Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
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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:
-
- 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.
Mother made wonderful biscuits. Carolyn Tyler ‘s post could have been written by me except my mom used a gray enamel pan to mix up the biscuits, then the pan went back into the cabinet with the left over flour to be used and added to the next time. She always used lard and mixed by hand, then she cut the biscuits out with her biscuit cutter (a Vienna sausage can!). After brushing the tops they were baked on a high heat, then put in her orange Fireking bowl. Mother’s “biscuit bowl” was the only thing my daughter wanted after mother passed away. Oh, those precious memories.
I haven’t had much luck but I’m willing to try again… it’s been years! Maybe I’ll get the hang of it …. my b/f would love it.
My mother-in-law taught me the fine art of using self-rising White Lilly. I come from Texas and we make biscuits but always used all purpose flour. I stayed with her in North Carolina while she recovered from surgery. She told me to use her recipe and I ended up with the hockey puck variety of biscuit. Her recipe called for “flour”. I was not aware that it meant (at least in her neck of the woods) self-rising. She thought it was so funny that the end result was so darn hard and flat. The next batch were perfect!! Lord, I miss her.
White Lily makes the best biscuits. Can’t buy it up here in Washington, but that is always the first thing I get when I go back to visit.
Whenever I think of biscuits, I think of my grandmother working on the table my grandfather built for her. She put just as much love in the bowl as she did flower and shortening. I know I’ll always cherish the memories of us working together to create that mouthful of joy that we called mammaw biscuits.
As children my brother and sisters and I would wake up on Sunday mornings to the smell of fried chicken, gravy and biscuits. This was a tradition throughout our childhood. Some of us still do.the same. We love doing it even today
My Mother started working when I was 10. It was summer. Seven children, I was the oldest girl. Daddy showed me how to make biscuits one day. I had always watched him or mama make them. I had the biggest biscuits with cat face cracks, but they were delicious. Every day, I made 30 and they got smaller and better. I made these until I graduated high school, cooking 6 quarts of peas or butter beans a day, a huge chocolate pudding or peach cobbler, and meat we raised. Flour was one of the few things we bought, and it was kept in a big lard can. I had breaks during school and on weekends. I have been married 45 years and my husband and children still love my biscuits. They are a treat to them. I love White Lily. Nothing better.
Mama always made biscuits at home All my grandmothers, as well. I learned on my own after many years of trying and , I must ay, I’m pretty good at it. My recipe is same ingredients as in this article, but I do not measure. My favorite memory is– once Mam was in the hospital and Daddy came in from work and decided to have fried bologna and gravy&biscuits. He made up the dough , cut the biscuits and put in stove, fried bologna, and started gravy. The biscuits were done and gravy, too Almost didn’t get gravy out of skillet, so thick, and biscuits!! wel,l mixed it all , threw it out the door, and the mongrel who hung around grabbed it. Chew, chew, and some more tongue stuck to top of mouth and could not get it down. Biscuits so hard and gravy like cement, even the dog couldn’t eat it. We, as kids, laughed so hard!!