand by cutting the dough. Any time I try to mix the dough with a mixer or I am too aggressive with the mixing process it tends to not work out. Make sure and follow the tips on the blog to help them work better for you 😉 Good luck!
Can I use regular 2% milk instead of buttermilk?
This is the 2nd recipe I have tried for scratch biscuits 🙂 Stand by in 12 to 15 min. for the results lol!
YUM! Very salty and buttery and remind me of Hardees biscuits which are my favorite! Score! Thank you 🙂
xoxo melzie
Yes you can. Just add a splash of lemon juice to your 2% milk and let it sit for a minute until it starts to curdle.
they were awesome and i bet that they would have been even better if i had butter milk or limon juice to put in the milk but they were great!!!! a must have recipe!!!!
I am glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for leaving a comment 🙂
i am trying it with like 2 tablespoons of melted butter and 3/4 cup milk mixed instead of butter milk wish me luck!!!! lol
Nice blog.. Thanks for sharing this information with us
Just read all the great comments and think I might try.
I can already see my husband's smile when I serve him these with sausage gravy!
This is the first time I've ever tried making biscuits, I've never actually made any kind of dough from scratch so we'll see how it turns out 🙂
While these were tasty, and I followed all the directions and tips, these did not work for me. Only two got much bigger than they originally started. Maybe next time I'll have to look for a recipe with a video tutorial, lol
I had the same problem. tough and tastless. not sure what I did wrong. very disapointed.
Chelsea, I would try rolling the dough out a little thicker. This will help your biscuits be a little taller and more fluffy. Good luck 🙂
These were good but not light and airy like i was hoping for, tall big and tasty but dense, still very good 🙂
These were amazing biscuits!!!! I did not over mix them just till it was together and than used my hand to flatten it out because I know over working them will make them tough. I have made other biscuits from scratch and they would be dry and tough these were GREAT!!! My go to recipe!!!
Bianca,
I am glad you enjoyed them! If yours are turning out tough, really try hard not to over mix them. If they are tasteless, you can always add a little more salt. HOwever, with all of the butter, you shouldn't need too much more 🙂 Give them another try, it could just be too much flour or too much mixing.
For those who had trouble with them not rising, check the date on your baking powder. Regardless of the date, it's best to use within 6 months of opening.
Getting ready to make these, they sound amazing! Will let you know later. =)
Followed the recipe to the letter, but they were a complete failure. Not enough liquid & not sure how you were to add the egg.
I just saw the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode from Ruth's Diner and watched the baker make the biscuits. He blended all dry ingredients first then added the liquids, including beaten eggs. His dough was very wet and he just plopped the dough on the cutting board — no rolling– and cut with a floured biscuit cutter. His were 3 1/2-4 inches high before baking.
Can't wait to try these myself — thanks for the recipe!
I simply LOVE this recipe, the taste is great! BUT, I have made them three times and all three times the biscuits just flop! I mean, I have followed the instructions to a T, and they still just sit there like lumps of clay. I even came back to this site to make sure I had the recipe right. I'm adding all the ingredients and doing exactly what the recipe says. I've tried sheet pans, round pans and cast iron pans but they all come out the same….flat and hard enough to use them for a hammer! I don't have an exact recipe for my biscuits, it was just handed down to me from both of my mamaws. I bake cakes, pies, quick breads, yeast breads and rolls, and many other things from scratch, but this one has me stumped! Now I started out on the first batch using Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, I had just enough flour from that bag to make one batch of biscuits, I have used Gold Medal Better For Bread Flour for the last 2 batches I've made. I use Rumford Premium Aluminum-Free Baking Powder and Iodized salt for all three batches. I used the same kind of eggs, milk and sugar. I do not over mix the dough, it's barely together when I put it onto the board to roll it out. I roll to about 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" trying to keep them as even as possible. I do NOT use a mixer at any point in the process. I do however use a pastry cutter to cut in my butter(I do use real butter, not margarine or shortening). Once I finish with the pastry cutter, everything else is by hand. Then everything is done by rolling pin and a jar ring, which I use to cut the biscuits out. I put them on a lightly greased baking sheet in a 425*F oven for 12-15 minutes. I do check though the oven window to see if they are getting ready earlier than the 15 minute mark, but I never open the oven until they are done. What am I doing wrong? Can you tell me? Can you possibly help me? I've been baking for many, many years and making and baking biscuits for all those years and they always turned out great. My husband saw this recipe and wanted me to try it so I have been trying it but it has yet to turn out right. I'm not a quitter and I won't quit on this recipe until I get it right, then I will make them even more often!OH YEAH, we are about 280' to 320' above sea level if that makes a difference. I am sorry about this being so long but I felt I need to let you know everything I had done. I even read all the replies to this recipe to see if anyone else was having the same problem. Thank you for reading this long soapbox speech! Thank you for your kindness in sharing your recipes and I just LOVE your blog! I really hope you can help me and tell me what to do to make these biscuits what they should be!
I just made these! they remind me of Hardee's (For those of you from the mid-west) or Carl's Jr.s breakfast biscuits. My daughter loves them and I am going to throw out the old biscuit recipe that has been handed down for generations in my family!!! they are that good!!!!
Paula,
That is so strange! Your cute and frustrated comment made me so sad for you. It sounds like to me your are doing everything right! I am really stumped as to why they are not turning out. All of the things I would say like don't over mix, don't make too thin, don't bake too long, etc. it sounds like you are already not doing. The only suggestion I would have is to make sure your butter is nice and cold. The cold butter works best to make a flakey biscuit and keep the layers nice and separated. I am making these this weekend and I will follow the recipe exactly and see if there is anything I can figure out that could help you. I have made these literally 20-30 times and they work out each time. I even sometimes use 1/2 white bean puree for 1/2 of the butter and they still work out well. I am sorry this is so frustrating! It sounds like you are a more than capable cook, so I am sorry this recipe has not worked for you yet!! My only other favorite biscuit recipe is from America's Test Kitchen and it's their Drop Biscuit recipe. It works great every time and is a little easier if you want a more simple recipe. Good luck to you and keep me posted if you get it right. Thanks for everyone elses kind comments and I am glad the recipe is working for most of us 😉 Sorry Paula!
I have been making these biscuits for over 20-some years, using a Cuisinart food processor. I do use 4tsp. Of baking powder though and I don't use a rolling pin. As far as I can remember, there has never been a failed batch. Light and fluffy and wonderfully high. With the leftovers, we split them and toast them in the toaster oven for breakfast. OMG – the buttery smell that fills the kitchen! To die for. BR
I have made them before too and they did not turn out! I'm afraid to try again but Ruth's Diner bisquits are SO GOOD!!!!
These are good, but not like Ruths if you ask me…and I live in SLC & pride myself on knowing the trick to Ruths gravy. These remind me of the buttery KFC biscuits, but nicer. Just not as close to Ruths as I'd expect from the name.
I don't know Ruth but a KFC biscuit is alright with me!
Hi, you talk about adding gravy or jam, try this on any left over. They may even be hard. Split em in half, add butter and toast or broil them. Then add jelly,jam, honey or molasses. Southern Randolph County, North Carolina
I did the recipe as stated. I used homemade buttermilk, all purpose flour but my biscuits turned out soooo heavy. What am I doing wrong
Made these the other day and they didn't rise and were dense. Trying them again for a second time as we speak and I can already notice a difference in the height of them!! Last time I definitely over mixed the dough! Thanks so so so much for this recipe!! This was my first attempt at ever making anything from scratch!!!
Dawn, way to not give up! That's awesome. I hope your second batch turned out better.
If you have struggled with this recipe I really think there are two solutions. First, because elevation differences will affect moisture content, I would add as little flour as you can get away with. If you add too much flour these will be dense and heavy. Becareful to not add to much flour on the counter either or they could become hard.
Also, be very careful not to overmix the dough. The more large pieces of butter you have throughout the biscuit the more it will puff up and rise, and stay extra flakey and buttery. Between these two tips they should turn out. I make this recipe all the time and they work, so just stick with it and play around with those two hints. Let me know how it works for you next time. Good luck and thanks for your feedback 🙂
Sorry,Paula for misquoting you!….meant to say, "jar ring". After reading that in your comment it made me think of a canning jar ring & then got the idea that perhaps it was too large.
Thank you for sharing! I'm always looking for good biscuit receipts. I now know I'm making my biscuits way to thin. Thanks for the tips.
I just want to mention for those who are having trouble with the recipe, making biscuits is as much art as recipe! There is very little difference in biscuit recipes (egg is a LITTLE different). But people will swear by a recipe and the next person can't make it decently to save their life. Biscuits take practice, practice and more practice! Years and years ago someone told me "Don't make 50 recipes of bread once, make one recipe of bread 50 times, then you will make a good loaf of bread." She was so right.
Great advice Kath. Just keep practicing and you'll get it just right 😉
I made these today and while the flavor was good, they didn't rise very much at all. I used all purpose flour, nonfat buttermilk and unsalted butter. Anything I need to switch up?
Thanks!
Can you use something else to put the milk if you dont have leamon juice? Ty
You could use white vinegar in place of lemon juice if you don't have buttermilk 🙂
I just tried this and it's still like dough 😐 I had it in the oven for almost 20 minutes and the colour is still the same. It might've been that i used a dough hook before reading the bottom
I'm making these again tonight. The 1st time my butter was too hard I believe so this time I am using my grater to soften quick…worked great! My baking powder was also out of date 🙁 so they didn't rise but boy were they yummy!!!!! Enjoy and thanks for this great recipe!
Depending how large you make your biscuits you may need to adjust the time a little. Yes, don't use a dough hook, just a fork and knife are perfect. Don't over mix and you'll have better success 😉 Thanks for your comments.
Mine didn't rise much and were flavorless and not flaky at all. I followed all the instructions and mixed gently by hand. They never did brown on the bottom amd the tops hardly did.
I made these today and they didn't turn out too well. I read through all the comments before making them and applied the tips listed. The biscuits taste fine but they didn't really rise at all. The middle is somewhat "fluffy" so if they had risen, they probably would have been great. I will try this one once more and see how it works out. Maybe I need new baking powder. Mine isn't that old though. I hope they turn out better next time. The dough was very gooey so it was kind of hard to cut into biscuits. I had to sort of form them after cutting them. Any suggestions?
Janey,
If the dough is sticky, you will want to add a little more flour to the counter and to your dough. You want it soft but not overly sticky.
I would try your baking powder. This recipe is pretty basic for a biscuit dough. It won't rise too much because there is no yeast. The only leavening agent is baking powder. Make sure that is fresh and they should turn our great. I hope you have better luck next time. I will keep you posted on any other tips I can think of.
Thanks for the comment.
I tried these exactly as stated and they barely rose and don' taste that awesome :/ i'm not really sure what went wrong, but i won't be trying these again. back to the drawing board!
Could you possibly use self rising flour in place of the ap flour and baking powder? I've made these and they are yummy but its been really humid so getting the right texture dough has been a challenge.
I am sure you could use self rising flour 🙂 Let me know how it works.
Self rising flour worked beautifully! I didn't have to add the salt or baking powder, just sugar, super cold butter, milk, egg, and the flour. Made it super quick and almost fool proof and most importantly DELICIOUS!!!!!
I haven't tried these yet,but was reading through the comments,and noticed some were having trouble with them rising.This made me think of something I had read once,on biscuits.It said that when you cut them out,you should use a sharp edge cutter and always cut straight down,never move the cutter back and forth,because it will seal off the edges,and they won't rise properly.Hope that will help someone.
Great tips, thanks!! I am going to get some self rising flour and try that out too. Thanks for the comments 😉
The name implies "Mile High" – I presume this recipe is adjusted for high altitude versus sea level? I'm near 7000 elevation – what adjusts would you recommend? These biscuits look awesome 🙂
OK, I've been holding this thread open hoping for an altitude adjustment suggestion; you must be busy doing other things, I'll close this thread off of my computer now and seek answers elsewhere – but good going on your blog – wish you all the best 🙂
I am so sorry! It has been a busy last couple weeks. Sadly I am not familiar with altitude adjustments. I need to be more up to date on all those differences. Sorry! Here is a link I found though that seems like it might have some helpful information on what adjustments to make:
http://www.swcoloradohome.com/articles/food/020114_b.asp
Thanks!
Hi Do I have to roll & cut these or can I just do the rip and drop. I want to cook them on top of a stew & I don't want a uniform look
I have not tried adding them to a stew but I'm sure you could just drop them on top and bake them. The shape doesn't matter so much as much as the cooking time would. Let me know how that works. Thanks for your comment 😉
Just found this on Pinterest, and it looks like the biscuits my mother taught me to make–only she didn't add sugar to hers, and she preferred them to be crispier, so she used shortening instead of butter. These sound like your basic scone. I
m going to make them this morning. I have a jar of plum butter that a friend brought back for me from SC, and these will be the perfect foil! One thing I do with biscuits and scones: I pat the dough into a square and cut squares with a knife, because I never liked re-forming the scraps or wasting the dough. Cutting squares means I only handle the dough once. But then, I don't care about round…
I love the idea of square scones. Genius! Hope you enjoy this recipe 😉
Just pulled these out of the oven and they turned out perfectly! I had no trouble with them rising and they are flaky and delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
You don't specify if it's cold butter or room temperature but I know it's cold butter. Thanks
IN THE OVEN!
These are delicious! A couple of things for those of you who ended up with flops… Everything, I mean everything, must be cold. This includes all your ingredients and everything you use to make them (bowl, pastry cutter, biscuit cutter). I usually gather and measure all my ingredients and put everything in the refrigerator for at least a hour before I start. Once it's all put together, I refrigerate it again for about 20 minutes. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. If it's more than a year old, throw it out and get some new powder. Lastly, cut straight down with your biscuit cutter, don't twist. It allows the steam to escape from the middle and makes them lighter and fluffier.
Deeelightful! (I used 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 white whole wheat (avail.@Trader Joe's) flours.)
Great tips, and don't forget to use a sharp metal cutter, never twist as mentioned above. A glass or cup does not work well, as it squishes the dough, choking it. Thanks, Shandra!
Hi,
Has anyone tried to make these with gluten free flour?
i'm guessing texture wise the dough should be wet, but not sticky or soupy?
Hi!!
I found this recipe awhile back and it is my number one biscuit recipe! I have just recently posted a Loaded Baked Potatoe Soup and I serve it alongside these biscuits. I featured this post in my blog…check it out at http://www.threekidsandafish.com
I don't have any wheat flour, could I use all white flour? Will that make that big of a difference?
Growing up in the deep south we ate a lot of biscuits over the years.
My grandmother made the world's best. 😀 She used cake flour, real buttermilk and a very light touch with the dough, just barely bringing all the ingredients together and then patted the dough out by hand ( she always told me a rolling pin was too rough for good biscuits ). Like you, she also used a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the flour and always made sure her baking powder was replaced every six months. She said to cut straight down with the cutter and never twist or they won't rise correctly. And she taught me that above all else, making good biscuits takes practice, so don't give up. 😀
Today my biscuits are almost as good as hers were and my recipe is almost identical to yours ( mine doesn't have the egg or the water and has a touch less salt.) so I am looking forward to trying yours and seeing how it tastes.
In looking into using this recipe but your notes about using cake flour versus all purpose was interesting. Is the rest of the recipe the same except for the egg & salt you mentioned?
Dear Anonymous,
Yes, you can use all white flour , and your biscuits will be even softer and fluffier than the ones that use whole wheat flour.
just put some in the oven. Keeping fingers crossed!
I just made these last night…absolutely, positively the BEST biscuits ever!
I read the comments before starting, and used some hints I found there.
I used a stick of frozen butter and grated it into all the dry ingredients mixed together, then just mixed the butter pieces in lightly. I had increased the baking powder to 2 tsp.
After adding the wet ingredients, I gently stirred until the dough pulled from the side of the bowl.
I lightly floured the surface, and lightly rolled with a rolling pin to about 2" thick. I used a metal biscuit cutter.
I placed them on a baking sheet with non-stick butter flavored spray, and lightly brushed the tops with more melted butter.
The tops and bottoms were golden brown, slightly crisp and chewy.
The middle was tender and fluffy.
My family proclaimed them "Epic!"
I love love LOVE biscuits!! Especially the thick ones!! I think I am going to try making these this weekend. Thanks!
So there is no kneading of this dough? Is that why people are having problems??
I love the idea of grating frozen butter, I will have to try that 😉 I am so glad you loved this recipe!
As far as kneading the dough, you will not want to do that with this dough. The less you mix the dough the better and more fluffy the biscuits will be. Biscuits are different in that aspect that you don't knead the dough.
THanks for all of your comments 😉
These are the BEST biscuits I've ever made! I have tried numerous recipes over the years, but this one is "the one"!! My whole family loved them!! Tender and fluffy inside, and crispy and chewy outside. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
I am a seasoned baker and this recipe is way too dense to be called a Southern biscuit!
In answer to a previous post, you state that you do use half wheat and half all purpose! I tried that and it is just too dense.
I usually make these biscuits for Sunday breakfast. I decided to use 2-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder (biscuits were a bit dense only using the amount in recipe) and they came out softer and puffy.
I have made these biscuits twice now, and both times they have turned out fantastic. I used self rising flour both times along with the baking powder. I brush butter over the tops before baking and it makes them even better! This is now my "go to" recipe for biscuits!
Is it possible to use more baking powder when it is outdated?
I was so scared to handle these too much I think I mIght not have combined them enough ? Because they were falling apart and a little dry.Bajra Cultivation
They are very good. However, my batches only make 12….. they would be extremely tiny at 20-24.
I just baked these to go with our Chicken Pot Pie Soup – delicious!! Thanks for sharing your recipe. 🙂
Perfect recipe. I loved it 🙂 Did you know you can also shape into a doughnut (and cut the hole out) and pan fry in oil to make a doughnut? Perfect for breakfast if you shake with cinnamon and sugar when it's done.
Made these this morning. Taste was fantastic. Did not rise as much as I anticipated, but were very flaky and delicious. Single recipe made 10 biscuits, cut about 1 inch thick. Would definitely make again!
Just made these and they were scrumptious! We haven't sat down to eat yet and the half I cooked to the side have been devoured. LOL! I used the other half to top a chicken broccoli bake. YUMMM GIRL! Great job …
Followed directions to a T and they didn't rise at all I made biscuits for years at a restaurant and I never had a flat biscuit like this but thanks for sharing
Made these today..They are not fluffy….
For those who have had trouble with them raising well, I would really encourage you to check the expiration on your baking powder. I have really seen that make all the difference.
Most traditional biscuit recipes call for 4 tsp baking powder per 2 cups of flour.
I have made a recipe so very similar to this. Uses more baking powder though and I have used my own rendered lard in place of butter. It's a NNY thing too ;). Good ole country farm girl….
Ihave been searhing for a good biscuit recipe for years. This is about the best I have found. I did make some changes to it… to be fair, I have not yet tried the recipe with *fresh* baking powder – and I know thay will make a difference.
I use 1 tsp salt, 2 sticks of butter, 4 tsp baking powder. 1 cup buttermilk and no water.
Everyone loves them.
Thanks for sharing…
I have found these can be rolled, and rolled, and rolled (you get the idea) and rolled and the biscuits do not get too tough! I like to roll them out and fold over to create layers.
Today I experiments with rolling 2 very thin and placing one on top of the other (with a thin pad of butter in between)… I will be doing that again!
Oh, yeah, I also put a thin pad of butter on top of the biscuits before putting in the oven (instead of brushing with melted butter).
Great recipe. We just missed these with our healthy way of cooking. I thought I would splurge and we all loved them. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Peggy
Just made these biscuits. Probably the best batch of biscuits I've ever made. Thank you for sharing.
Susan from Texas
Just made these,… and they are fantastic!!. Moist and fluffy… not dry and hard like all the other recipes I have tried. My tip…. grate frozen butter on box grater. The you just have to mix butter in… instead of cutting it into flour. This helps with over mixing (which I have a tendency to do. Thanks for sharing!
What is a "stick" of butter? I'm a South African & we don't use that term for weight or quantity.
A stick is 8 tablespoons. Thanks for your comment 😉
Hi Sandra, these look amazing. My husband is deathly allergic to milk, what can I substitute the buttermilk with? Any advice would be very appreciated.
I just made them with almond milk, with the lemon juice added in. They turned out fine. I think they will be better with regular milk, but they were still fluffy and yummy!
Oh, I wish I could think of something that could be a milk substitute but the only thing I can think of is water and I'm not sure how great that would turn out? There's a chance it might since you are really just needing liquid for the flour to combine with. It might be worth fourthing the recipe and giving it a try 😉 Let me know if that works! Thanks
I came across this recipe on Pinterest and just made them. They're delicious! I used a pastry cutter to combine the dough and tried to handle it as little as possible, but somehow mine still came out less than flaky. I'm actually fine with that, but I'm wondering what I did wrong. I didn't roll the dough, I just formed the biscuits with my hands. And I made them large, so I got 6 big biscuits out of the recipe. Do you think that not rolling them out caused them to be tougher? Is that possible?
They are delicious though, and I'll make them again! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Your blog is very informative and gracefully
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FYI- Not sure how your family visited Paula Deen's home town in SC. Her home town is Albany, Ga. She has always lived in Georgia.
Looks so delicous n yummy!
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Hi, I've made these with "so delicious" coconut milk-in the red container (curdled with the lemon juice) and with crisco/lard for a dairy free version. They turn out wonderful! Love this recipe