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.
Biscuit Were A Staple In Our Home.We Didnt Have Enough Money For miLk. So Mom Would Hand Knead And Form Plam Bisquits.They Would So Good Just Melt Away. I Always Made Sure I Saved One The The Morning. Nothing Like It. I Have Tried To Repeat that Process But No Go.. I Will Try The Three Ingredients Method. Nothing Like A Water Biscuit. Save The biscuit
Biscuits and gravy are my favorite meal. When I was little my Grandfather (Big Daddy) would take a biscuit after dinner and put butter in it then fill it with sugar and eat it. After my Grandmother died (she made wonderful biscuits) my Grandfather used canned biscuits and we always called them Big Daddy Biscuits. Even now when we have canned biscuits they are Big Daddy Biscuits.
Mother would say the best way to learn how to make biscuits is “just start making them and they will get better and better. Loved watching her with her waist apron tied around her (she always wore an apron) and I don’t know what this has anything to do with making biscuits, but mother always wore a dress when she cooked. She had everyday dresses and Sunday dresses…anyway back to making biscuits! She never measured anything and her biscuits were tender and fluffy every time. Oh! I miss those days..sniff sniff.
My friend who is from Georgia taught me recently because I had always wanted to learn.
I learned how to make biscuits from my Grandmother and my Mom; however, I did not get the “biscuit thumb”. My biscuits wind up being “hockey pucks”.
My story is about my Grandmother and her light as air biscuits. I have yet to taste biscuits as good as hers. She used “lard”, buttermilk and a cast iron skillet. She would mix the ingredients in a bowl with her hands. She never rolled them out on flour but rather, still using her hands, she would lightly pat together a fist size ball and pat it into her cast iron skillet. She would continue this until the skillet was full and the biscuits were “hugging” each other – not just touching. She would then slide the skillet into the over for what seemed an eternity while your mouth watered anticipating her wonderful biscuits. You know Grandmothers, they always make enough to feed a small army, so she always had leftovers. We lived anywhere from 4 to 10 hours away from her, so we didn’t get to visit often. As we would prepare to leave for our return trip home, I would make a visit to her kitchen and slip one or two of her biscuits into my pocket, purse, bag, etc. (or she would slip one or two to me) for the trip home. When my parents would ask if anyone was hungry, my reply was always no because I had been snacking on my Grandmother’s wonderful biscuits. None of my brothers or sisters ever thought to “biscuit” their pockets. My parents still tell this story of me putting biscuits in my pockets – and I am 52!!!
How much esier could making biscuits be? Mama always made hers with baking soda but I use baking powder in mine.
Love a good biscuit for just about any meal. My mom never used a recipe and I do understand that now. After you make them over and over you just learn your own way of doing things.