There are biscuits and there are biscuits. There are biscuits that you serve with chili, with barbecue or alongside some eggs and grits. And there are biscuits that you bring out in a warmed basket with a cloth napkin draped over them at a dinner party, to sop up a braise or slather with honey-butter. These biscuits are of the latter variety but I suspect they will quickly become your one and only biscuit because if you’re anything like me, you’ll wonder where they’ve been your whole life.
Because they’re so easy, it might feel like you are cheating: Five ingredients. A sifter, a mixing bowl and a puddle of melted butter. (That’s so going to be my first album title, I’ve decided.) Three minutes to assemble and twelve minutes to bake. And they remain the richest, lightest biscuits I’ve ever had, with serious plushness within and the faintest crunch at the edges, which sound as you tear one open as if you’d broken a cookie in half but then turned the volume on that sound way down. Or, uh, a very faint crunch.
And here’s the thing with biscuits (and scones, for that matter) — they’re the best when you’ve first baked them. Sure, I tried a stale one 24 hours later (for research, people, of course) and it wasn’t so bad but I chalk that up to them being extra-awesome from the get-go. But you don’t need to make them at the 11th hour, biscuits freeze excellently unbaked. Go ahead and make them whenever you have time, flash freeze them and store them in a freezer bag for a later day or freeze them right on your buttered or parchment-lined baking sheet so they’re ready to go when you are. You can bake them still frozen, they’ll just need an extra few minutes in the oven. And then you never have an excuse not to have freshly baked biscuits on the ready. You know, unless you ate them all without sharing, stashing them in your cheeks or something.
Biscuits and scones, an apparent obsession of mine, previously: Buttermilk Chive Biscuits (the perfect chili/barbecue/breakfast-variety biscuit, plus or minus the chives), Jalapeno-Cheddar Scones, Dreamy Cream Scones (like this, plus butter, sugar and dried fruit), Meyer Lemon and Fresh Cranberry Scones, Rhubarb Cobbler and Strawberry Shortcakes
Ever had a muffin, scone or biscuit that tasted tinny? The cure is so easy!
One year ago: Spelt Everything Crackers
Two years ago: Latkes
Three years ago: German Pancakes and Winter Panzanella
Cream Biscuits
Adapted from James Beard’s American Cookery
The original recipe has you brush your baking sheet with melted butter (and increases the amount by two tablespoons) but for whatever reason, the butter not covered by biscuits just got smoky in my oven so I’m voting for you to just line your sheets with parchment. If you find dipping the biscuits in butter difficult (hard to grasp if the dough is soft), just brush them generously instead.
Made about 10 biscuits, perhaps a dozen if I had been stricter about the height and scrap-usage
3 tablespoons (45 grams) melted butter
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar (optional)
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little. (I ended up using two additional tablespoons, or half the unused cream.)
Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Dip the top of each round in melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. [Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.]
Ahh…these remind me of my grandmother. I love homemade buiscuts and have tried to recreate hers. I need to try these!
You know what I like about this? It’s PERFECT for using leftover heavy cream from particularly decadent holiday mashed potatoes with pancetta, mascarpone, roasted garlic and heavy cream. Also, the butter. I wonder if there’s a place in my heart for biscuits not made with buttermilk…!
Great biscuits… I should make these when hubby is not paying attention (he is completely partial to his family recipe)
but, no baby pictures??????
;-)
There are always baby pictures. Sometimes they are on the page, sometimes you have to follow a link. I think I say this in the comments of every post!
yumyumyum!
I am going to a soup dinner party this weekend. I was thinking about taking something more like a loaf bread, but these might be just the ticket.
There is something so nostalgic about freshly baked biscuits. These would be a welcome treat when the weather is cold and we’re roasting a chicken!
God bless you. Also, damn you. GAH!!!
P.S. I’m imagining these in the summer. With warm peaches. And bourbon spiked whipped cream. B/c they obviously don’t have enough cream. ;)
Oh how I love fresh biscuits. Warm and dripping with honey. My mouth is watering. You are so right that they just aren’t as good the next day.
Always thrilled to read an update by you, Deb.. and hope all is going great at your place!
And tell me how, exactly, am I to have OATMEAL for breakfast now that I’ve seen this?! Oh, Deb.
I’ve been loving Shirley Corriher’s Touch of Grace biscuits, but am excited to try these too! Maybe I’m not as Type A as I thought?
Oh, these are lovely biscuits – everyone must try them. And hurray for parchment paper – no more greasing da pans, peeps.
So are these better than the biscuit tops from the rhubarb cobbler recipe? I’ve been using that recipe to make biscuits (sans cobbler) for a while now, and everyone goes CRAZY for those. I don’t want to introduce something else that might not be as fantastic! But if you’re saying it’s fantastic, it must be!
you must have read my mind…wanting to bake biscuits & smother with french butter…i am so excited about this recipe…& so very easy….*heart* this picture of jacob!!
Wow. These look much easier than my baking powder biscuits, which are not hard but still involve cutting in shortening or butter. I love biscuits and it is definitely comfort food season, so I will have to add these to my list (with strawberries and a bit of whipped cream)!
I had modified your dreamy scone recipe to make cream biscuits and they were wonderul too. There is a fine line (to me) between a biscuit, a scone and a shortcake. It’s usually the sugar or butter or egg so adjusting one or the other does the trick.
It’s hard to tell where your links are as they are only faintly lighter in color than the actual text. I usually run my cursor over the text until it makes it apparent that it’s a link. Maybe you could make the link bold or color it?
Question about the dipping in butter and flash freezing. Can we brush/dip them in butter and then freeze them? Or should we freeze them first and brush/dip with butter before baking? Thanks Deb!
kris — I haven’t tried it both ways. It should work if you dip then freeze them however, personally, I think I’d rather the butter have the freshest taste and might wait to do it.
This seems too easy…. can’t wait to try them out!
I love the simplicity of this recipe. Biscuits have always terrified me because on the few occasions in the past I’ve tried them, I’ve ended up with hockey pucks. I’m definitely going to have to give these a whirl.
If you use self-rising flour you can cut the ingredient list down to two (or three, with the butter). These are also excellent made with half and half that, um, might have gone a little sour while lost in the back of the fridge.
I had a very specific craving for a buttery biscuit this morning! I must have been tuned into your wavelength. Can’t wait to try em!
I’ve recently been making almost the exact same recipe, although I got it from a Cooks’ cookbook and the recipe makes about 2x as many (and uses 4c of heavy cream). I freeze them and then take a couple out as needed. They are the best biscuits I’ve ever made!
These are GORGEOUS – I have to try them! I’m also imagining them as a dessert, with homemade chocolate blueberry sauce over them and brandy-ginger whipped cream….or any whipped cream actually. I think I’ll make them tonight as a special appetizer though.
Very nice biscuits. I have used just the basic recipe with my classes for years and have used sour cream and butter, but never cream. Am anxious to try and compare. Thanks!
Hi. Biscuits ARE so easy and are one of my fave, quick ways to take a normal dinner and make it a little special. These look much fluffier than the ones i usually end up with so i’ll have to try this.
One question tho! The recipe says dip the biscuits in the remaining butter in the second paragraph, but i don’t see where the butter is originally used. I reread quite a few times i hope i’m just not missing it obvious.
thanks!
Alex — Fixed now. It had been if you brushed the sheets with butter (see headnotes).
Wendi — I am not familiar enough with White Lily to say. I’ve only played around with it once.
Deb, would you suggest making any modifications to the recipe if using White Lily flour in place of general AP flour? I’ve got a stash of White Lily that is just crying out to be used.
These sound wonderful! I haven’t been able to master cutting butter into biscuit dough, so that was the first thing I checked for in this recipe. I was happy to see the butter is only added as a final step. I’ll be making these soon. Thanks, Deb!
I’m wondering if I can swap the heavy cream for buttermilk? Two reasons. I have enough buttermilk in the house and a family that goes bonkers for buttermilk biscuits with cinnamon sugar. Think I can safely double this recipe? The kids eat more than I do these days! 10 will NOT be enough.
Cream biscuits are very nice, and yours look perfectly light and fluffy! I will admit that I do prefer buttermilk bisucits over most others. Something about the subtle twang really just gets my tastebuds going! I also use a mixture of butter and lard in my biscuits. Again, my preference, but the lard makes them SO tender while the butter makes them so flaky!
These look yum…though I must say I’m partial to the cooks illustrated buttermilk ones. These look “fancier” though! Will have to give them a whirl!
Thank goodness I have leftovers from last night…because these appear to be calling my stew and I by name. These look delicous!
could you use whole milk instead of heavy cream? or would this end up with a totally different outcome? i never have cream on hand, but have a half gallon of organic milk that i’m dying to find a use for before it goes bad!
So there no butter IN the biscuits? This is so fascinating to me!
That’s it. I have to go buy myself a sifter. All these years without one…what have I been thinking?! Go figure a biscuit recipe has finally inspired me. Thanks.
As a Southerner, I have to say that these look fantastic and may just be as good as my grandmothers! :)
My MIL suggested I make biscuits / rolls for Christmas dinner and this might just be it!! Love that there’s so few ingredients hehe
How could you do this? Biscuits are my kryptonite… I can’t ever just eat one. Any weight gain that I may have this weekend is on your head.
I would second using White Lilly. My mom’s family is from the south and they all use White Lilly – and let me tell you there is a noticeable difference in texture when you use that flour over your run of the mill all-purpose.
I could sit right down with a plate of these, a tub of honey and go to town.
I’ve always been a bit of a biscuit snob and had fabulous success with several recipes, but I’ve not seen one that doesn’t have butter in it. Or that uses cream. I guess I’ll have to try these…right now since I have everything for them and nothing for the gingerbread I wanted to make today. And my girls love biscuits for lunch so you’ve now solved my lunch:)
I’m thinkin’ these are better than Bisquick good?! I can just imagine them with butter smeared all over… yes.
Yummy! These biscuits look so soft, crumbly and oh so buttery!
Seeing as I still have buttermilk in the fridge (after, yes, the sweet potato pie AND the ice cream, which are wonderful together) – is there a way to use it here? Could I substitute it 1:1 for the cream?
JulieH — If you’ve got buttermilk to burn, I’d recommend making the more traditional Buttermilk Chive Biscuit on this site. Ohkay, chives aren’t traditional but the basic biscuit is the best I’ve had of the buttermilk variety.
Carol — I just use a mesh strainer. Works as a strainer and sifter and therefore saves space, essential when your kitchen is as ridiculously eensy as mine is.
I was just thinking I could use a damn good biscuit this morning. Even though I’ve spent half my life in the South, I only recently became very enamored with biscuits and they are a bit scarce in LA. Might give this recipe a whirl when I go home in a couple weeks to my parents’ much more spacious kitchen!
I’ve been trying for ages to find a biscuit that I like, and for whatever reason, it just is beyond me. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with them, just nothing I make seems to attain that biscuity wonderland that I want so badly. This is next on the list to try, right after Angel Biscuits. They have yeast in them! Because Lord knows I like to make my life more complicated than it really need to be.
I must make these. Like now. I feel like this is what the leftover cream in my refrigerator has been trying to whisper to me in the night, but I’ve been too obtuse to hear it.
P.S. Cheeks!!!!!!!
I’m going to assume that milk will not be a good substitute for cream here, since the lack of butter in the biscuits is probably made up for by the cream. It’s not that I don’t like using cream, it’s just that I never have it in the apartment…
Learn to use heavy cream. It won’t break when boiled. Small amounts do wonderous things to sauces. Great emulsifying agent.
I am going to try these. I’m so annoyed with trying the most time-consuming biscuit recipes, only to end up with dozens of totally flat, hard hockey pucks. Such is life when one pursues perfection in the kitchen, I suppose. Thank you for sharing. And now to go in search of copious amounts of heavy cream.
So, if you can get ahold of a jar of (preferably homemade) fig jam or preserves, and can then anoint one (or two) of the aforementioned biscuits therewith, you may notice a humming in your ears as you begin to chew the biscuit. And that humming sound is every molecule of your body thanking you……
Oh, Deb. Those biscuits. I am such a huge biscuit fan and have been resisting the urge to make any (I am doing my best to drop a ton of weight before the New Year … I know, crazy given the season). But those just look so light and heavenly and they would go so well with tonight’s dinner.
And the recipe is from a James Beard book and I just wrote about him yesterday. So, it must be fate, right? Right?
So decadent! And no, you absolutely should NOT use milk for these. If you are going to make cream biscuits, you have to use cream. Otherwise, just make regular biscuits.
Yum. I wouldn’t even mind if there was a Jacob hair in that biscuit.
I love cream biscuits! I haven’t ever made them for myself though. I’ll have to once I get my new kitchen sorted out.
Doesn’t get much better than a good biscuit! Mmm!
These look good , will try these out for sure, as I am always getting double cream for a cheap price…feeling scared of the amout of baking powder, wondering it it make make biscuits taste salty…
Just your description of biscuits makes my mouth water
Cook’s Illustrated has a very similar cream biscuit recipe. No sifting. A teaspoon less baking powder and sugar, and a recommendation to knead by hand for about 30 seconds (with a compelling photo of a much higher biscuit, compared to the un-kneaded one). Theirs, however, lacks the melted butter goodness. Clearly an omission…
Oh yum fresh biscuits. You’ll have to try splitting the ‘old’ biscuits, buttering the inside lightly and toasting that buttered side on the griddle, extra crunchy. I like finding your hidden links, makes it fun. Really wish I could find your Jacob and hold him awhile.
These look just like the biscuits they make in the doorway down the street (in Mexico open doorways are considered good places to make food) called “gorditas de nata” or, um, little cream fatties.
It’s tragic that I don’t have an oven, so I guess it’s time for a trip down the street!
Delicious!! Must smell amazing too!
No eggs! Yay..I can actually make this for Christmas for my (mostly) vegetarian family!
On a totally different note..nothing sounds as beautiful as the words ‘a puddle of melted butter’. :)
All that butter is sooooooooo calling my name :)
Hey these look so easy even I could them! We’ll see if that’s true lol
They look amazing! You can really see how light and tender they are.
A question though, what differs these biscuits from scones?
I’ve eaten scones that looks just like these biscuits (well not exactly like them, but …)
I just made cream biscuits to have with dinner. I used the recipe from Williams-Sonama, so good. The recipe is really easy. Whisk together 2-1/2 cups flour, 1 tbs. baking powder, 1 tps. salt, 2 tbs. sugar. then all at once add 2-1/2 cups heavy cream and mix until there are no lumps. drop 1/4 cup size dollops of batter onto an ungreaded cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.
I also use these to make the smokey bacon and biscuit dressing at thanksgiving, pure bliss.
I won’t read through all the comments..and maybe somebody already suggested this…but, 24 hours old scones…and biscuits.. can be made oven fresh once again by loosely wrapping in paper towel…and popping in the microwave for about 15 seconds on a med setting… you may have to try a couple to get it just right with the setting… but, hey…who’s counting? ….
Quick question – by heavy cream you mean whipping cream?
Heavy or whipping cream will work. (They can have slightly different fat contents, but can almost always be used interchangeably.)
I’ve got to say, I really think you’ve got stiff competition from my all-time favorite, and so very versatile, buttermilk biscuit recipe, courtesy of Cook’s Illustrated. For those of you who are subscribers, check out the Best Drop Biscuit recipe. Divine.
Thanks, Deb for an excellent alternative!
Wow–This looks tasty and easy. I am also a scones addict. (Also, what is the difference between biscuits and scones? I live in the UK and I just assumed it was a language/culture thing. But is there a culinary difference?) Recently I made some butternut squash scones that won my heart over. Yum to all types of scones, for dipping soup especially!
I love your recipes because they are tasty and doable. Flour question…I am not a baker or tend to bake things(although I will try this recipe) Any particular flour u recommend and how long can I keep flour before I need to throw it away. Because I would think the type of flour u use and how fresh it is totally makes the biscuits better. (I am not good at flour management)….
Jeannie — You can keep flour in the freezer if you don’t use it often. Most bakers love King Arthur unbleached all-purpose; I buy it when I see it but otherwise work with whatever a store has. I’m not really picky.
Oh my, these were so good! I even used non fat milk instead of cream and they still tasted great :)
~drool~
I’m totally not a fan of baking in the kitchen for the most part, but this is incredibly inspiring to make a good go at it again. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh, these look so fluffy and fantastic – I just saved the recipe!
Making these very soon. Thank you for knowing exactly what is in our pantry so I can make your recipe! :)
These are in the oven right now! I didn’t have heavy cream on hand, so I subbed buttermilk. Hopefully they won’t be completely ruined!
Deb you are like my bizarro baking twin. No matter how much fancy crap I know how to make, buttermilk biscuits are the baked good I make the most when i’m home. I slather my fresh from the oven goodies in extra butter too because that’s just how I roll.
Update: These get the stamp of boyfriend approval, and are still delicious with buttermilk!
I can’t wait to make these and store a bunch in the freezer. GOOD CALL.
These James Beard cream biscuits are one of my favorites – they’re so easy and totally foolproof. Not to mention so addictive I have to keep myself from making them too often. I’m glad you’re spreading the word!
Make us work for the baby pictures!
I ate the best biscuits while living in San Francisco… and have been afraid of trying to taste new ones, let alone bake any, for fear of being disappointed. However, this recipe just made me change my mind; and I’ll try the Buttermilk recipe as well!
I just like the fact that there are only so few ingredients (and no shortening)… and definitively healthier than the one-minute pre-packaged alternative!
PS: Your son has a cute hairdo!
Oh. Oh. These are going to be good.
But heavy cream?!?! Cream!!!?! My thighs are already getting fatter. :P
Would the biscuits suffer if I were to replace the heavy cream with whole milk, half-and-half, or a mixture of the two?
Love this site by the way. Have been making recipes I found here that I like (made a little page on my site for recipes I want to make) and have loved every one of them! :)
(Just made the longer method mac-and-cheese. OMG. so. good. And today I made chocolate pudding which I loved the first time I made it.)
Questions about substituting for the cream — This has come up in a few previous comments (which you can do a quick search of by skimming or doing a word search, usually “find” in the edit menu or cntrl/command+f)… In #67 I mention a better recipe for a buttermilk biscuit, #75 says she made these with nonfat milk and still enjoyed them.
Personally, I don’t recommend using anything but cream. When a recipe has 5 ingredients, changing one of them can really change the whole picture, in this case, it would greatly reduce the richness, which for me at least, would be a deal-breaker.
Michelle — I have a set from Crate and Barrel but I do not recommend them as the little metal feet fell off shortly after we got them; I’d get something like this with long, useful handles next time.
You know, in my family we have always called those adorable little fat rolls on baby arms and legs “biscuits”. A particularly well-padded child is said to have “lots of biscuity goodness”…
Could I use browned butter (melting it in a sauce pan until it becomes aromatic and nutty) for the melted butter? would that end up being too bitter after being baked?
These look great! I can’t wait to make a batch to put in the freezer so I can have biscuits on demand- thanks!
easy is always good.
I mean I can always PRETEND I slaved over it, right?
Hey Deb….
Love your website! And I’m always game for a new biscuit recipe. : )
I didn’t read through all the comments posted…and you may have addressed this, but referring back to the commenter that missed the embedded ‘baby link’….I missed it also the first time. On my computer, your roll-over links do not show up well. So if someone has a poorly tuned monitor or even slightly diminished vision, they could easily miss the link as the color you use is not too much different from your regular font color. And unless the reader is randomly mousing over the text and happens to roll-over a link so that the secondary color shows up….it is easy to miss your bundle of cuteness.
Keep up the fab job!
[Apologies for any typos, etc. Tired eyeballs and brain.]
Any scone or biscuit you post is immediately baked by me and the results are always stellar. Yummy Deb!
Thank you!
Hm, wouldn’t these biscuits lose their “cream biscuityness” if you made them with buttermilk. I bet they are still good, but buttermilk would make these an entirely different biscuit.
Wouldn’t they rise higher and have a bigger crumb with buttermilk, whereas cream would make them more like a cream scone?
I made these (joy of cooking recipe) earlier this summer for strawberry shortcake AND THEY WERE RIDICULOUS. I was so pleased with them and was telling my grandmother about it, and she said oh when I was growing up we had cream biscuits all the time because we had so much cream on the farm. how she must have suffered.
love your recipes, deb. your blueberry boy bait is now one of our family favorites.
quick question: i tend to only have whole wheat flour in the house… any suggestions on adjusting the flour ratio on these biscuits if i use that instead?
I love biscuits. The more buttery, the better. These sound amazing!
If there happen to be leftovers…..next day split, butter, toast under broiler. A whole new appreciation. Fantastic. I make extras just for this.
These look really, really good. Then again, everything you make looks really, really good :-)
Where did you get that sifter/colander/strainer? I have been trying to find something like that.
A dear friend of mine, now in her 80’s, spoke in awe of her MIL’s cooking and housekeeping. My friend lived there during WW II while her husband was fighting in Europe. She said that she and her MIL would come in after a morning of visiting or shopping or church work, and my friend would go upstairs to take off her hat and gloves and freshen up. When she came down 10-15 minutes later, her MIL would be putting lunch on the table including freshly baked biscuits. Now I know her MIL’s secret. By the way, this was in the South (Lynchburg, VA). I love biscuits and I know I am going to adore these when I make them. I particularly like the idea of freezing them.
These are making their way to my freezer right. now. Cream and all. I have to agree that you shouldn’t substitute in this case. Biscuits need cream. And my freezer needs to be stuffed full of biscuits.
Could I use a whole wheat flour? I’m on a new medication and refined flours are not setting well on my stomach these days, but I have better luck with whole meal flours. Would I need to make any adjustments?
How did you know? How did you know that I needed to use up this cream and also love biscuits?
So excited to try these biscuits on Sunday for my birthday brunch!
These look great!
I love biscuits loaded with butter and honey from a local farm. Yum!
It’s been about a month since I have made any…that’s way too long! Thanks for the reminder. ;)
my mouth is already watering, I think later I may have to make these and some of your sweet potato biscuits….my better half will be pleasantly surprised. I love all the recipes of yours I have tried thus far and truly admire your photography skills.
Deb,
I just read your blog (the whole thing, literally.It took me three days at work of not doing work) and I am addicted/obsessed/call it what you will. I am so inspired by your photos and writing! Keep up the good work!
love your blog! i read it often and have used many recipes. my husband just made these for us and they are lovely… perfect for a SNOWY!? day in Austin, TX.
My husband, a transplanted American, has bemoaned the lack of good biscuits in Canada. I’ve made him many – many! – different recipes and have yet to find the “right” one. I don’t “get” the appeal, quite frankly.
Last night I made this recipe and thought it was just plain AWESOME. My husband said the biscuits had “the perfect texture and feeling” but he wanted them “spicier and more flavourful”. I am not particularly skilled at changing things up (while keeping the wet/dry ratios balanced appropriately). Since I’ve now got the right texture, I’m reluctant to try a different recipe! Any ideas as to what I could add in to make them spicy or give them some zip?
Also – I am assuming that, in the future, I could use my Silpat mat instead of parchment. Would that be a reasonable assumption or would it lead to disaster?
I don’t see the baby picture today either….love the recipes, love the pics!
I just made these for lunch and they were perfect! So simple and so very delicious.
Yeah, where are the baby pictures? Your public demands them now! :)
This is my go-to biscuit recipe; I always use it (thanks, Jim Beard!). So easy and perfect every time.
Well there goes my resolve. I cannot resist biscuit or scones…. or apple fritters these days. You should give those a whirl!
You always make everything look so easy :-)
What a sturdy recipe! I’m home sick today and all I had was half & half. Used that, completely left out the butter, didn’t roll them out because I got tired so just dropped spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet, and they came out great! Thanks for helping me to feel productive today.
They look and sound DIVINE. That baby gets cuter and cuter. You do know that we (I) expect a photo with each post, right????
V
This may be a totally bone-headed question, but here goes…Why is the sugar optional? Will they be sweeter with and more savory without…will it affect the texture if I choose to exclude? Of course, I could find out the old fashioned way (and still might!), but I thought I’d ask first…
Melani — It will not affect texture. It just gives them a hint of sweetness. If you’d like that, use it.
Ooh, I’ve made these and LOVE the recipe!
Great images, too.
Prepared the dough last nite, popped them in the freezer – baked a few this morning – what a treat! Thanks!
My 4 year old has just run through a 48 hour bug that made him the saddest little boy in NYC. So this afternoon when it seemed like he was in the clear and could hold down something other than dry toast, I decided nothing could possibly be better than homemade chicken noodle soup and your amazing cream biscuits! After eating every last bite he loudly proclaimed that he loved me the most because I always remembered to feed him tasty things (LOL). Later that night when my boyfriend came home from his 14-hour ER rotation, he said just about the same thing.
What I’m getting at is THANK YOU for making me be a superhero today :)
Looks fantastic as always. :)
I’ve never tasted biscuits, but they sure look delicious!
Had to stop to say thanks. We’ve been on a SK cooking bonanza recently. This week was acorn squash quesadillas, green crostini, cherry tomato and arugula sauce, roasted carrot and avocado salad, and this morning the pumpkin waffles. Everything has turned out flawlessly. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes! :)
Can’t wait to try this! I always want to make a batch but know my limits and can’t be trusted to stop at one (or two). Will definitely freeze the unbaked to protect myself from myself.
I made these last night, and they paired perfectly with the home made chicken soup we had for dinner. Thanks! I’ve never made biscuits before, and these turned out perfectly.
I made these for breakfast this morning — wonderful! I think this is going to be my biscuit recipe from now on.
I think the best thing about these biscuits is that you don’t have to cut fat into the flour.
I just made these for breakfast and my girlfriend and room mate scarfed them down. I think that biscuits with butter and jam accompanied by hot chocolate taste best when all you can see outside are snow flurries.
i just wanted to chime in and say i made these this morning with half and half. they tasted fanastic, but i had to keep adding more flour – i guess because half and half has a runnier(sp) consistency than cream. i was just adding “by the handful” but would hazzard a guess at least 1/2 a cup more flour. i sprinkled a little more baking powder in too since i was adding more flour.
I had the exact same problem as Jenni this morning. I kept adding more flour, but all the while I was afraid to add too much. They were a little too wet to cut nicely with a cookie cutter, and I ended up with beautifully misshaped mounds of sloppy biscuit batter on the tray. But that didn’t matter a single bit. Though they were mighty ugly before baking, they were so beautiful and golden after 12 minutes in the oven. I almost liked them better a little lopsided; they felt wonderfully homey, perfect for a lazy Saturday morning. Great recipe, regardless of my minor mishap. Thank you for another wonderful, no fuss recipe.
Thanks for mentioning that you can freeze unbaked biscuits! I live alone, and making mini-batches of biscuits for one meal’s consumption gets to be a pain.
But I think I’ll pass on the cream, and stick with the Alton Brown recipe I’ve been using. Not all of us are nursing, you know…
I’ve been afraid to make biscuits for years now, even though I consider myself pretty handy in the kitchen. My boyfriend is a southerner who *loves* himself a biscuit and some jam. As a Yankee, and much to his dismay, about all I know how to do in the biscuit field is whack a tube of Pillsbury on the counter and bake those. But thanks to you, that’s no longer the case! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness – so very simple, and outrageously delicious and perfect and flaky and crispy. I now have a dozen in my freezer! We both thank you!
I never thought of freezing the dough all ready to go… not sure why! Great idea, because I totally agree that biscuits are best right out of the oven. Will try it! Thanks!
Along with Jenni and Emily, I had a watery dough, but added more flour like Jenni did. They were made with half-and-half/whole milk and tasted delicious. Next time I’ll add about 3/4 to 1 cup of milk before adding more. My go to biscuit recipe from now on! :)
I’m very curious/concerned about the watery dough — was this from adding 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 cups of cream at first?
Deb, I have been using, loving, and recommending your website for months and this is the post that I cannot resist commenting on! James Beard’s “Baking Powder Biscuits” has been my favorite recipe for years. Because they are just so delicious, I have never felt the urge to try his Cream Biscuit recipe… until your post.
Tonight I staged the official taste test (much to my boyfriend’s glee). The result…? I can’t choose a favorite!! They are definitely, subtly different. The cream biscuits have a more consistent, fluffy texture, and I think would lend themselves better to a sweet biscuit (I didn’t add any sugar for the test). The baking powder biscuits might be slightly more dense – in a good way – and develop a delightful crunch to contrast the buttery, irresistible middle. In conclusion, I think more taste tests are needed. :P
For anyone interested in trying the test (I highly recommend it!), the recipes are EXACTLY the same, but instead of cream, cut in 1/2 stick of butter and then add 1/2-3/4 Cup milk (whole or low-fat) or buttermilk. Don’t dunk them in butter. Temperature and time are all the same – I think that’s what made this test so fun!
I made these per the recipe (with 1-1/4 c. cream) and they were FABULOUS! My new “standard” biscuit. Thank you a big fat ton!
just made these…incredible! so fluffy & soft…I agree with lesliepie, my new biscuit recipe
deb – (i’m one of the peeps with the watery dough) i used 1 1/4 cup of half and half and it was already too watery – i did not add the last 1/4. but having made side by side batches of buttermilk buscuits for my DH, and soymilk biscuits for my DD, i have seen first hand how differently the dough can come out with the exact same quantity of liquid – it seems like the consistency can really play a part in the amount of liquid you need. heavy cream/whipping cream is much thicker than half and half.
Thanks for the responses about the wet dough — I’ll make these again this week and see if I notice it or anything I might be doing differently. Or if mine was wet and I didn’t care? I am curious!
made these this morning with a mix of cream and whole milk. the batter was quite wet, so I needed extra flour. can’t wait to try them with all cream, though they were pretty good this way too.
it was a great way to start a sunday morning.
Deb, to answer your question about the watery dough…I had about 1/2 cup cream, the balance whole milk (to 1 1/2 cups)
but I just re-read the recipe. perhaps if I had only added 1 1/4 cups of liquid I would have been in better shape.
next time!!!!
I use a similar recipe – with some shortcuts – adapted from Rose Berenbaum’s Bread Bible, which I cannot recommend highly enough.
1) use self-rising flour and then skip the salt and baking powder entirely. (I find White Lily makes the softest, fluffiest biscuits).
2) smash two boiled egg yolks through a metal mesh strainer with the back of a spoon – the bits of egg add richness and body to the biscuits.
3) Don’t worry about dipping the biscuits in melted butter…. I just put little unmelted pats of butter on top of all biscuits about 2 minutes before they’re done, and it works just as well.
4) For the fluffiest tallest biscuits, mix as little as possible, do not knead!, and use a very sharp biscuit cutter dipped in flour between every cut. It wont smash the dough down like a cookie cutter or knife will.
5) I add about 1 and 1/4 cup of cream – the dough is very wet, but with tons of flour on my hands, I have no problem working with it.
I make these at least once a week. So delicious.
These were delicious! I made them to go alongside chili and even though they weren’t the biscuits you recommended to go with chili (realized this after I bought heavy cream), I loved them (as did everyone else). I need to make another batch headed straight for the freezer so I can always pop a few in the oven when I need.
This recipe is amazing. I can’t wait to make a bunch of these for christmas this year.
Made these today – they are excellent. I’d recommend the addition of the sugar. It doesn’t make them sweet, but gives a bit of depth to the flavour.
For the record, I love biscuits as much as I love bagels! …and you know what the next question is.
Sorry … ended that too soon. The question begins with “When…..?”
Thanks so much for the tip about freezing biscuits. I’ve had a hankering for them lately but it always seems to hit when I don’t have the time to do the whole process in one go. Plan to make a big batch and freeze them for winter mornings!
I made these this weekend and added about 3 ounces of grated cheddar to make the best biscuits of all time – they went great with a winter vegetable stew.
I made this biscuits on Sunday. Sadly, mine did not get as puffy as yours! I may have patted down the dough to a layer thinner than 3/4 of an inch, though. I really enjoyed my (flattish) biscuits! Biscuits are my favorite to bake. :)
Oh, and my dough was pretty wet and sticky with 1 1/4 cups of cream.
I want to bake these *now* but don’t have any heavy cream. No milk either.
I made these last night, and the dough was far from wet and sticky. In fact, I was a little nervous about it not being soft enough after I added the full measure of cream. (I’m terribly casual about measuring out the flour, so maybe there was too much.) But I went ahead, and the biscuits came out beautiful and tasty. I left out the sugar, because that sounded weird to this Southern girl. Sweet cornbread – yes. Sweet biscuits – not so sure. To the commenter upstream who mentioned that it’s time to buy a sifter, I don’t have one, myself. I just pass the flour and other dry ingredients through a large strainer.
Spouse to the rescue! Substituted milk+butter for heavy cream (eyeballed the measurement, too). Spousal verdict: “perfect; a little salty but that’s how I like it.”
just made them for an afternoon snack, and boy did they hit the spot! and so easy, especially as i used cling film instead of a floured surface, which made cleanup a snap. what a great way to use up the leftover cream from my failure to make caramels!
SOOO yummy. Ate it with our “breakfast” dinner. Ate it again for snack. Ate it again the next day for snack. BUT, mine did not rise like your pictures. Did I flatten too much or is my baking powder bad?
Mine might have been on the thick side, slightly.
You saved dinner tonight! My kids wanted breakfast for dinner and I offered an egg and biscuit sandwich only to find I didn’t have any pillsbury in the fridge. Then I remembered you had posted this recipe and wa-la! Thanks for saving dinner, they were yummy!
Oooohhh, biscuits. . . .how I love them, and want so badly to be able to make them from scratch! This recipe makes me want to try. Every year at this time I make a very easy biscuit recipe from Giada de Laurentiis — pancetta and fontina biscuits — but using the instant biscuit mix, because that’s what her recipe calls for. Now, everyone I make them for just adores them, and I love making something so easy that gets such high compliments, but it definitely whets my appetite to try “the real thing,” as here. Especially since I’m from the South and several of my female relatives think of homemade biscuit making as just a natural part of Southern female DNA!
I usually swear by biscuits made with a pastry cutter and a stick of butter, but this morning I wanted something lazy, and these caught my eye.
Wow. The cream flavor really shone through, which was wonderful; aluminum-free baking powder made for a clean-flavored, incredibly lofty texture; they stood up to bacon gravy without going soggy or being tough. Almost like shortbread, really– crumbly on the outside, even sandy.
All in all, DELICIOUS. These are going in the recipe book for good. Thank you for the recipe!
This was the easiest recipe ever, and perfect for the cream leftover from Thanksgiving. I didn’t sift the flour, just used a whisk to combine everything, and they still turned out wonderfully (even after worrying that I had handled the scrap dough too much). I used 1 1/4 c cream at first and then added cream as I went along, and dough didn’t seem too wet. Thank you!
I am Italian so dod not grow up with these, but living in the US south I have turned to love them! Before dinner with butter and jam? oh yeah!
This woman CAN live on bread (and biscuits) alone, especially if cream biscuits are available. I use a cream biscuit recipe from the Joy of Cooking, although I adjust the baking powder down slightly. I’m incredibly lazy and the whole rolling and cutting thing isn’t for me. I just scoop and plop right onto the baking pan (I use a baking stone). This creates a craggy outside with a fluffy interior, and I can pick off crispy chunks for nibbling. I don’t usually butter the top, but I may have to try that next time (’cause butter makes everything better). I also really like this recipe for shortcake. I add a tablespoon or so of sugar and sprinkle a little sugar over the tops before baking. I whip up the remaining cream and serve it over the biscuits with mashed, sweetened berries. Heaven!
Where did you get your glass mixing bowls? (They look like the ones Tyler Florence uses, and I can’t find them anywhere)
Oh my, just divine biscuits! Like some of the other commenters, mine were pretty flat little suckers but I’m guilty of siftless baking and possibly chunky baking powder to boot. Even without the height they were so tender and delicate. I froze a handful but they only made it 48 hours in the freezer before I pulled them out to bake!
Like several commenters above, I made these with half and half, because that’s what I had on hand. The dough was very wet, but after adding a little more flour (like commenter 132), the dough was workable. I added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more flour. I think it was wetter because of the half and half instead of cream, though. Anyway, they came out great! Thanks.
i want to make these NOOOOOOOOW and yet i cannot. What a sad world we live in. why can’t we just have every ingredient at our fingertips? sigh. Then again…. life would be boring then
Tried these right after reading it. AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing
ok, so i made them again. with half and half again. used 1 cup of half and half and the dough was perfect. these are my husbands new favorite buscuits.
I expected these to rise, but WOW did they rise! Hubby is eating his third, toddlers are both still picking at their first, and I just finished my first due to a minor mishap with a little person’s lip being the exact height of the edge of the pan about two minutes after it was taken out of the oven, and him trying to see what Mama cooked this time. Poor guy! (No, he’s not burned too badly.)
Off to get a second biscuit for me, and a fourth for my husband! This will definitely become a staple recipe in our house!
I made these this morning exactly as the recipe states and they were wonderful. I love it when my food looks just like Deb’s pictures! (although mine is much less well styled)
Made my third batch in about three weeks tonight. Every time, they’ve come out the same – perfect. I use the same ‘sifter’ pictured above, I use a serving fork to fold, my hands to scrape and then press flat, and a 1971 McDonald’s/Camp Snoopy drinking glass to cut (because for all the cooking paraphernalia I have, I don’t have a circle cutter). I also use exactly 1 1/4 cups of cream to start, and then add 2 tbsp once a ball starts to form.
In reading the comments, I noticed one I missed before – butter AFTER freezing, before baking. Since I didn’t do that the first two times (on the first batch, I buttered thinking I was baking right away, but then couldn’t/didn’t; on the second batch, I was just doing what I did the first time), I’m not doing it this time either. Why mess with “perfect”? Thanks again for the recipe!
Made these last night after whipping up Deb’s “Dark salted caramel sauce” which was UH MAZING. The buscuits turned out great, even when I realized I only had a cup of heavy cream, so I supplemented with skim milk (eek). The dough was a little less firm, which made the butter dipping harder, but the busuits themselves were delicious. And even better when slathered with the afore-mentioned caramel sauce!!
I just made these, and I’m pretty sure they’re better than all the Christmas presents I got this morning. I cannot believe how something so easy yields the best biscuits ever.
I made batches and batches of these to give away as Christmas presents. I’m already getting orders for more!
Am sick with the flu, but just had to make them for dinner tonight, as my son asked for them (what we’ll do for our kids!). I used an ice cream scooper, instead of rolling/cutting out the dough, since I wasn’t up to the complete task. Glad to report that they came out beautifully — kinda like drop biscuits, I guess. Dipping the scooper into the melted butter before scooping out the dough, and it came out more easily, too.
These are in the oven right now! I’m so excited to try them.
I never get biscuits right, even with *gasp* bisquick–hopefully these are the winners! (fingers are crossed)
And Deb, I love love your website. I’ve gained a few pounds from reading it (think coffee toffee)…..thank you so much for helping me eat healthy and cook at home!
These pictures are fantastic. They look just picture perfect, and not too hard to do either! I’m excited to try them for Sunday breakfast. Do you have a gravy recipe?
-Sylvia
These look delicious! My grandmother used to make homemade biscuits and gravy every Sunday morning. I really miss them– but these look like a very close fit! My husband prefers putting syrup on top (eghh) but I’ll stick to butter and gravy thanks! Have a homemade gravy recipe?
-Sylvia
Deb, I made these last night and they were awesome! They were just as good tonight after freezing most of the batch and baking a couple fresh ones. I love the shortness of them. This recipe has made a permanent spot in my little book.
Deb, I made your biscuits last night and they rocked. They were not too wet, in fact I needed several Tbs. more cream to make them dry enough to roll out – which I did and cut w/ a biscuit cutter. Left off the butter on top because I forgot about adding it, and the verdict was that these are now a family staple. I doubled the recipe, and the remaining 17 biscuits are in the freezer waiting to be eaten. Very close to the secret biscuit recipe I was served in New Orleans, which the baker refused to share! Now I know… Thanks!
A follow up: I just baked the frozen unbaked biscuits I mixed up last night, and made them for breakfast this morning, but THIS TIME I remembered and added the melted butter to the tops before baking. People, this is the way to go! Soooo much better to remember the butter…
I made the biscuits last night to serve with some soup and they were fabulous!! So easy and delicious hot out of the oven! I did use heavy whipping cream that I had on hand and I probably should have used all of the cream – it was slightly on the dry side. I was able to make 8 biscuits plus a 9th small one. I used salted butter to dip the biscuits in and I loved the extra little salty crunch to the tops of the biscuits when they came out of the oven. I have a few left in the freezer to bake off and I cannot wait. Thank you so much for the easy recipe.
I made these last night for my sister-in-law who will be delivering her baby any day now! Eeeee! I’m trying to fill her freezer. I snuck one into the oven for a taste test and it were perfect. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Hi Deb. I made this last night and they were so good. Do you think you could use a lower fat dairy item – half & half, whole milk or even 2% versus the cream? I looked at the calories and fat on the cream container and it was shocking!
Here’s a variation: omit the sugar, add 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese. Yum!
made your wonderful biscuits too!!!
http://foodforscot.blogspot.com/2010/02/cream-biscuits.html
total lifesaver on leftover night.
I made these last night and they were delicious. I omitted the sugar and topped them with unsalted butter, a tiny sprinkle of sel de mer, and raw local honey. Served with scrambled eggs and grated cheddar, my favorite quicky dinner!
Just made these and they are AWESOME. I did a cross between these and buttermilk chive biscuits that are also on this site. No cheddar in these, but the chives I added gave them a nice touch. I don’t bake that much, so you have to be careful to roll these a little thicker than you think and then re-roll once you’re out of room. Great recipe!
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-bacon-is-always-crisp/
Absolutely yummy and perfect. I just finished making these and I am positively delighted that after YEARS of trying to make a successful biscuit, you have led me to one. Thank you SO much!!
These are SO good! I made them a few times and they were great but tonight I added a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper and 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and they turned out amazing! I’m a teenager and by no means an experienced cook but if anyone is looking for a variation I suggest the aforementioned additions.
Hey Deb, I made these for my husband he LOVED them. He made four and requested them the next night. He was also skeptical because he claimed I’d never made biscuits he liked before (even though that isn’t true :) )
Anyway, that is changed thanks to you, THANK YOU!
What can I say? These are the best biscuits ever! I’ve been on a quest for over 10 years to find a really, really good biscuit recipe and this is it. Thank you so much. I splurged and bought King Arthur flour and I think it contributed to the quality of these little gems. Thank you again for another excellent recipe. Everyone of yours that I’ve tried has turned out great. I’ve collected enough of them by now to make my own little Smitten Kitchen cookbook.
I’m obsessed with these biscuits. I’ve made them at least 10 times since you posted this recipe. In fact, I have a batch in the oven now. They’re incredibly fast and easy. My 2 1/2 year old son loves to help me make them. My spoiled family would like to thank you for this recipe and the happy mornings full of biscuit-y goodness.
This recipe is good! I also used James Beards’ Powder Biscuit recipe with buttermilk supplied by another commenter above (also named Elisa) and it turned out well. I am noticing that, if the dough is 3/4 of an inch thick, then I need to use smaller buscuit cutters (not 2 1/2 inches in diamter). The first time I made them, they turned out too flat because the dough was probably only 1/4 of an inch thick.
I’m eating these right now and I just can’t keep enough of them in my mouth! Sooooo delicious. I only wish I had remembered to flash freeze the extras, as there’s no way all nine of these are going to get eaten by two people (or is there?)
First comment after months of reading and attempting your amazing recipes. These turned out wonderfully — thanks for the instructions!
For those of you without cream, I substituted a milk/butter ratio (you can easily find one online) for half of my cream — I only had a little over half a cup of the good stuff. The biscuits still rose noticeably. I did, however, have to add a tad more flour to make the dough workable.
Of all the many recipes I’ve tried from your blog, this has been the most used! It has totally changed breakfast in my house! Before I tried a few other recipes but they were always too dense and flat, these puffed up great!Thank you!!
I had been using TJ’s baking mix to mix up biscuits with butter and milk. . . but no more!!!! This is so much tastier, faster, and economical! Just cream. . . so simple to mix. I had always rejected sifting flour for things because my mom never did, but now I am a convert. Sifting really does lighten up baked goods. I really just want to keep eating these all day long.
I made these biscuits last night to enjoy for the morning. At first, I followed the instructions but when it came time to roll the dough it was EXTREMELY sticky. Thinking that my cream had some sort of malfunction, I added more flour. This resulted in harder biscuits and more butter than instructed. Deb, if you could add this note that the dough was very sticky so others don’t make the same mistake as me I think it’d be greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Hm. I didn’t find them very sticky when I rolled them out…
These biscuits are so good, I can’t get myself to make any other kinds now. Which is a shame for my weight loss goals.
I just dump out the dough and form it into a rectangle and then cut semi-even pieces. No waste, no fuss.
Just amazing biscuits. Thank you!
ok, I just made these and I am a very experienced and successful baker. Something is just not right…..and I have made biscuits before and actually just made a mixed berry cobbler that had a biscuit topping that was crunchy on the outside and then literally melted in your mouth. I only added 1 1/4 cups of cream after reading the posts, but my mixture did not resemble yours at all. Mine was very wet and gloppy almost like homemade play-doh. It stuck all over my fingers and could not really be worked at all. I did add more flour and some blueberries and I got little breads, but definitely not biscuits. They are not bad enough to throw away – because they do have blueberries…..realy wanted to re-create the cream biscuits at Whole Foods because my 7 year old adores them. Can you tell that I am just so sad;-(((
These turned out great! I did add a pinch more cream to the additional 1/4 c. even because it was still a little dry. I also did not use the optional sugar as I was serving them with beef stew.
Pressed the dough out by hand, probably about 1 in. thick, and cut them with my 2 1/2 in. biscuit cutter. I only made 6 with a little bit of dough left over. LOL
Placed them in an 8 in. cast iron skillet on top of parchment paper. There was just a wee bit of room between them, they were not touching. They rose beautifully. I did have to bake them almost 20 minutes to get them to brown a little on the top.
Nice and tender inside. Very delicious. Great recipe, very fast and easy.
I just baked one biscuit out of my 2-month-old stash in the freezer, and it is as delicious as when baked from fresh dough. It’s a wonderful and comforting snack to have while having to work late into the night – thanks again for this recipe! :-)
Could I swap whole-wheat flour for all-purpose in the recipe? Or would that mess with the ‘fluffiness”?
I made these last night, but I must have made them thinneror smaller, as I definitely got more than 12. I froze some, and refrigerated others. This morning I put the ones from the fridge in my toaster over. No need to turn on an entire oven for these biscuits. They came out great!
Hi. I made two side-by-side batches, one with all-purpose flour and one with half all-purpose flour and half white-whole-wheat flour. They were both good, but the ones with only all-purpose flour rose better and had a lighter texture. I’ve tried the same half-whole-wheat swap with various other biscuit recipes with the same result, so I think there must be some trick to making high-rising biscuits with whole-wheat flour that I haven’t figured out yet.
That being said, the recipe was ridiculously easy and both batches were tasty. I’ll definitely make this recipe again. Thanks!
Have you seen the recipe for “guaranteed biscuits” on the king arthur blog site? It is very similar to this one, but with the addition of cornstarch. Have you tried it? I have made your recipe above, and loved it, and you know, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but I am curious??? Your thoughts?
Just baked these….Awesome taste and oh sooooo quick and easy to make. I can’t wait to try the Scones; Thank you!
These are so easy and yummy, they have become my go-to biscuit. Everyone always loves them and they are great with either a sweet jam or a savoury chili, I’ve used them for both. I usually get about 20 biscuits out of this recipe so I must be making them much smaller but they still bake nicely, I just keep an eye on them and pull them out when the tops are golden. Next time I’ll try to make them bigger and see how it goes!
You are genius! I make these biscuits a lot more than my hips can afford…oh well,they are truly worth it, y’all have to try them!!!
I had some buttermilk that needed to be used, so I swapped it in for the cream in this recipe. Shouldn’t be a big deal, right? The dough was too wet to cut into proper biscuits and got rolled into balls instead, put on parchment paper, then brushed with melted butter. Oh. my. god. Straight of the oven, one of the best “rolls” I’ve ever eaten. A completely different beast from the biscuits I’d been intending to make (who knew that buttermilk had such transformative properties?), but I’m making them again. Probably tomorrow.
Made these just now with 1 c half and half (per another commenter) – and also substituted 1 c multigrain flour mix from Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain for one of the cups of flour, and omitted the sugar. Turned out fairly well, though they didn’t rise much – the texture was good though, so perhaps I just rolled them too thin. I was looking for something not too sweet, to go with my freshly made peach butter from your recent post – it did the trick!
These rock! I made these tonight with my 3 yr. old daughter to have with our soup. We used luscious local heavy cream (which is amazing in it’s own right) and holy cow are these biscuits yummy. Thanks for providing me another use for thick local dairy products. And thanks for a recipe that is quicker than cutting in butter. These were perfect! And delicious. So excited that I have a freezer bag of them now!
@Katie, I just tried this recipe for the second time and it is so sticky the only thing that I could do with the recipe as written is make drop biscuits. The recipe comes out more akin to the thickness of brownie batter than biscuit dough.
@ Deb, What type of flour are you using?
All-purpose flour, just like the recipe suggests. The trick with biscuits is to handle them very little, and to generously flour your surface but NOT work that flour into the dough. Throw down flour on the counter. With floured hands, pat (in as few, gentle motions as possible) the dough on top of the flour, keeping that floury wall intact between the dough and the counter. Dip your cutter in flour, cut the biscuits, carefully slide them onto your baking sheet… Good luck!
Hi i tried this recipe but it tasted bitter is ir because i used baking soda instead of baking powder, or is it too much of naking soda pls help
I just did your recipe and it looks great! I actually got carried away and kneaded the dough, but I didn’t have any problems with it being too sticky or anything. I’m making them about an inch-and-a-half round because I like to eat multiple biscuits and I use a champagne glass as my biscuit cutter. :-D I got about 30 of them that way… they’d be perfect for having with an English tea if one didn’t want scones.
Anyway, I love that I didn’t have to cut any butter in… they’re so fast and easy. Amazing. Thanks so much!
P.S. Did not sift the ingredients and they were light a fluffy anyway!
this is like the magical biscuit recipe! i am a very inexperienced biscuit maker, and have recently moved to the south. no one can believe these biscuits came from my kitchen. they’re perfect. and obviously fool proof. i thought that was impossible for a biscuit…
I just made these for Thanksgiving (not having made biscuits ever before) and they were amazing. I used heavy whipping cream, probably 1-1/4 and a few TB. I had trouble dipping them into butter and, lacking a pastry brush, I just spooned a little bit on each one and used the back of the spoon to swirl it around the top. Worked great! Deb, I also just made your chocolate pudding pie for Thanksgiving dessert (being among pumpkin pie dislikers) and it was ah.may.zing.
I made these this morning and they were heavenly–the kind of light and rich biscuits I love. Because I was too lazy to run to the store, I scaled the recipe back for the 1 cup of cream I had in the house. Turned out great. Thanks for the recipe; it’s definitely going to be made over and over.
I made these for Thanksgiving dinner and they were very well received! I’m going to make more and freeze them so I can have them whenever I want.
I really like these. I made them for a brunch and they were great…better than any other recipe I have ever followed. I made them the night before…dipped them in butter and froze them on the baking tray. Took them out the next day and straight into the oven. They were fantastic :) Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Wow. I made these over the holiday weekend. So easy, but so delicious! Thanks for posting this.
This is such a great recipe…I use it all the time, after getting it originally from “Beard on Bread.” I find that the amount of cream required varies each time I make it, so I usually add 1 c. and then see what else is needed. I’ve also found that it really makes no difference if you sift or not, so now I just add the dry ingredients together and whisk them to combine. Easily my favorite biscuit recipe, though. So good with melted cheese and an over-medium egg w/ Tabasco sauce!
I LOVE these biscuits. I did put them into my Weight Watchers recipe builder. I didn’t publish them in the community boards because I didn’t want to use it in a way that wasn’t authorized, but I had to know how many points to add into my day. These are too good to go without, even if they are 7 points!
Hi Deb,
I have tried all of your biscuit recipes, and up until now, your cream biscuits were my favorite! However, I checked out the 2009 Americas Test Kitchen cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Best-Americas-Test-Kitchen-2009/dp/1933615338/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327950351&sr=1-1) and in there is the most fantastic drop biscuit recipe. I thought you might like to try it!
Their blueberry scones look great too, but I haven’t tried them yet…
just made these w/out the sugar and they turned out great! i think i overdid the butter b/c they are a bit crispy on the top. but even still they’re fabulous!
I made these for Easter dinner and they left the table as soon as I sat them down. Nothing pleases a group of 20-something boys like fluffy biscuits! They are, hands down, the softest, most incredible little creations I’ve ever made. Thank you!
I had no problem with this recipe- they turned out great. I doubled the batch and I had rolled out the dough too thin but the second batch was perfect – made 10. I paired it with strawberry butter.
Jeanne-Marie, we had the same idea. I just made these biscuits (finally found “the one”) and paired them with a vanilla bean-strawberry-peach butter (adapted from your peach butter recipe). Match made in heaven. Thanks, Deb. You inspire many of the delicious creations that happen in our kitchen.:)
Made these twice in the past week and ate them with strawberries and lightly whipped cream. They are awesome! I added a little more sugar to make them dessert-y. 3 tablespoons total worked for me!
I made these this morning, along with the strawberry cream biscuits. WOW!! Delicious. I’ve made a fair share of scratch biscuits in my life, and these were the easiest and tastiest. They are so crispy on the outside and perfect on the inside. I dipped the first into the melted butter and couldn’t handle it, so I ended up using a pastry brush and painting the melted butter onto the remaining biscuits. That seemed to work fine. My great grandmother had us in the kitchen making assorted pastries at a very young age, and I know that biscuits along with pie crust are NOT to be over worked, and I swear I don’t, but mine never look like yours… What could I be doing wrong? Maybe the biscuit cutter diameter I’m choosing is too big? I am trying to send you a photo… :)
These are delicious! but! use the cream please! i tried them with milk, and ofcourse it was too watery, so i had to add a lot of extra flour and then the baking powder and salt and sugar were off. they tasted ok (but warm bread allways does!), but, u know just use cream!
I made these with 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk (not on purpose)!. They were good, but I imagine even better with all cream. I melted 2tbsp of butter and even that was too much. I just didn’t need that much to brush the tops.
Not sure what I did wrong…I’m a pretty good baker and followed this recipe to a t, but it was sooooooo wet I couldn’t even do anything with it. I tried adding more flour a little at a time, but it became gummy and completely unusable. I tried a2nd time with the same results. Any suggestions?
These are a delicious weeknight addition to your meal. I love not having to deal with cutting in the butter. We topped them with a little jam or honey and they were delish!
Let me start by saying that I LOVE scones but HATE biscuits – apparently I’ve just been having the wrong ones because these are amazing. No problems with the dough being too wet to handle or anything- I barely have any sticky mess on the counter; perhaps the humidity levels in the environment maybe the cause??
You know I am suppose to go back on my diet tomorrow…..
Hi Deb,
I remember from last Thanksgiving that I made pumpkin biscuits, I think I found the recipe on your website and now I can’t find it anymore! I’m going crazy:) Was there a pumpkin biscuit recipe as part of your thanksgiving recipe collection. It was a big hit when I made it!Thanks:)
Hi Yasmine — You might be thinking of the sweet potato and marshmallow biscuit. Sorry for the delayed response!
Making these for Christmas morning (same party of 12 from the night before!) because they look so much easier than the strata I usually make…and who does not just love biscuits? I may even triple the receipe and I might just have some leftover for New Year’s morning.
Forgive me, I’m a little confused. Can these biscuits be frozen unbaked OR baked? Eager to make a batch but would like to freeze a portion so I don’t eat them all in one sitting :)
Dana — I usually freeze biscuits unbaked. Baked biscuits do not keep well, fresh or frozen.
If I use salted butter for the whole recipe should I cut adding the additional salt? I generally don’t bake with it but its all I have left!
seriously? best biscuits i’ve ever had. baked fresh, baked frozen, doesn’t matter. and like you always say, anything with a poached egg on top becomes a meal, and this is no exception. (but of course with the addition of some crumbled bacon, green onions, cracked pepper… best. breakfast. ever.)
Important note: Fat-free half and half is NOT the same thing as heavy cream. Just in case anyone was wondering. (They were still pretty good, though!)
Thanks a bunch! I just made these with wholemeal spelt flour because that’s what I had and they turned out so, so delicious. I used this recipe because I had some high-quality cream that was on it’s way out and I didn’t want to waste. They were so soft and extremely tender. I was extra careful not to work them much to make sure that they weren’t tough. The friends we had over for late breakfast raved! Thanks again!
I was craving my mom’s orange biscuits, but didn’t have her recipe…so I used this instead…and I’m so pleased! So much simpler, and I didn’t have to use the mixer (or two of the ingredients that I made a special trip to get, before I realized I didn’t have the recipe handy.
In a 9×13 baking dish, I melted a stick of butter, a cup of sugar, and 1 3/4 cup orange juice (at 425, while I mixed the biscuits). I doubled this biscuit recipe, which yielded a bit more dough than I needed, but I just cut and froze the excess). When the biscuits were ready to cut, I just used a knife and made square pieces that I placed in the sugar/butter/juice mix – just on the verge of being crowded into the pan. Baked for about 20 minutes at 425…awesome, perfect ratio of buttery flaky goodness and sweet syrupy goop.
This is the most wonderful biscuit recipe ever! I love that no butter is needed, it makes for quick assembly. They come together in no time. Definitely a staple in my home!
What is the percentage of fat in “heavy cream”. Up here in Canada, we have whipping cream, table cream, coffee cream, and I would like to find the one most similar.
Kim — It’s closest to whipping cream.
I made these biscuits and this recipe is fantastic! The biscuits are so moist and tender. This is a easy recipe to follow. These biscuits are great with preserves or in a shortcake recipe. I will definitely make these biscuits again.
My recipe is very similar to these, except I use self-rising flour. But I love buttermilk biscuits – what do you think about adding buttermilk powder to this?
Yes!! Just made a double batch (accidentally doubled the bp so adjusted the rest) with 2C AP flour & 2C Whole Wheat flour….did not have enough Half ‘N Half b/c of doubling so added 3.5% milk to make up the difference. I squeezed 1/2 a lemon into the milk/cream. Did not use the butter at all on tops. Was quite a wet dough/thick batter so I stirred it up from the bottom a few times to get a facsimile of layers, should they need that extra help. : ) and I used 2 soup spoons to drop them onto parchment paper. This double batch made 15 wonderful, tender biscuits. (I baked 6 and put the rest into the freezer for scientific purposes & self restraint)! I guess mine are larger than the ones in your photos. Wonderful with butter & honey.
I hope to make these again w/sugar & all cream, & serve w/strawberries & whipped cream.
Thanks for the super easy recipe! As you can see from my notes, this is robust enough to handle a few variations–a big plus for me.
p.s. I am often close to drooling over the keyboard when I check out your latest posts, and was delighted when your recipe came up at the top of the Google page for “cream biscuit recipe”. Even Google knows you’re good! : )
oh!!!!!! forgot to mention that I didn’t use all of the liquid; just noticed that I have maybe a bit more than 1/2 a cup left over…
Thx!
I’m a California native who moved to Texas a few months ago. It seems like if you’re going to live in Texas you’d best be able to make a good biscuit. I’ve been working my way through a variety of recipes that require either buttermilk or milk & butter or shortening. So far my results haven’t thrilled me despite handling the dough with great care and ensuring the butter is cold. This recipe however was light, fluffy and simply melted in my mouth. PERFECTION! I made them using the famous White Lily AP flour and didn’t need to change a thing. I’m so glad you the freezing the formed biscuits. I was able to bake 5 (which magically disappeared within 30 minutes of baking… there must be a biscuit eating gnome that ran off with them!) and pop the rest in the freezer to bake up later. As always Deb, thank you (and JB) for a delicious recipe and in this case helping up my cred as a Texan.
Made these this morning to use up some forlorn cream. Didn’t expect much.
Then I tasted them — BISCUIT LIFE CHANGED FOREVER
(Laziness/practicality changes: cut biscuits in wedges instead of rounds, which works fine and reduces handling; was low on cream so threw in 2 tbsp ricotta — inspired by your raspberry scone recipe, actually.)
I made these as drop biscuits using my large scoop, instead of rolling and cutting. I got a baker’s dozen out of them this way. Brushed on the butter instead of dipping. I love biscuits and yay! with the cream, no shortening needed (trans fats…).
I know this is a very old recipe, but do you happen to have the ingredient measurements by weight? I’d like to try this with a little bit of different flours (but mostly still AP), but it would be much more successful if the flour was measured out in grams…
Sorry for the very long delay — weights now added.
Deb, I just made these biscuits for breakfast. We are away vacationing at a beach house. I was limited on the ingredients I had to work with but had everything I needed to make these biscuits. They are light, and creamy tasting. Perfect with nothing more than a light schmear of butter. Will definitely be making them again.
These are wonderful, just as they are.
For those who are asking about buttermilk: substitute sour cream for some or all of the cream. You should add a little baking soda to the dry ingredients if you do this; it balances the acidity of the sour cream. I use a good pinch if replacing half the fresh cream, two good pinches if replacing all of it. (Buttermilk recipes should call for this, too, so if you want to be more scientific you can take the quantity of soda from a buttermilk biscuit recipe of comparable yield.)
These cream biscuits came out very tender and fragrant. A bit too soft in texture for my preference. I was surprised how heavy they sat on the stomach. Seemed much more heavy than buttermilk biscuits.
Deb, I love this recipe because they taste AMAZING. But I’ve made them several times and they don’t really rise. I’ve switched out baking powders and still no luck. I’m about to give up on fluffy biscuits. Any suggestions?
Amy — These should rise, and I wish I could be more help, but I would not say that they’re the tallest fluffiest biscuits ever so your results might not be wildly off. Do they look approximately like these photos?
Oh, man, I have made these so many times and they are always so, so good. Tonight, leftover chicken with some of the drippings from baking that chicken turned into gravy, a couple of these biscuits (one under the chicken and gravy, one just to eat) and some roasted asparagus on the side. Oh, be still my heart.
These were lovely and very quick. I added some oregano and grated sharp cheddar as I was serving them with chilli. I will easily make these again (and again). Thanks for a simple and foolproof recipe.
These are lovely cream biscuits and very easy to make.
Interestingly, dipping the biscuits in butter didn’t seem to make much difference (I tried some without buttered tops and some with.)
Can you refrigerate (rather than freeze) the cut-out biscuits overnight, prior to baking them on the following day?
I always weigh flour & sugar when baking, but never baking powder & soda. When I made your biscuits & used the gram measurement instead of a tablespoon for the baking powder, there was a significant difference in amounts. I tried 3 different makes of measuring spoons, & they were all different! My various tablespoons measured from 9 grams to 11 grams, whereas the recipe requires 15 grams. I’m going to weigh even the small stuff from now on, and I’ll use a scale that measures 1/10th of a gram, to be very precise. (I also found the old tried & true swap of 1 tbsp for 3 tsps isn’t accurate either!) Great biscuits by the way!
In general, and in my cookbooks too, I don’t add weights for things that are less than 10 grams because the variance of a few grams can throw a recipe so much and drive you crazy. Plus, in most recipes, weights are rounded to the nearest 5 grams, which would be problematic if the baking soda weighs, say, 7.5 grams. Most home scales will not be very accurate at a few grams either and, from what I understand, more scientific scales that can accurately weigh less than a gram are quite expensive. I realize this comment isn’t hugely helpful, but just to let you know it’s not just you!
Thanks Deb! It’s sure hard to know whether to use the tsp/tbsp technique or to weigh amounts (unless you know for sure what the recipe was tested with! I doubt many recipe writers are weighing the small stuff, but maybe it will become more common as we North Americans grow more familiar with baking by weight? By the by, I have an inexpensive ($20) AWS-100 weigh scale that measures .01 gram quite accurately. It replaced a more expensive precision scale that died after a number of years. (I use the AWS scale for for things under 100 grams, such as 16 grams of coffee beans for my morning moka!) I’m careful not to abuse this little scale, as I suspect it won’t have the durability or longevity of the higher end scientific weigh scales; but it’s perfect when I want to weigh small amounts. And for anything under a full gram, it is far more accurate than my higher end baking scale (which can weigh larger capacities/kilograms, so is perfect for flour, etc.) I highly recommend having both😊 But get one with good reviews instead of risking a less accurate one (of which there are oodles. )
Another variable….what is the elevation where you cook? It’s 8,500 feet where I live. Makes a difference. Trial and error with good notes seems to work!
Oh yes, the higher altitudes do need recipe adjustments in my limited experience. I’ve lived at sea level & in the mountains, but only had to make accommodations (particularly for cakes) in the mountain air. However, this cream biscuit recipe doesn’t seem to mind where it’s baked (wink). I just made another tasty batch for the in-laws!
That’s great news — I didn’t know it was so (relatively) inexpensive. I’ve honestly hated every kitchen scale I’ve ever owned, including my current one. They’re all wobbly and inaccurate, fine enough for cooking I guess but terrible for developing recipes.
For weighing heavy stuff such as flour & sugar (up to 11 pounds), I really like the Salter glass top “Aquatronic” scale (& prefer it over my Oxo Good Grips). 100% stable–not one bit wobbly–and very accurate to the whole gram. However, I cover the entire unit with clear plastic film. Otherwise the liquids and flour can slide in between the glass top & one of the four legs. Annoying to try & clean when that happens, but once wrapped in clear film, no more trouble.
Sorry the scale is actually an Aquatronico not the Aquatronic. Different model, but looks similar.
I also wonder how many of us bakers are assuming our measuring spoons are accurate?! I have 3 sets and they are not the least bit close when I compare them side by side. 🙁
I think they’re all a little inaccurate. Cook’s Illustrated has looked at this; I ended up buying the spoons and cups they like. A good recipe should work with a little wiggle room, though, or it’s just not a recipe that was meant for distribution.
On that recommendation, I’m ordering another set of measuring spoons!
A couple hours after dinner last night, my husband said, “I want some biscuits.” I reported that we didn’t have any buttermilk (we’ve always made buttermilk biscuits in the past), but then I remembered the SK cream biscuit recipe, so we gave it a whirl. We’re now converted to the cream biscuit! This recipe is easy, quick and delicious. (Note: I wound up using the whole 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream.) The flavor and the texture are both excellent. We had quite a few leftover for breakfast, and after a night covered with a dish towel and then a few minutes in a warm oven, they were basically good as new. I’m super pleased. Thanks, Deb!
These were the bomb! So easy and tender. I even used part whole milk to make the cup!
My mom had a lot of leftover cream and didn’t want it to go bad, so it was the perfect excuse to finally make these! (even though it is currently about 90° in Chile, biscuits are hard to come by over here so any excuse to make them is worth it). I only used 1 1/4 cups of cream, and that almost seemed a bit much when I flattened the dough since I ran out of flour and had to use a piece of baking paper. I ate one as soon as it came out of the oven, and it was wonderful and crumbly on the outside but soft on the inside. I’m happy I baked half of them and froze the rest, so I’ll have biscuits on demand for a while, yay!
I hate to say this but my hubby prefers the brand name frozen biscuits to my homemade. Here is why – they come out of the oven soft and mine are more crumbly. If I cover them with a towel they are a wee bit better before serving. I am happy to try your recipe. But what do you suggest for them to be soft from the oven? Helen in Ark.
I bet you’d prefer a different kind of biscuit, such as this “touch of grace” one or an angel-style biscuit. There are many different types of biscuit recipes out there, of course. The goal of this one is speed and ease; I consider it more of a with-dinner biscuit.
I made the cream biscuits last night and they were softer. Hubby like the taste but still wanted the frozen brand. (he is not getting them) I am not giving up. I wonder if they were wetter – I will try that. Thanks for the note. Helen in Ark.
So easy!! I used heavy whipping cream, it was all I had. I will definitely make this again, especially when I have extra cream on hand.
My daughter and I wanted to make quick and easy biscuits and this recipe definitely delivered. They turned out rich, light, buttery, and delicious. My husband asked how much butter we put into the dough and of course our answer was NONE! The only butter we used is to brush the tops before baking.
We were short on heavy cream so we used 1/2 heavy cream + 1 cup buttermilk + half and half. We made the dough by feel so we added a splash of half and half to make a softer dough. With a 2.5 inch pastry cutter we made 12 biscuits. We used these fresh for eggs benedict. They also taste wonderful reheated in our toaster oven with a bit of butter and jam.
This recipe was a joy. Thank you so much for publishing it. A big hug and a thank you from L.A.
I made these this morning. Only got 6; I guess I cut them too big. I used whole milk bc it was all I had, and I didn’t read ahead so I dumped the butter in the dough. They still turned out delicious. Split one and topped it with honey, a fried egg, and hot sauce. Froze the others. Almost went out for breakfast this morning but glad I found these instead.
So is there no butter in the dough? Just dipped on the top?
Did not like this. Flavorless, dough too soft. Better recipes for biscuits on this site!
Can I sub 1/2 & 1/2? If so, how much?
You can use it for the whole amount, but it’s definitely less rich/moist.
Glad to see this comment, as I just made these without reading the recipe through first (whoops). Anyhow, here’s a comment for anyone still reading them: I melted the butter and assumed I needed to stir it in, and when I realized that I would be using half & half instead of heavy cream, I simply stirred in enough h&h to add up to a total of 1.5 cups. This was way, way too much liquid, and of course it is – that liquid is much thinner than heavy cream. So I stirred in a couple handfuls of flour and an extra pinch of baking soda to get a balled-up dough, then dropped them onto the baking sheet. I’ll report back on flavor tomorrow after I bake them from frozen.
Tasted great. Didn’t need the extra baking powder, though.
OMG thanks so much!! I live overseas now and, being a misplaced Texas, I really REALLY miss my biscuits. I’ve probably tried 10 different recipes over the past 2 years, no idea why I didn’t just come to you, I’ve been making your pop tarts for like 10 years now. THANK YOU!!
Deb, I love, LOVE cream biscuits, but you should definitely check out America’s Test Kitchen’s ‘Dream Biscuits’ which are a cross between cream and drop biscuits and taste just as good with zero rolling out. Life changing. I was shocked. And the recipe is so simple I have already memorized it. I will never buy canned or frozen biscuits again, just keep heavy cream in the fridge. Never a bad idea anyway. 😁
Oh my god. I made these on a whim, before dinner, with no time to spare (and a toddler and 5 week old to wrangle too). FAST and easy and very very nice! They were good with soup but REALLY beautiful as a sneaky dessert later on, with butter and jam :)
Had leftover cream from making the ganache for your peanut butter brownies. New Year’s Day breakfast, corn on the cob, salad and your cream biscuits- YUM!! Thank you for yet another winner and Happy New Year to you and yours!
So so good! I wanted some biscuits with breakfast today, and I’m glad I found this on your blog. I have made cream biscuits before, but they never really came out very good. They were usually dry and fairly flat. I’ve been using your recipes for inspiration for a little while, and they are always a hit, so I figured these biscuits would be a big step up from my usual go to cream biscuit recipe, and I was right. The biscuits were light, airy, soft in the inside and a nice little crumbly outside due to the brush of butter. I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour and had to add a couple TBSP additional cream. They came out fantastic. Thumbs up all the way around, even from my kid who doesn’t like biscuits?! (Who doesn’t like biscuits?, the crazy kid in my house, that’s who. But I digress) Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Is there an advantage to cutting the biscuits into rounds as opposed to shaping the dough into a rectangle and cutting them into squares (no scraps, overworked dough or reshaping)?
Maybe its 5,280 foot elevation but I could not get the dough to come together until i used all of the heavy cream and then some. Otherwise we’re good
I made these on a whim- had leftover heavy whipping cream (such a problem to have). Easy recipe, tasty result- have eaten 3 already. Thank you for yet another SK winner!!
To freeze, do you still dip in butter first? Or freeze unbuttered and add the butter dip when you go to bake?
You can do either but the flavor will be more notable if you do it right before baking.
thank you for these! these were quite nice with your broccoli cheddar soup, though i wouldn’t go as far as spectacular… though they are spectacularly easy to make and seriously good looking. (that soup IS spectacular.) i used 1 T sugar and it was a bit much for this usage, might lower to 1 t next time, but use 1 T if they were for ‘tea with jam and bread’. i appreciate the brush-the-butter workaround, dipping seemed daunting. i used white flour but next time might try our usual whole wheat flour, or half/half. and yes, there will be a next time.
i’ve ordered some aluminum-free baking powder, thanks for that tip!
I made these yesterday for dinner. The bottoms were golden, tops were pale and they were a little raw on inside. I got about 10 biscuits from the recipe and baked
them the full 15 min. Any ideas on what might have happened?
I think they just needed another few minutes in the oven.
Is it absolutely necessary to roll out and cut? Or could I just “drop” these, eyeballing for size. Thanks!
You might want to add a little more cream to loosen them first.
How would these work with strawberries and whipped cream? And would they work as a cake rather than as biscuits, again with strawberries and whipped cream?
I’m looking for a cream based biscuit recipe and this is close to the recipe I usually use for scones.
Janet, I’ve done this very thing – it’s all a delicious combination. Don’t hesitate, just do it.
Not sure about as a cake but it will work for shortcakes. You might also like this recipe — it uses cream and makes my favorite shortcakes.
At very end of recipe there is statement about baking them straight from freezer. Is at referring to already baked biscuits or frozen biscuit dough?
Thank you.
Apologies. I went straight to recipe and didn’t see the information about freezing unbaked.
BTW – delicious with small dice ham, cheese, and chives mixed in.
We had some leftover heavy cream I needed to use and WOW these are amazing!