Baking Powder Biscuits
This post may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure.
Grandma’s easy, homemade baking powder biscuits are tender, light and buttery with flaky tops. Just like the old-fashioned biscuits served at diners. Simple to make from scratch, they’re ready to serve in 30 minutes.
These biscuits from scratch taste 100% better than biscuits made from refrigerated dough packaged in cardboard tubes. And they’re a breeze to make. Just 15 minutes of prep time, and they bake in 12 to 15 minutes.
Serve warm baking powder biscuits with whipped butter and honey, or jam. Perfect for weekday dinners, they’re also traditional favorites for holiday meals like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
These breads are an ideal choice for serving with gravy for breakfast. You can also use them for mini sandwiches. Like funeral sandwiches, or country ham biscuits – a Southern tradition, just butter and ham on biscuits.
🛒 Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives baking powder biscuits strength and structure.
- Baking Powder: This leavening agent provides the perfect rise! We use a full tablespoon for our “Baking Powder Biscuits.”
- Granulated Sugar: Provides a delicious touch of sweetness.
- Fine Kosher Salt: Balances the flavors of the other ingredients and ensures the biscuits won’t have a bland taste.
- Salted Butter: Add moisture, richness and buttery flavor.
- Whole Milk: Adds moisture. When flour is combined with this liquid, a gluten framework develops that holds the ingredients together.
📖 Recipe Steps
RECIPE PREP: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a reusable silicone baking mat.
IF NO STAND MIXER: Use a large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Slice softened butter into very tiny cubes then add them to the bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter.
- STEP 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Mix briefly to combine. Add in the butter. Mix until the butter has been cut into the dry ingredients and resembles coarse crumbs.
- STEP 2: Add milk and mix briefly – just until the dough comes together. The dough will be a bit sticky but easy to handle. If needed, add a bit more flour.
- STEP 3: Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured board. Knead it about 12-15 times with the heels of your hands. Pat the dough into a circle that’s 1-inch thick. If needed, use a rolling pin to even out the dough.
- STEP 4: With a 3-inch biscuit cutter (or rim of a drinking glass), cut out baking powder biscuits. Gather the dough scraps together and gently re-roll and cut remaining biscuits. Place them on the prepared tray. [Because the dough doesn’t spread horizontally, the biscuits can be placed fairly close together on the baking tray.]
- STEP 5: Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the top of the biscuits are golden blonde and their middles are done. Immediately brush the tops with melted butter. Transfer the biscuits to a lined bread basket and cover with a lint-free kitchen cloth to keep them warm.
👉🏻 EXPERT TIP: For tender flaky biscuits don’t over-bake. Check on biscuits at the 10-minute mark. If needed, rotate the baking tray so they bake evenly, or tent the tray with foil to prevent over-browning.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions for making the BEST baking powder biscuits, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
Place dough on a lightly-floured board. With the heels of your hands, push the dough down and forward, slightly stretching it. Fold the dough in half and repeat. Fold and turn it 45 degrees. Continue kneading until it’s smooth and supple. If the dough is sticky, dust it with flour.
Make drop biscuits instead of cutout biscuits. Straight from the mixing bowl (no kneading required), drop portions of dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for about 12 to 13 minutes.
After baking, wrap the biscuits in a lint-free kitchen cloth and place them in a bread basket with another kitchen towel on top. Or if needed, place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and tent with foil. Rewarm in a 350°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until heated through.
Yes. You can made them up to 2 days in advance. After the biscuits come out of the oven and cool completely, store them in an airtight container on the countertop. Or freeze the biscuits for up to 1 month.
Instead of butter, use coconut oil. Instead of dairy milk use coconut milk. The biscuits turn out beautifully – flaky and delicious.
🍞 More Biscuits & Dinner Rolls
- Red Lobster Biscuits
- Southern Whipping Cream Biscuits
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- Best Jiffy Cornbread
- Buttery Parker House Rolls
- Easter Bunny Bread Rolls
- Sweet Buttery Cornbread
Rate This Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers rated this the BEST recipe for homemade baking powder biscuits. The flaky tops, tender middles, and buttery taste made them standout dinner rolls. The quick simple recipe made them a winner.
If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.
PrintBaking Powder Biscuits
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 9 Biscuits 1x
Description
These tender baking powder biscuits are light and buttery with flaky tops. They conjure up thoughts of Grandma baking biscuits in her farmhouse kitchen. Enjoy them warm with pats of butter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (very cold) butter, cut into tiny pieces
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- Melted butter, as desired for brushing
Instructions
RECIPE PREP: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put the tiny pieces of butter into the freezer for 10 minutes to get them cold again.
🥣 If no stand mixer: Use a large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Slice softened butter into very tiny cubes then add them to the bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Mix briefly to combine. Add in the butter. Mix until the butter has been cut into the dry ingredients and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and mix briefly – just until the dough comes together. The dough will be a bit sticky but easy to handle.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured board. With the heels of your hands, knead it about 12-15 times. Pat the dough into a circle, 1-inch thick. If needed, use a rolling pin to even out the dough.
- With a 3-inch biscuit cutter (or rim of a drinking glass), cut out baking powder biscuits. Gather the dough scraps together, and cut remaining biscuits. Place them on the prepared tray.
- Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the top of the biscuits are golden blonde and their middles are done. Immediately brush the tops with melted butter.
Notes
For Tender Flaky Biscuits: Don’t over-bake. Check on the biscuits at the 10-minute mark. If needed, rotate the baking tray so they bake evenly, or tent the tray with foil to prevent over-browning.
For Buttermilk Biscuits: If desired, feel free to use buttermilk instead of whole milk.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Baking Powder Biscuits 👉🏻 Join the Convo
Are you excited to make these homemade biscuits from scratch? Will you enjoy them for breakfast or dinner, or use them for sandwiches? Share your thoughts on these baking powder biscuits in the comments below.
Could not find a single comment from someone who actually made these so here I am! I have never been able to make biscuits- they never rise, they never cook, I have been so sad. I just made these and I am thrilled. These were EASY, they rose, they are delicious. Mine did not brown as much as I would have liked but the flavor is amazing and I will make again and tweak the oven placement. I used buttermilk as I had it and it was superb. Thank you so much for posting this!!
So easy! These will be great for weekend breakfasts!
These biscuits have my name written on each one of them! I love biscuits with jam. I mean LOVE. These are the best!
These are seriously the best!! Adding this to my breakfast rotation! My whole family loved them.
These look so deliciously light and flaky. I am a biscuits and gravy girl and these would be perfect.
These look so light and fluffy! And they seem easy enough to make! I can’t wait to try them!
Ohhh these remind me of our plain scones in the UK.
OMG I love biscuits especially when they are warm and you put butter and jelly. Now I am so craving them!!!
now i want biscuits. i used to love my mom’s fresh baked biscuit. now i’m inspired to make some.
Oh I love a good biscuit recipe. I’m totally going to try these out and let you know what I think.
These sounds like the biscuits my grandmother used to make. (I’m sure that sounds like a cliche, but I’m serious). I think I’ll try this recipe.
I love a good homemade biscuit. I never made my own but I want to!
Oh my! These biscuits look so delicious!
Wow, that last photo with the butter melted is just perfection! Looks delicious!
Nicole
These powder biscuits look amazing and mouthwatering! I should try making them with my kids this weekend!
These look so amazing & I just loved your process of doing them too! There’s always so many new things coming up in cooking & baking!
I am such a fan of baking powder biscuits, especially with a drizzle of molasses! Yours are more flat than I make mine as I use more raising agent.
They look like scones and they look absolutely delicious! What a perfect afternoon tea treats they’d make!
Those biscuits looks sooo yummmm… I would love to have them for breakfast everyday… I wish I can grab one right now :D
Nothing beats a good biscuit in the morning, noon, or at dinner. I will be saving this recipe for later.
These are the perfect biscuits! They will be great at Thanksgiving for sure!
These look great! I have always wondered how these are made. I have to try them. Thank you for sharing!
xx from Austria, Theresa
Oh now these look absolutely delicious – I could just imagine having one with a little bit of jam on top.
I love biscuits! Those seem to be s fluffy and soft inside. They are a must in my cooking list.
Yay! I love that I can make this with all the ingredients in my pantry right now. No need for buttermilk!
This is actually my first time hearing of ‘baking powder’ biscuits but I love how they remind me of scones. They look delicious and not too difficult for a novice like me to make!
The biscuits look superb! I like it with orange marmalade and strawberry jam. Yummy indeed!
i could use a bunch of these right now. it looks amazing. im saving this as i’m grocery shopping tomorrow and getting the rest of the ingredients that i don’t already have.
Look forward to making these for brunch! They look nice and easy!
These biscuits looks so fluffy! Definitely trying this recipe this weekend!
Those look delicious. I don’t know what it is, but I can not use a rolling pin. No matter how much flour, pressure, whatever I apply all I do it make a mess.
Ooo yes! I stuff my face with biscuits, I won’t lie. These look fantastic.
OMG Salivating! This looks so good! Can’t wait to make it!
Delicious! delicious! delicious! I may have to show my dad this recipe! he’s such a big fan of biscuits. the recipe is so easy to follow. I’m so excited
I love biscuits with my morning breakfast, and it’s been quite some time since I’ve made any. I’ll definitely be trying out this recipe!