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Home » Recipes » Dish Type » Baked Goods » Breads

The Best Baking Powder Biscuits

Published: Apr 1, 2020 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Sep 9, 2022 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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pin collage of 2 photos of baking powder biscuits with text in the middle. The top phone is a stack of biscuits and the bottom is a biscuit with jam on it.

Until I tried these biscuits, my biscuit experience had been far from satisfying. In fact,  biscuits were not something that I ever would have chosen to eat. But when my husband's Aunt Norma made these Baking Powder Biscuits for us, I couldn't get enough!

baking powder biscuits on a plate with baking powder in background

These are, by far, THE BEST biscuits I have ever eaten! They are soft and fluffy and are so good that we can't even keep them in the house beyond baking day. You'll want to eat them with everything and I mean EVERYTHING!

Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 💭What is Cream of Tartar?
  • 📖Substitutes for Cream of Tartar
  • 📖 Substitutions and Variations
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • 🥗What to serve with biscuits
  • 🍽Equipment
  • 🌡️Storage
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • ❔ Frequently Asked Questions
  • ⭐ Reviews
  • 📋 The Best Baking Powder Biscuits Recipe
  • 📋Related Recipes
  •  

This easy Baking Powder Biscuit is made with shortening, no butter and bake up super soft and fluffy. They are the BEST biscuits you'll ever try! I have been meaning to share this recipe for a while now but I have my usual problem - too many great recipes and not enough time! 

This another one of those recipes that has been around for many generations. I'm so grateful to Aunt Norma for sharing this gem with me so I can pass it on for generations to come. This was my husband's grandma's homemade biscuit recipe (Grandma Gilson) and probably the grandma before her. 

baking powder biscuit with jam on it

There are a lot of biscuit recipes out there, but not all of them have been around this long. There is just something that's so comforting and reassuring about cooking the very same things, with the exact same ingredients, that generations before you were cooking nearly 100 years ago! This was being made by Grandma Gilson back in the 1930's and '40's and it's still amazing. My Date Nut Loaf is another one of those recipes; a recipe that has been passed on through my family for many generations.

Traditional Date Nut Bread | #datenutloaf, #datebread - Foodmeanderings.com

🥘 Ingredients

Baking Powder is Magic

I see why Kraft Canada calls their baking powder Magic Baking Powder; baking powder really is magical! Before baking powder was invented in the mid 1800's your options were fairly limited. You could use yeast but if you didn't want that flavor of fermentation, there weren't many alternatives, aside from Pearlash. Pearlash was a purified form of potash but it's preparation was very time-consuming. These days we take baking powder for granted, but the introduction of baking powder was revolutionary in minimizing the time and labor required to make bread goods. And it led to the creation of new types of cakes, cookies, biscuits, and other baking.  You can read more about the history of baking powder HERE.

For this recipe, you'll need simple ingredients, most of which you'll find in your pantry:

  • baking powder
  • all-purpose flour
  • cream of tartar - see substitutions below
  • salt 
  • white granulated sugar
  • shortening - you can substitute lard
  • egg
  • milk

💭What is Cream of Tartar?

This easy biscuit recipe calls for cream of tartar, which technically, is an acid—specifically, tartaric acid. It’s a byproduct of wine production; the residue left on the barrels. Most commonly, cream of tartar is used as a leavener, because when it’s combined with baking soda, together they produce carbon dioxide gas. That’s the same gas that’s produced by yeast in bread baking. You can read more about that You can read more about cream of tartar HERE.

📖Substitutes for Cream of Tartar

Cream of Tartar is something that I have always kept in my pantry. Although it's pretty old skool there's quite a few baked recipes that still call for it and since I like to make a lot of vintage recipes, I find myself using it on a semi-regular basis. I do recommend following this recipe exactly to get this effect, but if you don't have cream of tartar, no need to worry. You can find simple substitutions for Cream of Tartar HERE.

📖 Substitutions and Variations

  • Cream of tartar (see above)
  • Cheese biscuits - simply mix in 1 cup of cheddar cheese before you roll out the dough
  • Milk - I use 1% but you can use 2 % instead
  • Dairy-free or Lactose-free- use a dairy-free milk or lactose free milk

🔪 Instructions

  1. After you make the dough, roll it out on floured board.
  2. Roll out the biscuit dough to ½ an inch.
  3. Cut in rounds with a 3 inch round cutter. * you can use a mug or a glass if you don't have a cutter
  4. Bake on 375 degrees F/190 degrees F for 12 minutes on parchment covered baking sheet.

(See recipe card for FULL instructions)

collage of 4 photos of steps to make baking powder biscuits

🥗What to serve with biscuits

These simple biscuits are great on their own or with jam. My daughter even likes to use these biscuits instead of bread for sandwiches. They also go great with lots of soup, stews and chilis, such as:

  • Aunt Norma's Homemade Chili
  • Hamburger Soup
  • Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe (with whiskey)
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Stew (shown)
  • Beer Cheese Soup Recipe
chicken stew in blue bowl

🍽Equipment

For this easy biscuit recipe, you'll need a baking sheet, a mixing bowl, a cutting board, a rolling pin and a 3 inch round cutter (you can use a mug or a glass if you don't have a cutter) to make these fluffy biscuits. A pastry cutter (affiliate links) also comes in handy, but if you don't have one, you can cut the shortening in with a knife.

🌡️Storage

Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze them in a Ziplock freezer bag.

👪 Serving Size

This homemade biscuits recipe makes 16 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

❔ Frequently Asked Questions

What does baking powder do for biscuits?

Baking powder allows biscuits to rise and makes them fluffy.


Why are my baking powder biscuits tough?

If your baking powder biscuits are tough, you've likely added too much flour. If you live in a very dry climate, you many need to reduce the amount of flour in your biscuit a little recipe to achieve tender biscuits (start by reducing it by 2 tablespoons).

Why didn't my baking powder biscuits rise?

Your baking powder biscuits won't rise if your baking powder has expired or if your oven is not hot enough.


Even if you don't think you're a biscuit lover (like I used to think) give these baking powder biscuits a try because they will definitely make one out of you!

⭐ Reviews

Did you make these easy baking powder biscuits? Please RATE THE RECIPE below

baking powder biscuits piled on a plate with magic baking powder in background
Food Meandering Logo

📋 The Best Baking Powder Biscuits Recipe

These easy to make homemade Baking Powder Biscuits are made with simple ingredients like shortening, without butter and bake up super soft and fluffy. They are the BEST Baking Powder Biscuits you'll ever try!
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Canadian, North American
Keyword: baking powder, biscuit, bread
Special Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 16 biscuits
Calories: 195kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sifted all -purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar *see substitutions above (in post)
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 4 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. *if you don't have any parchment, use an ungreased cookie sheet.
    parchment paper on a baking sheet
  • Mix flour, cream of tartar, salt, baking powder and sugar together in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender and mix.
    dry ingredients mixed together
  • In a separate bowl, mix eggs with milk and whisk together.
    egg mixture in bowl
  • Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and knead 3 minutes. * I set the timer on the stove for this part.
  • Roll out on lightly floured surface.
    dough on floured board
  • Roll dough to ½ inch thick.
    dough rolled to ½ inch thick
  • Cut in rounds with a 3 inch round cutter.
    biscuits being cut
  • Place biscuits on parchment covered baking sheet.
    biscuits ready to bake
  • Bake for 12 minutes in preheated oven. *They will be golden brown on the bottom.
    biscuits lightly browned on the bottom
  • Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer warm biscuits to cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!
    biscuits on cooling rack

Notes

*See post content for important recipe information and tips!
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Nutrition Facts
📋 The Best Baking Powder Biscuits Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 biscuit)
Calories 195 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 11mg4%
Sodium 126mg5%
Potassium 696mg20%
Carbohydrates 28g9%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 24g27%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 44IU1%
Calcium 297mg30%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1biscuit | Calories: 195kcal (10%) | Carbohydrates: 28g (9%) | Protein: 1g (2%) | Fat: 10g (15%) | Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) | Cholesterol: 11mg (4%) | Sodium: 126mg (5%) | Potassium: 696mg (20%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 24g (27%) | Vitamin A: 44IU (1%) | Calcium: 297mg (30%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
Rate this Recipe

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I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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