5 Ingredients or Fewer

King Arthur Flour's Never-Fail Biscuits

April 25, 2021
4.7
9 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • Makes 12 biscuits
Author Notes

How to turn 2 ingredients into perfect biscuits, in less time than it takes to drink your coffee. Extra genius points: The formula is so simple, you'll probably never need to look it up again.
Serve them with butter and jam. Or honey. Or dress them like a Mainer, as Hamel recommends: Split them and dribble with cream before topping with berries and whipped cream (Are you counting? That's 3 creams!). Or embed a sugar cube doused in orange juice in each biscuit before baking, a Southern trick for a sweet, melty core that Hamel also likes. Or add herbs or bacon or cheese. Adapted slightly from PJ Hamel of King Arthur Flour. —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces /170 grams (1 1/2 cups) self-rising flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional; for a saltier biscuit, add up to to 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 6 ounces /170 grams (3/4 cup) heavy or whipping cream
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 450° F, with a rack in the top third of the oven.
  2. Mix the flour and salt together (if using), then add the cream until smooth and batter-like. If it's not coming together, you can use your hands to lightly knead and press it together in the bowl.
  3. Scoop 1-ounce balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a couple of inches between them. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Alternately, pat the dough 3/4 inch thick and cut biscuits with a cutter, if desired. (At this point the biscuits can be frozen and baked straight from the freezer.)
  4. Brush the tops of the biscuits with cream, milk, or water.
  5. Bake the biscuits 10 minutes or so, or until they are light golden brown on top and baked all the way through. Break one open to make sure they're done!
  6. Serve warm or at room temperature; to store, wrap well in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature. To keep them longer, store in the freezer.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Kelsey Parker
    Kelsey Parker
  • Melissa Y
    Melissa Y
  • Jen
    Jen
  • Angie
    Angie
  • Verónica Polanco
    Verónica Polanco
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

29 Reviews

brushjl July 18, 2024
Really tiny biscuits, hardly worth the trouble.
 
weshook November 7, 2020
Just made these with diy self-rising flour and canned coconut milk (thicker than the beverage coconut milk) with about 1/2 teaspoon added coconut oil. Delicious, tender. They didn't brown much but that is usually the case with non-dairy baking. I also would make the batch into fewer, larger biscuits next time.
 
weshook November 7, 2020
Oh, I made a half batch, so that would be a teaspoon of coconut oil. I melted it and add the coconut milk to it and then stir so it combined before adding to the flour mixture.
 
kat159 October 15, 2021
I wish you would have told us about the recipe that was posted here and not the one you made instead
 
weshook October 16, 2021
Ok, I did make them as written but didn't comment on that. They were tender and tasty, but smaller than I expected. Easy to make. I thought highly enough of them that I gifted the self-raising flour mixed withe the added salt and cream as a biscuit kit for Christmas.
 
LaineyBakes August 8, 2020
I made these this morning - the first time I’ve used Self-Rising Flour and the first time I’ve made drop biscuits, so was eager to see how they turned out because... biscuits! Since I’ve never made this type of biscuit, I’m not sure if they came out right. They didn’t rise at all, it seems. They were, however, light, tender and tasty, which makes them a success regardless of their lack of stature. The fact they are so simple and quick to throw together makes them perfect for that GOTTA HAVE BISCUITS NOW craving everyone has, or is that just me....
 
bonnie R. February 12, 2020
i was raised around biscuits. my grandmother made them three times a day. i have never made a good biscuit in my life -- until today. as i made them i kept telling my spouse that, "ha ha, these will never work!" i was so wrong. they are way too good to be this easy and best of all, i feel like a master baker. unfortunately, they are so easy you can make them everyday and gain 120 pounds. haven't tried baking straight from the freezer but that's next.
 
Kelsey P. November 3, 2019
These are amazing. As a mother of two under three, I’m always looking for recipes I can make quickly and easily with a toddler’s help. We’ve now made these every other week for months! Highly recommend.
 
Alicia July 28, 2019
I am not a particularly proficient baker in the slightest, but in my thirties I've discovered a fondness for biscuits that I'm trying to satiate. I tend to overwork the dough but this super easy, super quick recipe yielded light, fluffy biscuits for even someone has heavy handed as myself. I can't wait to try adding flavors!
 
Melissa Y. November 18, 2017
So you don't have to Google how to make self-rising flour :)
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder.
1/4 teaspoon salt.
and why it might be worth the investment:
Self-rising flour is flour with the baking powder and a bit of salt already added. It's a staple in many Southern recipes; it's traditionally made from a softer, lower protein version of all-purpose flour, which is what grows there. This version, which uses higher-protein all-purpose flour, can be used in any recipe that calls for self-rising flour; be prepared to reduce the liquid in the recipe somewhat, and expect the results to be a bit less tender.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/homemade-self-rising-flour-recipe
 
Jen March 28, 2017
Wow! These were so yummy! I don't keep self-rising flour on hand so I made it by adding baking soda and salt to regular flour (recipe on King Arthur's website) and it worked beautifully! Enjoying my second biscuit with strawberry jam and trying to keep the keyboard clean... :)
 
Angie December 24, 2016
I tried these last week and am making another batch tonight. So easy and surprisingly light and fluffy. A friend snagged the recipe from me and said she loved them too -- she made her own self-rising flour instead of buying it and the recipe still came out great.
 
Verónica P. September 6, 2015
I've tried this tonight...amazing! I absolutely love this recipe.
 
Bethany B. June 10, 2015
I just made these with rhubarb and a little sugar, and they turned out awesome! I was worried about the moisture in the rhubarb turning everything to mush, but the biscuits turned out perfect.
 
thekezzagirl May 8, 2015
These turned out great! I made a batch of plain and a batch with chives and cheese. They turned out beautifully light and fluffy. I'm based in the UK and used whipping cream.
 
Angela April 7, 2015
I don't have self-rising flour. What would I need to add to all-purpose/wheat flour to be able to make these biscuits? They sound deliciously simple!
 
Kelsey April 2, 2015
My boyfriend and I made these the other day, they are wonderful! I was curious though, could I replace the heavy cream with Crème fraîche? I wonder if this would work and in turn make them slightly more moist....? If anyone has any idea let me know, thanks!
 
CT March 21, 2015
Thank you for sharing. These were absolutely great with homemade blueberry jam. I added an additional 1/8 cup of heavy whipping cream and this worked well. This recipe is certainly a keeper!
 
Linktransl March 19, 2015
The end of Step 3 indicates "At this point the biscuits can be frozen and baked straight from the freezer." Please clarify what the baking instructions would be for baking from frozen. I tried to bake frozen and formed biscuits to go with dinner tonight by preheating the oven to 450 and baking them for 15 minutes. The results were disappointing; this method yielded beautifully browned tops but burned bottoms and undercooked centers.
 
Jane November 1, 2016
I'm also wondering what the answer is to this...
 
Paula G. March 17, 2015
These are very tasty little nuggets even using my Not-King Arthur's best by June 2012 self-rising flour. Looking forward to making these again with new flour!
 
mshlm March 15, 2015
do you mix it together with an electric beater?
 
Kristen M. March 16, 2015
No, just by hand with a wooden spoon. Here are some photos from the article page that should help: https://food52.com/blog/12475-king-arthur-flour-s-2-ingredient-never-fail-biscuits
 
Barbara T. March 12, 2015
Can I use Half&Half?
 
KAF March 13, 2015
I doubt it. The full fat cream replaces the fat from butter.
 
suzi March 12, 2015
in place of dairy. sorry.