How to Make Biscuits From Scratch

Author:
Frankly My Dear
Updated date:
Jan 2, 2020

I'm a non-militant vegetarian who wants to teach people how to make easy vegetarian dishes at home that save money and your waistline.

Homemade Biscuits Are so Much Better

For years, I threw away money (and any self-respect I had as a cook) by using canned biscuits. Sure, they were quick. Sure, they tasted fine. But, deep in my heart, I knew that there was a better way to go about ingesting flour and shortening. Oh, but I'm just so busy in my hectic life to make biscuits from scratch, I hear you saying. Or, perhaps, But, the ones in the can are just so easy!

Well, snap out of it, is what I say. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a package of biscuits? It's a mile long. Let me present to you a six-ingredient biscuit that takes less than 10 minutes to prep, and will show your family that you love them.

Quick, Easy, and Delicious Biscuits From Scratch

Prep Time: 5–10 mins

Bake Time: 13–15 mins

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Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup of shortening
1 cup of milk of choice

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.
Cut in the margarine—in other words, cut up the margarine into cute little square pats and put them into the bowl. Then, mix in the margarine (I've found hands work best for this) until what's in the bowl resembles coarse meal.
Gradually stir in the milk until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough seems too sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour. If it's too dry, add more milk.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface (like your countertop, or a large cutting board placed on top of your countertop).
Knead the dough. You don't want to overwork it. Just until there are no sticky parts.
Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Use a round cookie cutter (or the rim of a glass if you're cool like me) to punch out the biscuits. Or, you could just pull off a little less than a handful and call them drop-biscuits, if presentation means nothing to you.
Place the cut-outs onto a greased cookie pan.
Bake in the oven for 13–15 minutes, or until the tops and edges start to brown.

Tips

Baking powder is the stuff in the white can, not the stuff in the orange box that you can also brush your teeth with or add to your laundry detergent. Pro-tips!
I use an organic butter substitute because I'm fancy. I don't use butter because it's a little too delicate for the high heat these bad boys get baked at. But you know what, if you want to use regular margarine, you do it. Because it's your house and you make the rules, dang it!
You can try using non-dairy milk like soy or almond to make your biscuits vegan.

So, now you've got some amazing biscuits to feed your adoring family. Don't you dare put store-bought jam on them.

Enjoy your food!