The best butter biscuit recipe EVER, perfect for lazy mornings lounging around the house when all you want is a cozy, comforting breakfast!
This is a no-fuss recipe with simple instructions that anyone can make with ease, and they come out fluffy and flaky every time.
Homemade Butter Biscuits
If you’ve never made warm, flaky, homemade biscuits before, stop whatever you’re doing and get out the flour and butter! These guys are wicked-good and entirely easy to make, whether you’ve made biscuits a million times or this is your first time. I love biscuits and gravy or a warm biscuit on the side of a savory egg and sausage plate, spread generously with butter and jam. No matter how you take yours, these butter biscuits are seriously one of the best biscuit recipes I’ve ever made, and I think you should probably try it soon!
The key to making great biscuits is using cold — or even frozen — butter. When you cut it into little-bitty pieces (or use a cheese grater to break it up), those small chunks stay formed in the dough and eventually melt as the biscuits bake, creating little pockets and layers of flaky, buttery goodness.
I’ve made these with all-purpose flour, as well as with half whole wheat and half all-purpose, and both ways turn out lovely. I wouldn’t recommend using just whole wheat, though, as they don’t rise when they bake as well. And make sure to use a biscuit cutter so the dough is sliced through, not squished! This helps them to rise to perfection, and that’s what we all want out of our biscuits, don’t we?
What is a butter biscuit made of?
In my perfect butter biscuit recipe, I use flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cream of tartar, butter, and milk. Very simple and oh-so delicious!
Can you use melted butter in biscuits?
No! You want your butter as cold as possible before you cut it into small pieces so that it creates little pockets in the dough for a flaky and puffy biscuit. Melted butter will make the biscuit chewier and more solid than flaky.
Why don’t my biscuits rise?
One of the main reasons biscuits don’t rise is when the butter isn’t cold enough (are you sensing a theme?) or the oven isn’t hot enough. The butter should be chilled or even frozen before use so that it maintains its shape when you cut it into little pieces and mix it with dry ingredients.
You might also experience trouble with biscuits not rising if you don’t use a biscuit cutter to shape the dough into circles. Biscuit cutters are specifically designed with sharp sides so it slices through the dough, rather than squishing the dough down, and lets the biscuits rise tall while baking.
How long do butter biscuits last?
Freshly homemade biscuits will last for about 1 to 2 days at room temperature. Store them in an airtight container. You can also keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
How to make butter biscuits:
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.
- Grate the butter into the bowl with a cheese grater.
- Stir butter into flour mixture until the butter is broken up.
- 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 un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve right away.
Butter Biscuit Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 biscuits 1x
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The best butter biscuit recipe EVER, perfect for lazy mornings lounging around the house when all you want is a cozy, comforting breakfast!
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 or very cold
- 3/4 cup whole or 2% milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.
- Using the largest holes on a cheese grater, grate the butter into the bowl.
- Stir butter into flour mixture until the butter is broken up, and the mixture is well combined. A fork or a pastry blender work well for this step.
- 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. This recipe makes 10 to 12 2.5-inch biscuits.
- Place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden-brown. Serve right away.
Notes
- Using very cold or frozen butter is great because it makes the biscuits flaky (same principle applies to pie crusts), and it’s easy to grate on a cheese grater. No cheese grater? Use a sharp knife to cut the butter into small squares, and then use a fork or a pastry blender to work it into the flour.
- I have made this recipe using half whole wheat flour and half white flour with great success (sometimes I’ll need to add a few extra tablespoons of milk to accommodate the whole grain flour). I have tried it with 100% whole wheat flour and they didn’t rise very well. I wouldn’t recommend it.
- I highly recommend buying a biscuit cutter, too. (I have and love these and these, both I got from the King Arthur Flour website. They double well as cookie and donut cutters, too.) The biscuit cutters are pretty sharp on the edge, so you are cutting through the dough and not smashing it down. This will help your biscuits to rise tall.
- Category: bread
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: butter biscuit, butter biscuit recipe, how to make biscuits
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This post was originally published in 2012, and has been updated and rephotographed in October 2019.
Butter biscuits are a heavenly and flaky pastry, perfect to include in any breakfast and super simple to make no matter your baking experience!
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Just wanted to pop in and say this is the only biscuit recipe I ever make. They are just so fluffy and delicious! I usually use 50% whole wheat flour and they are still amazing. My husband just recently raved about this recipe to my sister in law, so I had to share the recipe! Thanks!
Ya missed an important step…..pay attention while grating….do not space off into lala land…..otherwise a couple of band-aids may be required….ooops…..these were great…how can one go wrong with butter and sugar!! Thanks!!
Deb, every time I get an email that says you left a comment I can’t wait to read it. Yours are the best. EVER! Seriously, you make my day. Thank you for taking the time to write me great notes.
Made these today! Thanks for the recipe. They’re great.
Grating the frozen butter is a fantastic idea! It could work for pie crust,too, I think.