Homemade Butter Biscuits

Cold butter, a light hand, and a hot oven turn simple pantry ingredients into tender biscuits. Serve them warm with jam, eggs, or a bowl of soup.

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Keep the Butter Cold

Small pieces of cold butter help create a tender texture. Mix just until the dough holds together, and cut straight down so the edges can rise freely.

Homemade Butter Biscuits

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Tender, lightly sweet biscuits made with cold butter and whole milk. Serve warm with breakfast, soup, or jam.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 12 biscuits, approximately
Course: Bread, Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Instructions Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups All-Purpose Flour plus a little for dusting
  •  
    3 tbsp Sugar
  • ½ tsp Salt
  •  
    4 tsp Baking powder
  •  
    ½ tsp Cream of tartar
  • ¾ cup butter very cold, cut into small cubes; plus optional melted butter for brushing
  •  
    1 large egg cold
  • 1 cup Milk whole, cold

Equipment

1 Baking sheet
1 Biscuit cutter
Parchment paper
1 Pastry cutter
1 Pastry brush

Instructions
 

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment rated for that temperature, or lightly grease the sheet. Keep the butter, milk, and egg refrigerated until needed.
  2. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until small pieces about the size of peas remain.
  3. Beat the egg into the cold milk, then stir into the flour mixture just until no large dry patches remain. The dough should be soft and sticky, with visible bits of butter. Stop mixing once it comes together.
  4. Turn onto a floured surface and dust the top lightly. Gently fold or knead just enough to bring the dough together, up to 10 to 15 light turns. Pat to 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut straight down with a floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter without twisting. Gather scraps gently and cut again; yield varies with thickness.
  5. Arrange on the prepared sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until risen and golden and the centers are baked through. Brush with a little melted butter if desired, and serve warm.

Notes

Keep the fat cold and handle the dough gently. If it becomes warm or greasy, chill briefly before cutting.
Expect about 9 to 12 biscuits depending on cutter size and thickness. Avoid tasting raw dough because it contains uncooked flour and egg.
Adapted from Trish at Mom On Timeout, with corrected ingredients and rewritten instructions.

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Adapted from Trish at Mom On Timeout.

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