Baking Powder Biscuits

Buttery and flaky with a hint of saltiness, these wonderful baking powder biscuits will melt in your mouth. They're so easy to make and require only a few ingredients.

Serve hot with a bowl of bacon squash soup or our comforting pork and squash stew. These homemade biscuits can be served as a side with almost any dish and your family is sure to love them. Nothing beats warm biscuits served fresh from the oven!

A stack of baking powder biscuits on a white plate.

Homemade Fluffy Biscuits

Baking powder biscuits are an easy recipe that only requires six simple ingredients, most of which are probably already in your kitchen.

This is an old-fashioned recipe that requires no yeast. Traditionally, many baking powder biscuits use shortening, however, our recipe uses good-quality butter instead. Extra baking powder helps these delicious biscuits to rise.

We love a quick and easy biscuit recipe from our bacon cheese muffin biscuits to our sweet potato biscuits. This recipe uses extra baking powder to create a simple fluffy biscuit.

EASY – Most bread recipes require a few techniques to master, but homemade biscuits are relatively easy to make, even for beginners.
VERSATILE – These go with any flavor making them perfect for any meal.
CHEAP –This recipe uses cheap ingredients, most of which are probably in your home already.

Serve these for breakfast, lunch, a side at dinner, or a snack. Topped with jam or dipped in gravy they are so versatile and easy to master. They can be stored for days or frozen for weeks and ready to use when you need them.

Recipe Ingredients

These homemade biscuits use the easiest ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need with full details in the full recipe card at the bottom.

ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR – All-purpose flour acts as the perfect base.
BAKING POWDER – This recipe uses extra baking powder which acts as the leavening agent that will allow the dough to rise. Make sure to use fresh baking powder for best results!
BUTTER – Use unsalted butter as the recipe already includes a measurement of salt. The butter needs to be very cold for this recipe. Many traditional biscuit recipes use shortening or lard. You can also use one of these in replacement if you prefer.
MILK – Cold whole milk is used in this recipe, but you can also use buttermilk or unsweetened almond milk.
SALT & SUGAR – Salt and sugar will add flavor to the biscuits.

Pro Tip: To get the best flakiest biscuits, the butter you use must be very cold. Keep the butter in the fridge overnight before making the recipe.

How To Tell If Your Baking Powder Is Good

Add one cup of hot water to a bowl and 1 tsp of baking powder. If it begins to fizz, the baking powder is still good to use in your recipes.

If it doesn't fizz, that means the carbon dioxide in the baking powder is no longer working. It won't work as a proper leavening agent anymore, and you should purchase a new container of baking powder.

Flavor Additions

There are so many variations of this biscuit recipe. You can add a lot of different flavors depending on what you like. Try a few from below:

CHEDDAR CHEESE – Grate a half cup of cheddar cheese and mix it into the batter.
JALAPENO – Dice up a jalapeno pepper to add a little spice. Just fold into the dough before gently kneading.
COCONUT – Try adding some grated coconut for a little sweetness and texture.
BERRIES – Fresh blueberries or raspberries will create a sweet and savory biscuit.
BACON - Can be chopped up and added to the dough.

Pro Tip: Whatever you decide to add to your dough, be sure that it is cold. Keep everything in the fridge until it is needed.

Four images showing steps to make recipe. First two are have a white bowl, first with flour and pastry cutter, second with ball of dough. Third is dough with circles cut in. Fourth is biscuits in a baking dish.

How To Make Baking Powder Biscuits

Once you have everything ready to measure, and your milk and butter have been chilled, you’re now ready to bake some biscuits. Here’s an overview of how to make fluffy biscuits and the recipe with full details in the recipe card at the bottom.

PREP – Cut the chilled butter into cubes and place it into the freezer until you're ready to make the recipe.
MIX – Using a large bowl, sift in the flour and add baking powder and salt into the bowl. Mix them together. You want to make sure the baking powder is well incorporated. Next, add the butter cubes and with a pastry blender or a fork, blend in the butter until pea-sized and coated with the flour mixture. Mix in the cold milk, a little bit at a time until the dough starts to form a ball. Once the ball has formed, stop adding any more milk.
FOLD – On a lightly floured surface, place the ball of dough in the center and start flattening it with your hands or gently roll the dough with a rolling pin. Add more flour if it sticks. You want to fold the dough over itself and flatten it again. Repeat this 5-6 times adding flour if needed.
CUT – Flatten once more to a ½” thickness and use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass to cut out the biscuits. You can also make these into drop biscuits if preferred. Reform leftover dough into a ball, flatten again and continue cutting out biscuits until there is no dough left. Place biscuits on a baking sheet.
BAKE – Place oven rack in the middle position and bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden.

Pro Tip: Arrange the unbaked biscuits on a cookie sheet side by side with the edges touching each other. This will help the biscuits to rise higher as they won't be able to expand out as much.

Tips For Making The Best Biscuits

Use cold milk and butter. Both should be chilled overnight in the fridge. Some people prefer to freeze their butter to help make the biscuits rise. To do this, chop the butter into small cubes then place it in the fridge until you're ready to make the biscuit recipe.
The butter should be should form coarse crumbs when mixed in with the flour. I prefer to use a pastry cutter for this, but you can also use the back of a fork or two knives.
Measure the biscuit dough thickness before cutting out the biscuits. It should be ½" thick.
Roll out the biscuit dough and then fold it over on itself and roll again. This will create flaky layers that look beautiful when you bake the biscuit.
The oven must be hot (at 425F) and the biscuits should be chilled. This will cause the biscuits to rise higher as they're baking.
This is one of my favorite biscuit hacks: Place the biscuits with the sides touching each other on the prepared baking sheet. The biscuits will be forced to rise up and not expand outward as they bake.

Pro Tip: For a crispy golden brown top crust, brush each biscuit with milk before placing in the oven.

Honey being poured onto a biscuit slice with butter. Other biscuits in background.

How To Store This Great Recipe

Homemade biscuits taste incredible as leftovers. No one will ever know that they have been stored for a few days and reheated.

REFRIGERATE – Leftover biscuits will keep in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container or zip-lock bag.
COUNTERTOP – These can also be stored at room temperature and sealed in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
FREEZE – You can freeze biscuits, just like any loaf of bread, for about a month. Place in a good-quality freezer bag and remove as much air as possible. Seal tightly and place in the freezer.
REHEAT – You can reheat biscuits in a toaster oven and top with jam or butter. Reheat them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Or reheat using the oven at 350°F for 5-7 minutes.

Ways To Serve A Homemade Biscuit

You can serve fluffy biscuits so many ways with so many flavors!

GRAVY – Hot biscuits can be smothered in sausage gravy for a delicious treat.
JAM – Add some sweet toppings like strawberry jam.
BUTTER – Keep it simple by spreading butter or even garlic butter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my baking powder biscuits not rise?

The key to making biscuits, is making sure that the butter is cold when added. If the butter melts while mixing, the dough will become ladened with fat and the biscuits will not rise. Also, make sure your oven is at the proper temperature before baking.

Another reason may be that your baking powder has expired. A great way to test this is to add a tbsp to a small bowl then add some hot water. Fresh baking powder will begin to bubble as it releases carbon dioxide.

Why do my biscuits taste bitter?

If you add too much baking powder the taste will be bitter. Be sure to add only the required amount.

Why aren’t my biscuits flaky?

Folding your dough multiple times while adding small amounts of flour will give you a flaky result. This is called laminating. If you don’t laminate, the biscuits will have a flatter appearance and will be less flaky.

Can I use baking soda instead?

Although they look similar, they are actually quite different. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder is made up of sodium bicarbonate and an acid which is cream of tartar or cornstarch. If you just use baking soda, the biscuits won't rise as much because there is no acid ingredient.

A few biscuits on a plate with one in the front.

Nothing Beats A Homemade Biscuit Recipe

Grandmas’ homemade biscuit recipe will always be the best and this recipe is as close as it gets to the original. These flaky baking powder biscuits use the simplest ingredients that are probably already in your pantry for an easy recipe to serve with soups, pasta dishes, roast beef with gravy or anything else you can think of!

More Recipes Like This One

If you liked this recipe, then you’ll enjoy the ones below. Like homemade biscuits, each one will bring an added delight to any meal.