Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
Crafted with a mere trio of essential ingredients, this timeless Southern biscuit recipe stands as an enduring cornerstone of Southern culinary tradition. These biscuits, embodying a perfect fusion of simplicity and flavor, hold a cherished place in Southern households. Soft, fluffy, and undeniably delectable, they transcend the boundaries of mealtime, seamlessly transitioning from a morning indulgence to a savory accompaniment for dinner.
Each bite carries with it a taste of Southern heritage, a testament to the art of Southern comfort food. The simplicity of the ingredients belies the rich and comforting flavors that emerge from the oven. Tender and buttery, they exude a warmth that envelopes the senses. Slathered with butter or adorned with gravy, these biscuits become a canvas for a multitude of culinary delights, adapting effortlessly to various accompaniments. These flaky butter biscuits go perfect so many types of soups like Creamy Vegetable Soup, Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe, Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, and Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients To Make Homemade Biscuits
- (self-rising)
- Shortening
- Milk or buttermilk
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make This Classic Southern Biscuit Recipe
Place the flour into a medium bowl and add the shortening. Cut in with a fork or pastry cutter.
It will look like this when you are done.
Not incredibly different but you won’t be able to really see the shortening anymore once it is incorporated into the flour.
Most recipes will tell you to cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles peas. I’ve never, in my life, seen peas that look like this, or a flour/shortening mixture that looked like peas. It must have been a high imagination day when that analogy was thought up.
Add in your milk.
Stir that milk in until your dough starts to stick together good.
Sprinkle flour onto a surface. I like to lay out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it on top of that for easy clean-up later.
Dump your biscuit dough out onto the floured surface.
Now you need to knead it.
However, you don’t want to over-knead it or you’ll end up with my Daddy’s hockey pucks.
I tell my kids “In biscuits, as in relationships, it’s never good to be too kneady.” LOL
Then, I cut your Southern biscuits.
Cut your biscuits with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped into flour to keep the cut biscuits from sticking to it.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place your cut biscuits in it, making sure the sides touch. This helps them to rise because they support each other as they bake and rise up.
I tell my kids “You want them touching because biscuits are like good friends, they help each other rise up.”
Bake these at 500 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and brush tops of these classic southern biscuits with melted butter, if you’d like. Enjoy all the delicious .
How To Store Homemade Biscuits
- Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat in a low oven or in the air fryer.
- You can also freeze the baked biscuits or unbaked for up to 3 months. Thaw both the and overnight in the fridge before reheating as above or following the instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Why does the recipe have such a large range for how much milk to use?
Sometimes, your flour will need a little more, sometimes a little less. I could have used a little more in this tutorial but it’ll turn out just fine. Biscuits are really hard to mess up, so if yours end up a little dry, no worries, they’ll still be delicious! They’ll actually absorb honey and butter a little better. My daddy used to make hockey puck biscuits on Sunday morning but they still tasted good and we gobbled ’em all down! What’s even better, if there were any left we could use them as weapons on each other out in the backyard. Always a plus side!
How do I avoid over-kneading my Southern biscuit dough?
To avoid over-kneading, I press my dough into a ball and then press it out flat. I do this no more than two or three times. The dough should still stretch. If it rips or tears then it’s probably over kneaded. So once the dough is soft and springs back a little, it’s done.
Can I Create Any Variations With This Recipe?
Here are some fun variations to make with this Southern biscuit recipe:
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- For a savory alternative, add shredded cheddar cheese, chopped chives, or chopped bacon to your dough.
- For sweet, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar into your dough.
- To make a scone-like biscuit, add dried fruits.
What Can I Serve With These Biscuits?
These pair best with your favorite Southern . This might be fried chicken, , pimento cheese dip, or bacon, egg, and cheese for the ultimate breakfast sandwich.
You may also enjoy these other Southern biscuit recipes:
- Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
- Pimento Cheese Biscuits
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings (With Canned Biscuit)
- Biscuit Pretzels
- Drop Biscuits Recipe
- Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups White Lily self-rising flour see notes if using all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2/3-3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Place flour into a medium bowl and cut in the shortening until well incorporated. Stir in just enough milk until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.2 cups White Lily self-rising flour, 1/4 cup shortening, 2/3-3/4 cup milk
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead two or three times. Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped in flour. Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Who taught you how to make biscuits? Who made the biscuits in your family? Maybe you’ve never had a biscuit or to you, a “biscuit” is what we think of like a cookie – that’s just fine, too.
I learned to make biscuits from my Mother. There were 5 of us children and we had them almost every morning for breakfast with gravy. My Mother has been deceased a number of years now. I am proud to say I have her old wooden dough bowl. Thanks for prompting me in the sweet memories of her. And I pledge to make homemade biscuits with my granddaughters the next time they visit!
I currently live in Arizona and have to have family bring or ship me White Lily products several times a year. Nothing compares.
My mother made biscuits from scratch. She used a wooden bowl, flour, Crisco and buttermilk. I guess she added soda, salt, etc. She never measured anything, just dumped items together and rolled it around until it looked right. Then she did not roll out the dough, just made biscuits in her hand, put on baking pan and into the oven. Talk about light and heavenly! She was always
asked to bring these to all gatherings.
I miss these.
Growing up it was canned biscuits or KFC. Then a few yrs ago the FDA said that MSG wasn’t as bad as previously thought and companies started to put in MSG back into food products. Something that my husband is allergic too. So it became a necessity to learn how to make biscuits from scratch. I do use a half butter/half shortening method. I also knead them like I was making a croissant and in the layers is where I spread the room temp butter, cut and refrigerate them for 30 to 45 minutes before baking so the butter has time to get cold. As we both have gotten older we are finding that more items need to be made from scratch due to allergies.
This is not really a memory. I have been married 44 years and I have made biscuits every morning since we have been married. I use the same ingredients as above, except I don’t measure mine. I never use any kind of flour except White Lily self rising. I have always used the same pan to cook them in. As you can imagine it is black.
My grandparents lived about 3mins from us and a lot of Saturday mornings she would call us EARLY to come over she had made a “pan of biscuits” her biscuits were cat head biscuits. Where we live in the South big biscuits are called “cat head biscuits” because they are so big and fluffy. The memory of her calling, but the dearest memory was walking in her home smelling the biscuits, bacon, sausage, fresh coffee and eggs. Seeing my grandfather at the head of the table buttering the biscuits. He was one of these that believed in real butter and soaking them in the butter. They never had store bought jelly/jams. All the jams and preserves were made by her and my grandfather. All of us sitting around the table talking, eating and enjoying the time together. Even after I married she would still call us on Saturday mornings. We lived about 5mins from her so we would all meet over for breakfast. She did this up until the day she died. Sitting here typing this out the memory is so vivid and I can still smell all of the delicious food, seeing my grandfather in his overalls buttering biscuits. Oh how I miss them and that time together.
I only had “wop” biscuits as a kid. As an adult, I taught myself how to make scratch biscuits.