The Best Biscuit Recipe Ever, Really
on Feb 22, 2016, Updated Sep 20, 2024
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This tried and true recipe for Basic Biscuits is the last you’ll ever need because they are buttery fluffy perfection that turn out every time.
The Best Biscuit Recipe Ever
There are a few pillar recipes that everyone needs in their life. In my mind that list of must-have recipes includes perfect chocolate chip cookies, the best banana bread ever, a really solid bread recipe, pulled (insert whatever meat you have) tacos in the crock pot, simple but awesome blender salsa (that you make all year long because it uses canned tomatoes), and last but not least a perfect buttery biscuit recipe. I have made that chocolate chip cookie recipe no less than a million times and the banana bread, taco meat, and salsa at least a half million each. They are solid, they are my go-to’s, and in my mind, if you haven’t tried them yet, you really need to. I make them over and over and over again. This really is The Best Biscuit Recipe Ever.
This biscuit recipe is one that I shared a long time ago at the beginning of my blog and I thought it was high time to rephotograph it and share it again. This recipe is the one I have converted my mom to, my best friend Rivka, and even my husband knows how to make them (and let’s be honest, he makes very few things). It’s perfect! If homemade biscuits aren’t something you have mastered, it’s time! There’s nothing quiet so delicious and comforting as a perfect biscuit.
I serve these as a side to all kinds soups and stews, in my creamy Chicken and Biscuit Casserole, as the bread for my famous breakfast sandwiches (long live a soft and runny yolk in between two halves of a biscuit!), but the most popular and common things I make with this recipe is sausage gravy. Sausage gravy and biscuits is our go-to “celebration” breakfast. We have it for Christmas, birthdays, Mother’s Day, and more. I can’t wait for you to try this recipe! It’s going to become a staple in your kitchen too.
Why do I need to use frozen butter?
The key to this recipe is frozen butter. I just keep a few sticks of butter in the freezer at all times, specifically for this recipe. Run right now and pop one in the freezer so that when you are ready you’ll have the frozen butter all ready to go. If you don’t have frozen butter you are going to want to make the dough, but before you spread it on the floured surface to cut it, refrigerate it for 15 minutes.
If you use cold butter (not frozen) and then work with it a bit to make the dough it’s going to be too warm. If the butter is too warm your biscuits are going to spread instead of get tall. The butter will melt too quickly and though the biscuits will taste great, they will be ugly blobs of buttery heaven.
How do I cut frozen butter?
I love using the cheese grater to grate the frozen butter. It’s easy and the pieces are just the right size.
Do I need a biscuit cutter to make these biscuits?
I highly recommend buying a biscuit cutter too (I have and love these and these, both I got from the King Arthur Flour website when I had a gift card. They double well as cookie and donut cutters too). But in a pinch you can use a metal canning ring or a floured rim of a cup in the pinch.
The Best Biscuit Recipe Ever
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup butter, frozen
- 3/4 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.
- Use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the bowl on the largest holes of your box grater. Stir butter into flour mixture. Stir until the butter is broken up and the mixture is well combined.
- Add the milk and stir until just combined – do not over mix. Pat dough on a floured surface until it’s 3/4 inch thick. Cut into biscuits using a biscuit cutter.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Makes 10 biscuits.
Nutrition
Homemade biscuits go well with these meals:
- Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
- Garlic and Herb Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot with a side of Easy Apple Spinach Salad with an Apple Vinaigrette
- 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs with a side of Deli-Style Broccoli Salad
- Cheesy Bacon and Roasted Potato Egg Casserole
- Easy Vegetable and Cheese Egg Bake
This tried and true recipe for Basic Biscuits is the last you’ll ever need. Thank you so much for being here and enjoy this recipe from my home to yours. It’s a keeper.
So I just went through my recipe box and threw out my other biscuit recipes. This one is amazing! Thanks!
I have stumbled upon a game changer….. your incredibly yummy biscuits and bacon gravy….. oh my…. sausage gravy has taken a back seat to this one…. http://www.southyourmouth.com/2013/06/bacon-gravy You would have been proud of me too…..I didn’t grate my knuckles this time either!
I get compliments every time I make these biscuits! Smart idea just keeping frozen butter in the freezer at all times.
Yes! In our family biscuits and gravy is the celebration breakfast too! And a delicious breakfast for dinner option when we have a while between celebrations! A “test” my husband had for me when we first met (he is southern, I am not) was scratch biscuits and gravy, “you can tell a lot about a woman by her biscuits and gravy.” Thankfully, I passed and it was later revealed he had never had scratch biscuits and gravy before! He knew I loved a challenge and to cook, so it was a win win for him. I’ve always made drop biscuits, cut scared me. I feel like I am up to the challenge to try making these! Thanks!