Buttermilk Biscuits
I use the same biscuits for strawberry shortcake by adding a tablespoon of sugar to the dry ingredients. Biscuits really should be served immediately; otherwise, I split & freeze them. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Makes: about 10
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons cold butter
- 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
- Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles cornmeal. (it takes about a minute)
- Add buttermilk, stirring briefly with a fork until combined.
- Place dough on a floured surface and knead 8-10 times. (it’s easy with a scraper)
- Roll or pat dough about 3/4 to 1-inch thick.
- Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut biscuits – do not twist – cutting straight down, dipping cutter into flour each time.
- Re-roll remaining dough for extra biscuits.
- Place biscuits on baking sheet, well spaced, and brush tops with milk or buttermilk.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until tops are golden. Serve right away.
No buttermilk? See Substitutions in my blog.
Excellent as usual along with the rest of your recipes. Turned me into a cook and a baker. Thank you very much.
Am on a “baking roll” this week with your wonderful recipes!
Made your biscuits today and they are better tasting & better for you than any other biscuits I have made or eaten in restaurants (and I won’t even mention those things in the dairy case…).
So, baked these exactly as you have written…enjoying both as a sweet breakfast (with blueberry preserves) and as a savory snack (with avocado, fresh basil and arugula).
I feel like a really good baker, but that would never happen without your genious & generosity in sharing your amazing fool-proof recipe secrets with us.
My Sincere Thanks.
– Paula
I have made these just the way the recipe is, and love them, but tonight I wanted something different for dinner, I added 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, stirred & spooned onto sprayed cookie sheet. Baked same time, done in 10 minutes. Brushed with melted butter, garlic powder & parsley. Yum!
Jenny, I have found when Buttermilk is required, I now only use Buttermilk I have made with milk and Lemon juice or white vinegar. My recipes are so much lighter. Hope you try this. I’d love to hear your experience.
Thank you-Thank you-Thank you!
I’ve tried baking so many times and it was never successful!
These buttermilk biscuits came out perfect! Your videos are the best, it’s like watching a friend explain how to! Not a stuffy chef!
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Jenny! Jenny! I’m excited to tell you about making your buttermilk biscuits today: For the first time, I baked in my new microwave/convection oven (Samsung; we remodeled the kitchen with a Samsung package). I set the oven to “convection” at 450 (the max), after putting in the low rack. It reached temp. in about 5 minutes! To bake the biscuits, I put them on the round, flat baking pan that came with the oven. I set the timer for 5 minutes, checked them and set the timer for another 2 minutes. Done! Seven minutes for high, beautifully browned, flaky biscuits. We had them with chicken soup for lunch today; husband so happy!
Just as a final check, I use an instant read thermometer (great investment – saves throwing out a lot of expensive ingredients) to check for doneness. Breads etc are pretty much done at 210F in the middle. The best “accurate” thermometer that reads in about two seconds that I have found is https://www.thermoworks.com/Classic-Thermapen
A little expensive, but I has paid for itself in saved ingredients. No more doughy centers. Best wishes for great biscuits.
Thank you. Great idea.
Darlin, I don’t know what went wrong but they did not turn out. The tops were too white and the inside was too doughy. I followed your recipe to the letter and I’ve been baking for a good many long years. Sorry.
Hi! I love your recipes. Will the biscuit recipe work with whole wheat pastry flour? Can you make them into drop biscuits to go more quickly?
thanks
Thank you for the recipe..turn out delicious
And yummy 😋
Mine are still doughy in the middle – what might I have done wrong?
No one ever answers this question. I posed it so many times on so many recipes for biscuits. Mine always come out doughy.
Here’s my experience: I am a very good bread maker, always turns out great. I buy new oven. Serviceman comes cause now middle of bread is not cooked. I even bought high end oven thermometer before calling for service. He told me ovens today aren’t what they used to be. The thermometer don’t use, ignore ding, cause you really haven’t reach temp that you set it on. What knucklehead changed the inner workings of an oven, for what reason? Haven’t tried these biscuits yet, but remember Jenny says turn on oven for 30 minutes before starting. Serviceman said pre-heat 20-30 minutes.
Could be that you are making a little to thick ? Try making them a little flatter .
Thought I was following this particular recipe properly as it was the first attempt at making biscuits. When the “dough” was fully mixed and still like cold molten lava, I knew something was amiss since your recipes are perfect every other time I’ve followed them. Come to find out the flour I used was actually powdered sugar!!! After adding flour in batches and a little more baking powder, I was able to salvage the batch. They turned out wonderful (maybe not as flaky) and a little sweet. Thank you for all your tips and sharing your time.
I’m sorry about your hilarious mistake!!! It sounds like a few I’ve made.
Jenny..
Just wanted to Say.. Thank You for All Your Delicious & Easy to do Recipes..& Especially Your Videos!! Just watching them “Brightens My Day“.. (& I’m sure others too)! You Have Such a
Beautiful Smile & Style on How to Do things!! Love All Your Adorable Gadgets (like your unusual Timers.. Aprons… & etc)! & Love Your Sense of Humor!!?????❤️❤️❤️
You are One in a Million!! Wishing You All things Good & Gods Best Always!! We Miss You So Much!! & Wish you Were Still Doing Your Cooking Videos!! Please!! Consider doing another Cookbook or updating Your old One (in case the internet goes down)!! Much Love to You Jenny?
This is to Alyce (MiMi), someone who commented above.
That is so over the top. One or two compliments is plenty.
The overuse of exclamation marks are unnecessary and
annoying.
Please take my advice on your future posts.
Sorry, but these types of posts are my pet peeves. Hope
you aren’t offended by my criticism.
Thank you.
Your post is the annoying one. It’s a shame your mother did not teach you manners!!!!!!! Did you like my exclamation points? My pet peeve is annoying bullies like you.
Here, here LG! Punctuation shaming on a compliment? Crazy s**t. (Yeah- I went there!!!!!!!)
I have loved everything I have tried with your recipes. Is it still possible to get your cookbook.
My cookbook is out of print and also out-dated. I’m a much better and simpler cook today and most of the recipes from the book are here on this website, made simpler and more streamlined, the way I make them today.
Hey Jenny; love your videos you are such a hoot!! I am a “seasoned” baker so I guess I should know this. Can I sub salted butter? Ran out of unsalted.
TY. Have a blessed day.
Yes, I have used both salted and unsalted. It doesn’t make much difference since it’s only 2 tablespoons.
Hey Jenny; love your videos you are such a hoot!! I am a “seasoned” baker so I guess I should know this. CanI sub sakred butter
Just a suggestion, how about cutting the dough into squares or triangles.
This way there is no loss of dough or reshaping and cutting again and again.
Squares taste as good as circles…
Thank you for the recipe.
Agreed, Leah! That’s how I like to make scones, too. No waste and no extra rolling. 🙂
Great idea, Leah!
Hi…just checking though the recipe is clear enough and we followed it exactly…
1 tablespoon of baking powder seems like an awful lot… And they came out tasting bitter like the baking powder…
I’ve never heard of a recipe with that much baking powder before… Just wondering if anyone else had this problem with the taste of the biscuits… Otherwise they looked perfect.
I thought that sounded like an excessive amount too! Has anyone seeing this tried less and it worked?
That’s why you always use one tablespoon of sugar,makes the baking powder less noticeable and they are solo good,I am the Biscuit Girl,Lol 60 yrs making!! This is a super good Recipe!!!!
JENNY YOU ARE SO COOL I love your recipe videos
Gm Jenny
Your buttermilk biscuit looks so delicious.
I wanna made them
One question is the buttermilk cold
Or room temperature ?
It’s cold.
Thanks for the wonderful video on how to make biscuits. The nicest thing about the video is that you make it look simple to do and that encourages us ‘old’ guys to give it a try.
I have always made Bisquik biscuits in the past and was tired of the bad looking and terrible tasting little bricks that effort produced. These
turned out really well even though I probably over-kneaded them a little.
Dear Jenny
Great recipe of buttermilk biscuits; so easy baking and easy great thanks
Just made this easy recipe for breakfast! They came out light and fluffy! I slightly tweaked the recipe and used 3 tbs butter instead of 2. I also brushed the tops with my remaining buttermilk (to avoid waste) and kept them in the oven about 3 mins longer to get the tops a little brown.
Thank you Jenny this biscuit recipe!
Butter milk biscuits the best every we made today
Tried this recipe and loved how these turned out. Thank you for sharing!
Do I have to use butter milk? Can I use homo milk?
You can not use milk. You need the acid in the buttermilk (see Substitutions in my blog).
Where do I find buttermilk substitution in your blog? I’m looking!! Thanks.
It’s in the “Substitutions” category in my blog. https://www.jennycancook.com/category/substitutions/
I am going g to try your butter milk biscuits
Aloha Jenny
I’m going to try out your buttermilk
biscuits, they look so yummy
MAHALO : Helen Kaliko-Valder
I forgot the salt!
I’m putting them in the oven now, I hope it doesn’t affect the outcome of the biscuits.
?
Has this happened to anyone?
I’ve done this with yeast bread
My daughter took veggie oil salt basil and rubbed the loaves generously.
Saved my bacon!!
I wonder if one could brush quick breads with salt and egg white or butter whatever one uses to finish them before baking?
Prob too late
Would a salty spread make up for it ?
good luck dear
I’ve made these biscuits 2 times now. They are so delicious. I have been playing with the salt content as I like my biscuits a little more salty. I do not have a biscuit cutter so I used a clear plastic cap from an old bottle of laundry detergent (yes I scrubbed it good). They turn out perfect. Love this recipe. Thank you Jenny!
Long time fan of yours.
Cutter is available at Amazon for$7
3 to 4 sizes
The laundry detergent lid is Not made of food grade plastic, which means it will leach toxins into your dough.
Use a juice glass or other small glass.
Please don’t use plastic that is not made for food. You can’t know for sure what is left behind. Please be safe.
Try cutting the biscuits in squares or triangles, as mentioned in a response above. Much easier than cutting into rounds, and no waste! And as the previous person said, squares and triangles taste just as good as rounds! Hope this helps!
These turned out great. Very successful. Tanka’s, I love watching your YouTube videos and have made several of your recipes.
Finally biscuits even I can bake. Thanks Jenny I just found your site and I know in will be using it a lot?
If I make them in the morning..how can I save them for dinner the same day? or the next? Do they have to be frozen right away or can I have them for a couple of days?
I spend a Great deal of time in the kitchen.. and there is Always something new to learn, which is why I love Jenny’s channel.
With biscuits, I find that if I put them in a plastic bag (zippered style, but leave it open).. and heat for about 20 seconds or so.. depending on desired heat preference, it seems to bring them back to life nicely.
Not sure if it’s because the bag might help to retain moisture, but it works for me.
I couldn’t print the recipe. I love it because it’s only 2.5 grams of fat, not 10.
Sigh!!!
Please see the FAQs about printing.
Hi Jennny, my scones didn’t rise, any tips, I used almond milk btw.
This recipe needs buttermilk.
The reason that buttermilk is needed is because without buttermilk you do not have enough acid to react with the baking soda for leaving. Baking Powder does contain an acid, usually cream of tartar, but also requires heat. While buttermilk along with baking soda adds more leaving to the biscuits.
Hi Jenny,
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes and your you tube videos!
I had kefir on hand so i substituted that for buttermilk and the biscuits turned out great.
I just discovered your presentations on UTube and was delighted to
follow. It is so inspiring also the shortcut. May I say that I also find you
most charming, which doesn’t spoil the presentation.
I am looking forward to watch more of your programs.
Thanking you.
sarah e
Dear Jenny,
I live far away from the US and I just absolutely love buttermilk biscuits. But all other recipes got me cringe with the vast amount of butter in them. I was looking all over the place for a less butter recipe but no luck finding one. Until I stumbled upon your video on YouTube. I was a bit sceptical because I happened to make very good, flaky and flavorful biscuit yet I was afraid to eat them. So I tried your recipe yesterday, and promised myself to call you my goddess if this recipe a success. And it was! Same flaky, buttery, couldn’t stop eating just 1! So, now you’re officially my goddess! Thank you so much for the recipe, and I will be an avid maker on your other recipes.
Try James Beard’s chef’s recipe, Preheat oven to 450 degrees, 2 c flour (can use cake flour) 1 teasp. salt 4 teasp. baking powder, about 1 1/2 cups heavy cream. Have all very cold, stir cream into dry ingredients with a fork to make biscuit dough, you may need to use a little more or less. just pat together into a 3/4 inch circle(keep dough cold) On floured surface use sharp biscuit cutter dipped each time in flour to cut biscuits straight down, do not twist.Put on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 12-15 mins.till golden brown.
For cheese biscuits add 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar to flour, toss then add cream. May have to bake a minute or two longer.
What a lot of fun! My husband and I could not stop watching your how to videos. Your simple, no-fuss approach is exactly what we are looking for. We will be starting with the no knead bread recipe and then moving onto the buttermilk biscuit recipe. Thank you for making us want to bake again. You are a delight and we will revisit your website whenever we are looking for a recipe. Thank you so much Jenny.
Hi Jenny,
I love your recipes! I was wondering how much sugar I should add to turn these lovelies into sweet strawberry scones?
I made these biscuits for the first time today and they were the best tasting and easiest recipe I’ve ever made! They are so flaky and tender and so delicious! I had to control myself as it would have been very easy to eat the entire batch instead of dinner! 😀 I had to wait to bake them in the oven until my main dish was done. The biscuits actually starting rising on the sheet pan before they got into the oven! This is now my #1 go-to recipe for buttermilk biscuits. 🙂
I did not have buttermilk and what I did was to substitute buttermilk with 2% milk. I used 1 cup of milk and 1 stick of butter instead. The biscuits turn out flaky.
🙂
Actually, butter and milk isn’t buttermilk. Buttermilk is a mix of milk and lemon juice/vinegar.
Buttermilk is produced from cow’s milk combined with lactic acid bacteria, which creates the sour taste. Some people wanting a substitute for buttermilk use a combination of milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
I’ve tried several biscuit recipes the past few months and these are by for the best. I used Rumford reduced sodium baking powder. Wife and i both have high blood. Thank you so much Jenny…
For How many days we can preserve these biscuits ?
Biscuits are best served fresh so I always freeze any that I don’t use the same day I make them. But you can keep them wrapped and refrigerated for a couple of days. Here’s a good resource for how to re-heat them so they aren’t soggy: http://www.thebestestever.com/best-way-to-reheat-biscuits.html
Hi Jenny can I use a mixer to do my biscuit, and Every recipe
I have only made biscuits the traditional way, which is to cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or two knives and the result is excellent, but you can find recipes online that use an electric mixer.
Love these!! I freeze a stick of butter and then grate it on a cheese grater to get the two tablespoons. Incorporates much easier with the flour. Just an idea…
Great biscuits and easy to make. The best of all is no shortening added.
I use 3/4 of whole wheat pastry flour to blend in 1 cup all purpose….my boy like it plain. For guests and rest of the family members I add 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried pasley, and 1~1 1/4 cups Mexican blend cheese for breakfast quick bread…… Use a 1/4 measuring cup to lightly pack the dough and transfer to a baking sheet, gently press down to 1-inch thickness and bake at 450°F for 14 minutes or until golden brown on top. make 12 yummy biscuits.
Can i use or mix whip cream instead of buttermilk?
Whipping cream is not a good substitute for buttermilk because you need the acid in the buttermilk. Please look at the substitutions in my blog: https://www.jennycancook.com/category/substitutions/
Sour cream, plain yogurt, and kefir are effective substitutes for Buttermilk. Thin with a bit of regular milk or cream…..(The lactic acid in these dairy products is more suitable than the acidity of vinegar and/lemon juice.)
You can use whipping cream to make buttermilk. 1 cup cream, 4 teaspoons distilled vinegar. Let sit at least 15 minutes to react.
You can go to the baking isle of the store and by powered buttermilk blend. Use what you need per instructions and never have to worry the regular buttermilk will spoil before you use it all. I buy mine at Wal Mart. I don’t know if the name is Saco but it is a red, white and orange container with a chef on the front.
Have fun!
That’a a great suggestion, thank you.
I’m grateful for Cheri’s suggestion of using ‘powdered buttermilk’ as I had never heard of that before and it sounds perfect! 🙂
Hi jenny I just made my buttermilk biscuits can I put them in a Tupperware ware bowl with a cover in the fridge
I’m only 11 and my mom won’t drive me to the store to get buttermilk and I looked at your website and I only see a substitute for one cup of butter milk but I need 3/4 cup butter milk because that’s what it says in your recipe. So do I put 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar then fill it up to one cup THEN measure 3/4 of a cup of buttermilk from the mixture with one cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
Sorry for asking so many questions, I’m FINALLY going to make your cinnamon roll recipe I’ve been wanting to do that for so long. I LOVE BAKING !!!!!
I love baking too! You can do this two ways: 1) Measure one cup of milk, add one tablespoon of vinegar and after you let it stand, stir it up and pour off 1/4 cup to keep for later. That will leave you 3/4 cup to use. 2) Measure 3/4 cup of milk and add 2 1/2 teaspoons of vinegar, which is pretty close to 3/4 of a tablespoon. Good luck. Let me know how the biscuits turn out. I still prefer baking with real buttermilk so I hope you can get some next time your mom goes to the store.
Could I please have a substitute for 3/4 cup of buttermilk
There is more than one sub for buttermilk. This is from my blog: https://www.jennycancook.com/category/substitutions/
Above you said you can freeze the biscuts. Are they formed and frozen before they are baked or after baking?
I freeze mine after baking but you can also freeze them before baking. Frozen biscuits can go right from the freezer into the oven.
I love your receipts and videos. On the biscuits once frozen how long is the cooking time.
Baking time should be the same, maybe a minute or two longer.
Before they are baked.
Hi, i didn’t use butter milk before, isn’t safety for baking? I have goggle many comments say 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice+ 1 cup milk, any kind of milk can? Or glucose work?
Glucose will not work for buttermilk. By the way, buttermilk is very safe for baking and always gives great results. If you can’t get buttermilk, please see my blog category on substitutions: https://www.jennycancook.com/category/substitutions/
Jenny,
I live outside the USA right now and cannot get buttermilk. What would work best for this recipe?
Also I want to make about 60 of these and freeze them 2 days before baking them. Any suggestions?
Your recipes are great, and so glad I can make some traditional Polish food for my kids just like my Grandma used too.
There is no perfect substitute for buttermilk because it’s the acid in buttermilk that makes biscuits light and tender. You can try combining yogurt with milk until it’s the same consistency of buttermilk. Use about 1/3 part yogurt to 2/3 part milk. Some say you can add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it stand for 5 minutes to mimic buttermilk but to me it does not quite measure up. As for freezing you can freeze biscuits to bake later. Once they are cut, place them on a sheet in the freezer and once frozen, place them in an air-tight freezer bag. You can bake them while still frozen but you may have to bake a minute or two longer.
Hi i made this recipe and the biscuits were wonderful but when we started eating them they felt like they had dirt in them any suggestions what i did wrong ?
Sometimes biscuits develop tiny brown spots on the top and that might be what you’re tasting. These brown spots are usually caused by over-working the dough so make sure to knead it gently by hand only 8 or 10 turns. The less that biscuit dough is handled, the better. If it’s not the brown spots, I can’t imagine what would cause a grainy texture. There’s no ingredient I can think of that can create that. Be sure to start by sifting the dry ingredients together so they are well incorporated. Stir & knead the dough gently. If you have made no changes or substitutions and are following the recipe exactly, this really should not happen. Keep me posted.