Tender Buttery Flaky Homemade Biscuits

By Christie Vanover | Published March 19, 2017 | Last Updated May 7, 2023

Almost all of the recipes on my website are grilled, but this is one of the few exceptions because it’s a main staple in my household. I love biscuits with all things BBQ.

I eat biscuits for breakfast with grilled steak and cast iron skillet eggs, and I eat them for dinner and lunch sandwiched with leftover BBQ, honey and hot sauce. Heck, I even use this biscuit dough (slightly modified) to make cobbler.

My secret ingredient to homemade biscuits

Traditional Southern biscuits get their moistness from buttermilk. But who keeps buttermilk on hand? There aren’t that many recipes that use it, and it doesn’t keep for very long.

My substitute – plain Greek yogurt. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks and can be eaten plain or used in lots of other dishes. It has the same tangy flavor as buttermilk, giving the biscuits that authentic Southern taste. Just combine the yogurt with some regular milk to thin it out.

How to get flaky homemade biscuit layers

If you want delicate flaky biscuits, treat your dough that way. Don’t knead it. Don’t stir it to death. Just press the ingredients together and flatten them into a disc. Next, cut out your circles and chill.

Chilling allows the butter and shortening to firm up, so it melts in the oven during the baking process.

• All Purpose Flour: I usually use King Arthur’s unbleached flour (the red bag).
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These help the biscuits rise.
• Greek Yogurt and Milk: I use this combo instead of buttermilk. It makes for really tender biscuits. I always use Fage brand yogurt that is either 2% or 5% fat and whole milk.
• Salt and Sugar: These add a little salty sweetness.
• Fat: I always use two types of fat. Butter is always a must. For the other fat, I use either vegetable shortening or beef tallow. You can use salted or unsalted butter.

See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.

1. STEP ONE: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

2. STEP TWO: Add in the fats. Use one part butter and one part vegetable shortening or beef tallow. I do not use cold butter. Instead, I let my fats come to room temperature so they blend well. You can mix these in with a rubber spatula or your hands. Once mixed, the dough will be soft and crumbly.

3. STEP THREE: In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt and milk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to loosely mix everything. Don’t overmix it. Everything will come together in the next step.

4. STEP FOUR: Turn the dough onto your counter. It should be loose like in the picture.. Gently use your hands to push it together and flatten it into a disc.

5. STEP FIVE: Build in some layers. Once the dough is pushed together, flatten it slightly. Then fold it in half. Flatten again. Fold in half the other way. Flatten again. Fold in half one more time.

6. STEP SIX: Flatten the dough until it’s about 1-inch thick. Do not use a rolling pin. Just press slightly with your hands.

7. STEP SEVEN: Use a round biscuit cutter to cut out your biscuits. Once you get all the circles you can out of the disc, push the remaining dough together (don’t knead it), until it’s all used up. You should get 6-9 biscuits, depending on the size of your cutter and the thickness of the dough.

You can see the flaky layers even before they’re baked.

8. STEP EIGHT: Because this recipe uses room-temperature fats, it’s really important you follow this step. Otherwise, your biscuits will get too melty before they properly bake. Place biscuits on a silpat-lined baking sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

At this point, you could also cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or even freeze the biscuits.

If you freeze the raw biscuit dough, freeze them on a sheet pan. Once solid, transfer the frozen biscuits to a freezer bag. When you’re ready to bake them, pull out however many you need, and bring them back to room temperature before moving on to the next step.

9. STEP NINE: Once chilled, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and add a pinch of kosher salt.

10. STEP TEN: Bake at 375F degrees until golden brown. It will take 10-15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your biscuits. I love buttery biscuits, so I brush them one more time with melted butter.

What to do with homemade biscuits

Obviously, you can devour these fluffy homemade biscuits just like this with more butter and jelly or honey. The best biscuit is a warm biscuit straight from the oven.

Then, once you master the recipe – which honestly is so easy, you’ll get there in your first batch – you can try mixing things up.

Add chopped fresh herbs or chiles or 1/3 cup shredded cheese to the batter for a little variety. You can also make these into “Grands” or mini biscuits by adjusting your biscuit cutter size and the bake time. Mini biscuits make fun appetizers.

My favorite way to enjoy biscuits is with homemade breakfast sausage and a huge serving of sausage gravy with a side of sliced tomatoes tossed in balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. It’s a Sunday classic at our house.

Homemade biscuits are also great for non-breakfast meals like Nashville Hot Honey Chicken and Biscuits

Cobbler

You can adapt this recipe slightly to make a fantastic cobbler. Instead of 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, mix in 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Combine everything in the bowl with your hands and chill.

In another bowl, mix some fresh sliced fruit (such as peaches or berries) with white sugar, brown sugar, a touch of cinnamon and little cornstarch. Pour it into a deep dish pan. Then, crumble the sweet cobbler dough on top, covering completely.

Sprinkle a little course sugar on top. Bake in a 375F-degree oven or pellet grill, until the topping is baked through. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Storage

These biscuits are best eaten the same day you bake them. If you have extras, store them in a ziptop bag or airtight container.

They’ll stay fresh on the counter for a few days. You can heat them slightly in the microwave or slice them in half and toast them.