Recipe Summary
Easy to make, perfectly buttery, flaky, and layered Southern Biscuits!
11gFat
4gProtein
Southern Biscuits are the quintessential bread of the south!
Growing up, I would typically find one or both of the offerings at a Southern table, biscuits and cornbread. It was not a meal without them. My skillet cornbread is the one I keep coming back to, cast iron makes all the difference. So over the years, I have tried many, and I do mean many, recipes for them both. I have my momโs recipe that she would use, but they just never turned out like I remember. I think it has something to do with how our ingredients are processed today.
When I lived in England and then Ireland, I missed my southern biscuits so much! That started my search for a biscuit recipe that I could adapt and enjoy as a bit of home loving comfort food. My biggest tip for any kind of baking, is to always you the best quality and freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. If your flours and baking powders or baking sodas have been sitting around for a while, you wonโt get the best results. Do an inventory check to make sure your baking supplies are up to speed, then get in your kitchen and enjoy baking.
Why This Southern Biscuit Recipe Works
There are a lot of biscuit recipes out there, but three things make this one reliably deliver that tall, flaky, layered result every time.
Frozen grated butter. Cold butter is non-negotiable in a good biscuit, but frozen and grated takes it further. It distributes evenly through the dough in tiny pieces that create steam pockets as they bake. Those steam pockets are your layers.
Layering and folding the dough. Before cutting, the dough gets folded over itself a few times. This builds the distinct layers you can see and pull apart once the biscuits come out of the oven. Donโt skip this step and donโt rush it.
Never twist the cutter. Press straight down and lift straight up. Twisting seals the edges of the dough, which prevents the biscuit from rising properly. Itโs a small thing that makes a big difference. Straight down, every time.
If you love a good from-scratch bake, my Dutch oven bread is another one worth adding to your baking collection, a gorgeous crusty loaf that practically makes itself.
Tips for Flaky Biscuits
Keep the butter cold. Frozen and grated is the move here. It distributes evenly through the dough and creates those steam pockets that become your layers in the oven. If the butter starts to soften while youโre working, pop the whole bowl in the freezer for five minutes before continuing.
Donโt overwork the dough. Mix until just combined and stop. Overworked biscuit dough develops too much gluten and the result is dense and tough rather than tender and flaky. A few shaggy bits in the dough are fine. Better than fine, actually.
Flour your hands, not the dough. Adding extra flour directly to the dough to keep it from sticking will throw off the ratio and dry out your biscuits. Flour your hands and your work surface instead, and handle the dough as little as possible.
Cut straight down. Press the cutter straight down and lift straight up, no twisting. Twisting seals the edges and stops the biscuit from rising. If you donโt have a biscuit cutter, a sharp-edged glass works just as well as long as you press clean and straight.
What to Serve with Southern Biscuits
A good biscuit is one of the most versatile things you can put on a table. Hereโs how I love to serve them.
Keep it simple. Butter and honey straight out of the oven is hard to argue with. A good jam or jelly works just as well, and if youโve got a jar of homemade preserves on hand, even better.
Make it a meal. Split and topped with gravy, layered with eggs and sausage, piled with fried chicken and a drizzle of balsamic maple โ biscuits hold up to all of it. Even steak. Yes, really. A biscuit can handle more than people give it credit for.
On the side. Donโt overlook biscuits as a side dish either. Theyโre wonderful alongside soups and chili, soaking up every bit of broth at the bottom of the bowl. And a cold pitcher of sweet iced tea alongside a basket of warm biscuits is about as Southern as a meal gets.
The classic move. If you really want to do these biscuits justice, my biscuits and gravy is the move. Rich, savory, and the kind of breakfast that keeps you going all morning.
Southern Biscuit Troubleshooting
Flat biscuits. The most common culprit is old baking powder. It loses its potency over time and your biscuits will come out flat no matter how well youโve done everything else. Test it by dropping a teaspoon into hot water. If it bubbles vigorously, youโre good. If it just sits there, replace it.
Dense biscuits. Overworked dough. Once youโve mixed and folded, stop. The more you handle the dough the more gluten develops and the tougher the biscuit gets. If your biscuits are coming out more like hockey pucks than pillows, dial back the mixing.
Lopsided rise. You twisted the cutter. Itโs an easy habit to fall into but it seals one side of the dough edge more than the other and the biscuit rises unevenly. Press straight down, lift straight up, every single time.
Pale tops. Your oven is running too cool. Biscuits need high heat to get that golden brown top. Make sure your oven is fully preheated before the biscuits go in, and if theyโre baking through but staying pale, move the rack up one position closer to the broiler for the last few minutes.
Itโs biscuit time!
Easy to Make Layered Southern Biscuits
Ingredientsย ย
Methodย
- Place the butter in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450ยฐF.
- In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt, mix well.
- Using a box grater, grate the hardened butter then add to flour mixture, mixing through. (By grating the butter, this eliminates the cutting the butter into the flour step).
- Add in the buttermilk and stir until the dough is moistened. Fold-out dough onto a lightly floured parchment sheet. Roll or with flour-dusted hands, pat dough out into a rectangle. Cut dough into thirds, then stack the dough to form 3 layers. Roll or pat out again and repeat the same process 2 more times.
- Roll or pat dough out again until about 3/4 inch thick and either cut into rectangles or using a 2 1/2 - 3 inch circle cutter, gently cut out biscuits. DO NOT TWIST cutter, simply press down firmly. ( You can gather scraps and roll out again to cut remaining biscuits, but they will not be as "perfect" as the first batch).
- Place the biscuit dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. For soft sides, place biscuits with sides touching, or for crispier edges place 1 - 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated 450ยฐF oven for 10 - 15 minutes, or until golden.
- Best served same days as baked.
Nutrition
Notes
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You had me at biscuit! Yummy! I can’t wait to make this!!
Thank you Elaine! Hope you enjoy!
Beautiful biscuits! Pass the sausage gravy, please!
Thank you Amanda! Yes, sausage gravy!!!
I LOVE homemade biscuits. They are so much better than canned.
Completely agree. Thank you Kimberly!
In the ingredients can you substitute butter milk with something else & what would be the limitations. Thank you in advance..
Hello Travis!
When I’m out of buttermilk and must make biscuits, I usually use regular milk with a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar – 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. For other options, this is a great article to refer to https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/substitute-buttermilk-baking-article I hope this helps and that you enjoy the biscuits! ๐
Oh, these look so incredibly flaky and buttery! The easiest recipes are always the best
Thank you Katrin, and yes the easiest recipes are so tasty!
These look so perfect, and so tender. The perfect comfort food for the cold winter months ahead!
Thanks Taylor! ๐
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using for close to 10 yrs. I made the following changes; 1 & 1/2 cup of flour & 1/2 cup of cake flour & 3/4 cups of buttermilk, it makes biscuits lighter. I have a cast iron pan l only use for baking biscuits ?
Sounds so good, and I absolutely love my cast iron pans too, for just about everything!
I’m not sure I’ve ever left a comment on a recipe before. I’ve tried 100s of biscuit recipes, came up with my own which was amazing, but I lost when my computer crashed, and I’ve finally found a replacement. These biscuits are perfect!! I tripled the recipe and am freezing the extras. Seriously, the best biscuits I’ve ever had!
Thank you so much Ashley for letting me know!!! You’ve made my day! I’m so glad that you were able to find a replacement recipe, I’ve lost so many recipes like that, and that’s kind of why I started a blog, lol…to keep track of them. Enjoy!
Do you freeze the dough or the baked product?
Hi Amanda! You can freeze the dough in a sealed container or freezer bag until you are ready to bake. Allow them to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before baking. Alternatively, you can fully bake them and then freeze as well, this I have not personally done, but have had others who have tried and succeeded. My thought is thta they may not have as freshly baked taste this way though. I hope this helps! ๐
Beautiful biscuits! Pass the sausage gravy, please!
This is similar to the recipe l’ve been using for close to 10 yrs. I made the following changes; 1 & 1/2 cup of flour & 1/2 cup of cake flour & 3/4 cups of buttermilk, it makes biscuits lighter. I have a cast iron pan l only use for baking biscuits ?
I’m not sure I’ve ever left a comment on a recipe before. I’ve tried 100s of biscuit recipes, came up with my own which was amazing, but I lost when my computer crashed, and I’ve finally found a replacement. These biscuits are perfect!! I tripled the recipe and am freezing the extras. Seriously, the best biscuits I’ve ever had!
My family love biscuits. These are by far the lightest highest biscuits I have ever made. Delicious and easy too. They are a winner
Hello just came across your recipe they look amazing!! I’m not a fan of buttermilk could I use halve heavy cream 1/2 milk instead do they have to be made with buttermilk?
Hiya Reba! I’ve made many biscuits without buttermilk and used a mix of creams/milks before to improvise. I have also used milk that has just started going off, not great for drinking but makes wonderful biscuits. I hope this helps! ๐
can you make the biscuits and freeze them before baking them??
Hello Adele! I personally haven’t tried, but a friend has. You can freeze the premade biscuits for up to a month, the only drawback is that they will not rise as much once frozen. I hope this helps. ๐
I’ve been looking for a biscuit like this! The only thing is mine didn’t rise with all the layers. It must be one of my ingredients ๐ , or I may just need more banking powder. Flavor is on point and I can’t wait to have them with my kiddos and both sausage gravy and chocolate gravy!
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad you found this recipe. I will say that to ensure the layers are there, the baking powder needs to be fresh. I know from experience, lol. If I haven’t used my baking powder in a while, I buy a new one so that I can get the best results. I will also buy a bag of new flour too for the same reason just to be on the safe side. I hope everyone enjoyed! ๐
Is really only 2cups flour? I followed the recipe exact and the dough was very runny. I did add more flour, but it didnโt get the right consistency.
Hello Gail Ann! I’m not sure why yours turned out on the runny side. I did double-check my quantities and they are correct and what how I make them, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you. I know from personal experience that if I use only a dry or only a liquid measuring cup to measure both the liquid and dry ingredients, then I end up with a mess and the recipe might not turn out as it should. Hopefully, if you give it a go again, it will work. Have a wonderful new year!
New fav recipe for biscuits!, made them two Saturdays in a row ๐
Yah! I’m so happy they’re your new favorite! Thank you so much for letting me know! ๐
Can i use milk or heavy cream instead of buttermilk?
Hello Linda, If you use milk for the buttermilk, just use the same amount of milk with 1 tsp of lemon juice mixed into and allowed to “rest” for about 5 minutes. Hope you enjoy! ๐
Stacy, I have never responded to a recipe and I have made biscuits for 30+ years. Your technique produce the best biscuits I have ever made or eaten. For others thinking about this recipe follow the technique. Many previous recipe have the same ingredients but results are very different using this technique.
Hello Sherry! OMG, thank you so much, I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and enjoyed them! And thank you for taking the time to respond and leave a comment!!! ๐
After 2 failed attempts at another biscuit recipe, that called for far too much butter. (Yes, it IS possible to put too much butter in a biscuit recipe.) I turned to this recipe and was thrilled with the results. I made the first batch and IMMEDIATELY mixed up a double batch and baked those to deliver to some friends and family with some Strawberry Freezer Jam I had just finished making. This recipe is definitely a keeper and your instructions are fantastically and perfectly detailed. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Ashlea! I’m so glad that this is a keeper recipe for you and that you enjoyed them so much! (Especially with yummy Strawberry Freezer Jam!) ๐
I absolutely love this recipe. I always thought making biscuits was going to be a long process, but this recipe is super quick and makes great biscuits! Definitely makes it easier to make a fully.homemade breakfast on those mornings where I don’t really want to do anything. Today we are trying to fry the biscuits in oil and covering with cinnamon and sugar (to make donuts just like mom used to make with canned biscuits). Hoping it goes well!
Oh my goodness, thank you so much Tara!!! I’m so glad that you love this recipe, it’s one of my absolute favorites too. I think I need to try making them with the cinnamon and sugar … that sounds amazing!
Ok, I have to admit that I do buy frozen biscuits
(mainly only as a time saver) but my kids do like them. I do make homemade occasionally. We were going to have breakfast for dinner and I went to the freezer and there were NONE!! I was REALLY hungry for biscuits so, of course, I went to Pinterest. Stacey, your recipe was the second one I looked at. I thought, I have all the ingredients and they sound easy! I tried them and OMG!!! These were by far the best biscuits I have ever made!! EVER!!
Definitely going to be my go to recipe from now on!!
Thanks for sharing your delicious biscuit recipe!! ๐
Kelli thank you so much for letting me know, you have made my day! I’m so glad that you are loving on my biscuits!!! Keep enjoying them ๐
I added lemon zest to the dough to give the biscuits that slightly elevated bright flavor to pair well with the macerated strawberries. Delish. Lots of layers to these biscuits!
Oh lemon would be a definite yum and yes… with strawberries…. sounds yum! Glad you enjoyed them and experimenting with them!
Stacey,
we liked the biscuits! Just baked them 30 mins ago and they are gone! ๐ Thank you!
I don’t have buttermilk, but used Greek Yogurt+water. Works too.
Since I’m not American, but hubby is, I do try to cook and learn a lot of American recipes from food bloggers as you.
Thankful for your job!
Hi Vicky! Thank you!!!! I’m so glad that you like the biscuits! And happy that you tried it with the Greek yogurt and water as a substitute…great idea!
Hello, Dear Stacey!
For a long time, my friends from USA, have been telling me how delicious Southern biscuits are. They sent me pictures and different recipes, but I wasn’t particularly impressed. I decided to dig through the net to get an idea of what these biscuits should actually look like, and whether I would find a recipe that would not be questioned. I found you and your recipe. The biscuits I made became perfect. I sent pictures to my friends who had sent me their recipes, and they were all amazed. One of them told me that his biscuits had never looked so good, and asked for the recipe. I sent the link to him.
He was fascinated.
I wanted to tell you this story of your recipe, because this recipe is now a favorite in an ordinary Bulgarian family, very, very far from USA.
Thank you for that.
Thank you Tanya! I’m so glad that you had the opportunity to give them a try! And I love your story, thank you again for taking the time to share! ๐
I will start off by saying I am not a baker of any kind….today I watched my cousins kids that are 8 and 7, for the most part they watch way to much tv, so I decided to try something in the kitchen with them. I picked buscuits but not this recipie and although it was great fun teaching them about measurements and such it wasn’t the best recipe. So I began a search for a different one and ran across yours, I will definitely be trying it! I do have a question about step 5, how thick should the layers be before cutting into thirds and stacking?
Hi Paula! I’m sure your cousins’ kids would not only enjoy making these but also gobbling them up! I usually try to make them about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick…the thicker the taller so I always lean toward the 1/2 inch mark. Just keeping in mind that too thick the longer the bake time might be depending on how hot your oven runs. ๐
I made your biscuits this afternoon here in chilly Nova Scotia. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I’ve made biscuits before in my lifetime and while they were pretty good, they don’t even come close to yours! I guess the rumours are true … Southern girls know their biscuits! Thank you ever so much for this recipe. It has become my ONLY biscuit recipe from this day forward!
Oh my goodness Judy! Thank you so much for letting me know, I’m so happy that y’all enjoyed them. You made my day!!! ๐
This was the easiest, fun first time biscuit recipe. Thank you!
Next is Banana Pudding~
Thank you, Anna! I’m so glad you tried my favorite biscuits and enjoyed them! … next, enjoy that banana pudding ๐
Mine were flat, wondering why they didn’t rise? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hello Wendy! Thank you for reaching out! Some of the possible reasons that the biscuits didn’t rise are that the butter/fat ingredient is not cold enough, the other would be that the oven wasn’t hot enough when the biscuits went in the oven. Other possible reasons: fully mixing the dry ingredients first, followed by fully incorporating the butter … I have done this one myself, I was in a hurry, dumped all the butter in, and didn’t fully incorporate it, plus I allowed my butter to warm up too much and therefore it wasn’t cold enough and I had flat biscuits. I now like to go ahead and grate my frozen butter stick, put it in a Ziploc bag, then place it back in the freezer for when I need it. Hope this helps!
I love this recipe, so fabulous and flaky. I added one tablespoon of sugar and placed the dough in the freezer for 10 minutes before kneading. A total hit, no more canned biscuits for me.
Oh thank you so much, I’m so glad you love it! AND I love the tweaks you made!!! Thank you ๐
*****
I hate having to get out everything to make biscuits that being said I make 3 recipes at a time and store in my freeze. When I want to make biscuits I measure out the amount needed and make from 4 to 10 biscuits as many as needed. I found that I can have a pan ready to bake by the time my oven heats. Everyone knows frozen butter makes the best biscuits.
Hi Stacy, I don’t generally leave remarks on food recipes but I had to say thank you for such a great recipe, I have never had such a tasty biscuit before and the layers are wonderful, I have been cooking for years and I love trying new recipes and I have to say this one is right at the top. Thank you!
Thank you so much Leilani! You made my day!!!
Used to make biscuits for a bakery, I thought this would be close enough, but it’s definitely not.
This biscuit recipe has become a must have for my family! I double the batch and freeze half of them. My husband can not have butter milk so I use 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup heavy whipping cream! Lovelyโฆ
Yay Eileen!!! I’m so happy that y’all have adopted this recipe into your family! And yes, milk and whipping cream are certainly great substitutes for the buttermilk in this recipe. I’m glad y’all enjoy them, you’ve made my day!
Hie Stacey
I made these beauties, first time to make flaky buiscuits. l tripple the recipe and used self raising flour and added some sugar. They turned out great, flaky , crispy outside and fluffy inside.My daughter and l thoroughly enjoyed them. Adding the recipe to my favourites. Thanks for sharing
These are so good! I added a 1/4 of sugar to mine when I made a double batch and it was even better!
OMG, I have been trying for YEARS to find a biscuit recipe that comes close to those refrigerator biscuits my husband likes. While even most biscuits have been my Achilles heel my whole life (60 yrs) these are out of this world. So easy, I made a ‘test’ batch whipping it up in the amount of time stated in the recipe. I thought I had made them a little too thin on the roll out but they puffed up like no bodies business. So l will be making these from now on. So easy so tasty!! Thank you for this recipe!!
The best biscuits I ever made. The recipe was well written and easy to understand.
I loved this recipe it was so yummy