This easy recipe is one of the best you'll find for homemade, old fashioned biscuits. I'll even tell you about the more common mistake people make that stops them from baking high, light and flakey!
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Why Choose This Recipe
- Easy! Flaky! Delicious! Just like my Cheddar Chive Biscuits!
- Ready in less than 30 minutes!
- Plus pro tips for your success!
Ingredient Notes
- Buttermilk - you may substitute greek yogurt if you would prefer. You may need a bit more than the amount of buttermilk called for because it's thicker though.
- Shortening - NO, you can't substitute butter in this one. I do highly recommend using butter flavored shortening if you have it.
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt.
- Add the shortening.
- Pro-Tip - Shortening is necessary for biscuits because of the higher melting point and the fact that isn't doesn't release steam during the cooking process. It also doesn't mix into the dough will ease like butter does. These reasons result in the flakiness and texture traditional biscuits should have.
- Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
- Pour in the buttermilk and mix just until most of the flour is incorporated. Dump out onto a lightly floured surface and pat the dough out to about ¾ inch thick.
- Pro -Tip - Resist the urge to knead or work the dough into a ball. The shortening chunks are what give biscuits their flakiness. If you work the shortening in you will get heavy non-flaky biscuits.
- Using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter that is 2 ½ inches in diameter, cut out biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Pro Tip - DO NOT twist the cutter. Twisting the cutter seals the edges together and the biscuits will not rise. People ask why their biscuits turn out flat all the time. This is one of the reasons why.
- Bake the biscuits at 425degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.
- Serve hot with butter, honey, jam or whatever else you can think of!
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
When it comes to baking we use different fats for different baked goods to get specific results. Sometimes that's flaky, sometimes is very moist, sometimes it's chewy, etc... For more info check out this article on Butter vs. Shortening.
The acidity in the buttermilk acts as an extra leavening agent as well as adding moistness to the biscuits.
Most often biscuits end up flat because the dough has been overworked and the shortening has been blended into the dough opposed to left throughout in chunks causing flaky spaces between the layers. Also people tend to twist the biscuit cutter during the cutting out process sealing the edges shut. This makes it so the biscuits can't rise.
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Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Biscuits 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy recipe is one of the best you'll find for homemade, old fashioned biscuits. I'll even tell you about the more common mistake people make that stops them from baking high, light and flakey!
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Tbs . Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Cream of Tartar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ Cup Shortening
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt.
- Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
- Pour in the buttermilk and mix just until most of the flour is incorporated.
- Dump out onto a lightly floured surface and pat the dough out to about ¾ inch thick.
- Don't knead or work the dough.
- Using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter that is 2 ½ inches in diameter, cut out biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Remember to press the cutter straight down without twisting.
- Bake the biscuits at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.
Notes
- Don't sub butter for the shortening. The results WILL NOT be the same.
- Butter flavored shortening adds a butter flavor to these which makes them even better!
Keywords: easy buttermilk biscuits, best buttermilk biscuits, flaky biscuits, homemade buttermilk biscuits
Adapted from Better Homes and Garden's Biscuits Supreme
Any nutritional analysis on this Site is based on an estimate, calculated by Nurtifox plugin (or other third-party source) from the individual ingredients in each recipe. Variations may occur for various reasons, including product availability and food preparation. We make no representation or warranty of the accuracy of this information.
Jeff
Favorite biscuits
★★★★★
Becky
I LOVE this recipe and make it all the time! Thank you, thank you for telling me not to twist the cutter when cutting out the biscuits, because that is the way I've always done it and my biscuits never seem to rise. Once I stopped twisting, they rose beautifully.I love your beautiful blog and the time you put in taking all the pictures with each cooking step.
★★★★★
mindeescookingobsession
Thank you!!! You are so sweet!