Go Back

Betty Crocker Biscuits

Makes: 7 biscuits - this recipe doubles really well.
4.34 from 3 votes
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish
Author: Betty Crocker
Servings: 7
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Print Recipe

Ingredients  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp white sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup shortening (Crisco or butter)
  • ¾ cup milk

Instructions: 

  • Preheat the oven to 450°.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through the ingredients in opposite directions), until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
  • Stir in the milk until the dough leaves the side of the bowl (the dough will be soft and sticky).
  • Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 10 times.
  • Roll or pat to 3/4-inch thick. Cut with a floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1-inch apart for crusty sides, or touching for soft sides (I prefer crusty sides).
  • After cutting as many biscuits as possible, lightly press - don't knead - the scraps of dough together to make 1-2 more biscuits.
  • Bake 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes:

Buttermilk Biscuits? Just follow the original recipe but use 1 Tbsp of baking powder and use buttermilk instead of milk.
Crisco or Butter?
Crisco = light & flaky but it doesn't have the buttery flavor.
Butter = A bit more dense but they have a buttery flavor and the bottoms are buttery crisp.
High-Rise Biscuits: The key is having really fresh baking powder and not overworking the dough. Even if your baking powder is not expired, the biscuits will not rise if the baking powder has clumps inside the container. Also, I cannot emphasize enough to just lightly knead the dough 10 times; over-kneading will produce a tough biscuit. When you pat the dough to a 3/4-inch thickness, the baking powder will already be activating the dough to rise. Do not re-pat the dough again because the air bubbles forming will make the biscuits flaky.
Extra Flaky: Roll out, cut dough in thirds, stack the layers of dough, and roll to 3/4-inch thick. Make sure the biscuits are 3/4-inch thick when you cut them out. They are still good when they are thinner, but they don't rise nearly as much.
Betty Crocker's Tips for Biscuits:
Use a biscuit cutter dipped in flour to cut the dough, pushing the cutter straight down through the dough. If you twist as you cut, the biscuits will be uneven.
Make Ahead: These can be prepared ahead of time and frozen after you cut them out. To bake, don't thaw the dough - just put them in the preheated oven straight from the freezer. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Diet: Egg Free