Buttermilk Biscuits

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These biscuits are full of layers of buttery, flaky goodness! They’re so quick and easy to make! No mixer needed!

These buttermilk biscuits have so many buttery, flaky layers.

Biscuits are perfect for when you want some bread to go along with your meal but are short on time. They are like a dinner roll, but have more of a dense and rich crumb. Even though these biscuits don’t require using yeast, the ingredients we use here will make them bake up big and fluffy!

My tips for making Buttermilk Biscuits

Use cold fat: Using cold butter is key to getting airy, flaky biscuits. The butter will release steam as it melts, creating air pockets which give the biscuits a nice rise.
Don’t over mix: handling this dough too much will result in tough, dense biscuits. It will melt the cold butter and prevent it from creating those precious air pockets.
Don’t twist your biscuit cutter when cutting the dough. It creates a seal along the edges of the biscuit, which prevents that butter from releasing air. This will inhibit the biscuits from rising to their full potential.
To make this recipe even quicker, cut square biscuits out with a knife.

I love making these biscuits as a last minute addition to a meal! They’re quick and easy and can be made by hand, so you don’t have to worry about getting your mixer out!

Using cubed butter that is chilled helps create pockets of butter in the biscuit dough.

Combine the dry ingredients and butter together and use a pastry blender to get a coarse crumb mixture. These little bits of butter are going to create some big lift in the oven! You can also use the backs of two forks to cut the butter into the flour mixture.

Add the buttermilk and stir it in. It won’t all come completely together in the bowl. You’ll need to turn it out onto the counter and work some dry bits in with your hands. Be sure to handle the dough as little as possible. You want to prevent that butter from melting!

This is where that chilled butter comes in really handy! Using really cold butter will keep it from softening and melting while it’s being handling during the mixing process.

To save time, you can cut your biscuits with a knife.

When cutting out your biscuits, don’t twist your biscuit cutter. This will inhibit the rise of your biscuits. Sometimes, when I’m in a hurry, I cut my biscuits into squares with a knife. This is the quickest way to cut them out, because you get them all done in one shot without having to re-roll the dough scraps.

Bake the buttermilk biscuits until they are slightly golden.

Serve these biscuits hot out of the oven! They are rich, buttery, flaky and tender! You’re going to love them!

Some helpful links…

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More recipes to try

Crescent Dinner Rolls

Skillet Dinner Rolls

Basic Sourdough

Chocolate Chip Mint Oreo Stuffed Cookies

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Author: Heather Thomas

These buttery, flaky biscuits are quick and easy to make! Mix them easily by hand! They bake up so fluffy and taste amazing hot out of the oven!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: biscuits

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

3 cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter cubed and chilled
1 cup buttermilk*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450°F.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Add the cubed butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with the backs of two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the buttermilk and stir just until the liquid is absorbed and it forms a soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto the counter and work all the dry bits into the dough with your hands until it becomes one cohesive ball of dough. Try to handle as little as possible.
Flour the counter and roll dough out to about 1 inch thickness.
Cut with a round biscuit cutter – do not twist (this will inhibit the rise of the biscuit). Re roll the scraps and cut out more biscuits until all the dough is used up. *To save time, cut into squares with a knife.
Place an inch apart on a baking sheet either lined with parchment or sprayed with nonstick spray.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden.
Serve warm.

Notes

*This recipe was updated February 2022. The previous recipe instructed you to use frozen butter and to fold the dough in thirds when rolling out. I have since updated the butter to using chilled butter and no longer folding the biscuit dough – simplifying the process to make it even easier!

Add mix ins for different variations…like shredded cheese, jalapeño or green chiles. Mix them in when you turn the dough out of the bowl and work them into the dough. Get creative with your mix ins!
*Substitute buttermilk by using 2% milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon vinegar.
Bread flour works great in this recipe too. Use same measurements.

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