Baking Powder Biscuits

Prep 30 min
Total 45 min
Servings 10

Get back to biscuit basics by whipping up these delicious Betty Crocker baking powder biscuits for your next meal. This classic recipe has been included in our Big Red cookbooks for years, helping home cooks everywhere to create delicious, light, fluffy biscuits from the comfort of their kitchens. These no-fail biscuits are a simple introduction to homemade biscuits, plus you probably already have all the ingredients you’ll need on hand. While we love serving these light and fluffy biscuits at dinner time, their classic taste and texture means they can be enjoyed any time of day. Serve them with jam for breakfast, alongside a salad for lunch, or with a bit of butter and honey for a sweet afternoon treat. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the ones that end up stealing the show, so don’t be afraid to give these biscuits a starring role in your next meal.

Updated May 5, 2020

Make with

Gold Medal Flour

Ingredients

2

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1

tablespoon sugar, if desired
3

teaspoons baking powder
1

teaspoon salt
1/2

cup shortening
3/4

cup milk

Steps

1

Heat oven to 450°F. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).
2

On lightly floured surface, gently roll dough in flour to coat. Knead lightly 10 times. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. On ungreased cookie sheet, place biscuits about 1 inch apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides.
3

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm.

For a nice rise in the oven, it’s important that the dry ingredients are mixed together thoroughly before cutting in the shortening. You can do this by mixing them vigorously with a fork, or by running the them through a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter before stirring.
Here’s a trick for cutting perfectly shaped biscuits: when pressing your biscuit cutter into the dough, press until you reach your work surface, but do not twist the cutter. While you might be tempted to twist, doing so will bunch up the dough along the sides, giving you lopsided biscuits. Simply press down, then remove the biscuit cutter. To avoid the dough from sticking to your cutter, flour it generously and often in-between cuts.
If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, use a knife to cut your biscuits instead. Whether you cut them out as squares, triangles or circles, be sure each shape is 2 ½ inches wide for the best bake. If you find the dough is sticking to your knife as you cut, dip the knife is flour in-between cuts.
Try this gluten-free biscuits recipe for simple and delicious gluten-free biscuits for your dinner table.