Homemade Biscuits- tall, flaky and tender!

Name: Homemade Biscuits
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 4 cups all purpose flour; 2 Tbsp baking powder; 1 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 cups butter; 16 oz sour cream; 3-5 tsp water; Melted butter

By: Leigh Anne WilkesPosted: 2/24/21Updated: 6/27/25

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You can enjoy fresh homemade biscuits that are flaky and tender in under 30 minutes. They have all t he flavor, taste, and texture that a biscuit should have.

stack of fluffy biscuits on a cooling rack

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

Tender, soft, flaky, really tall and tastes good too! The description of the perfect easy homemade biscuit recipe and you are going to find all those in this recipe! They are the perfect addition to breakfast, lunch or dinner. There is no bad time for a biscuit.

Ingredients Needed

Flour. I use unbleached all purpose flour
Baking powder
Salt
Sugar. Can also use honey.
Baking Soda
Butter. I use salted butter. You will also need some melted butter for brushing on the top as they bake.
Sour cream. You can substitute plain Greek yogurt

Tips for Making Flaky Biscuits

Use cold butter, sour cream, egg and milk. Leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to start.
Don’t overwork the dough. Use a pastry blender or dough hook to combine the dough until it looks shaggy. There will still be small pieces of butter in the dough and that is what makes a flaky biscuit. As those pieces of butter melt, they give off steam which helps create those flaky layers.
Baking powder is an important ingredient in this recipe so make sure you are using fresh baking powder, not the stuff that’s been sitting on your pantry shelf for years.
Use your hands to bring the dough together. Do not use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Use your hands to pat the dough into a one inch tall circle.
Do not twist the biscuit cutter when cutting the dough, this will seal the edges and prevent those flaky layers from forming.
The trick to a nice tall biscuit is to roll your dough out to about 1 inch thick.

How to Make Homemade Biscuits Recipe

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl or your food processor. If using food processor, pulse until butter is small (size of small peas) and well blended pieces or cut in butter by hand using a pastry cutter
Stir the sour cream and water into the flour mixture and mix well. Pulse again until well mixed if using a food processor. Add more water if it is too dry (just a little at a time.)

Knead biscuit dough a few times on the counter and roll out to 1 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Handle as little as possible.
Cut out biscuits using a round cookie cutter. I used my trusty old biscuit cutter that was my grandmothers but you could also use the rim of glass dipped into flour to cut out yours. You can also form the dough into a thick rectangle and use a knife and cut them into squares like I did here.

Place on a baking sheet. Placing biscuits close to each other will help them rise higher.
Twice during the baking process baste the tops of the biscuits with melted butter
Bake at 400 for 15-17 minutes or until top is golden brown. If frozen bake for 3-5 minutes longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze homemade biscuits?

These biscuits freeze beautifully.
Place the biscuits on a baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid.
Put them into a large Ziploc freezer bag and remove as much air as you can. They will last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Bake while still frozen at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

How do I store biscuits?

These biscuits are best eaten fresh the day you make them but if you have leftovers, they can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

There is nothing quite like a warm, buttery, flaky biscuit right out of the oven.

Biscuit Sandwich ideas

Slice the biscuit in half and add one or all of the following:

Egg. You can add a fried egg or scrambled egg. One egg per sandwich.
Meat. Add a slice or two of cooked bacon, a cooked sausage patty, or a slice of ham.
Cheese. Use a slice of your favorite cheese. We prefer cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese.

Serve with:

Butter
Strawberry Jam
Honey
Sausage Gravy
Honey Butter
Flavored Butters

Try these other biscuit recipes:

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4.86 from 7 votes