These Cream Biscuits are one of the easiest homemade biscuits you'll make! Made using only 4 ingredients, they are soft, fluffy, and tender on the inside with a crisp exterior and they’re ready in about 30 minutes. No buttermilk, no shortening, no butter, no food processor. Just stir, cut, and bake - Exceptionally tasty!
A good homemade biscuit begins with cold butter, which melts in the heat of the oven, causing the layers of flour to push apart creating flaky layers - the key to making your biscuits fluffy, like the sweet potato biscuits.
What are biscuits? The term biscuits holds varying interpretations depending on one's geographical location. In the United States, biscuits resemble dinner rolls, like the avocado dinner rolls but with a much denser and flakier texture.
They are made using chemical leavening like baking soda, baking powder, or both, instead of yeast, making them classified as quick bread like eggless banana bread or apple cinnamon bread. Contrarily, in different global regions, "biscuits" take on the forms of cookies or even scones.
This cream biscuits recipe does not involve any butter, yet are fluffy, soft and tender, with lots of flaky layers. The tops brown nicely in the oven, and the bottoms become deliciously crispy. They are delicious as is, and even better when you spread them with softened salted butter and jelly. They complement almost any meal!
We’ve been enjoying these biscuits as a side dish at dinner. Try them with blackened chicken, instant pot mashed potatoes or instant pot tomato soup. They are also great for breakfast, alongside some eggs and sheet pan pancakes.
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Why this recipe works?
This cream biscuits recipe breaks the rules and uses cold heavy cream instead of butter. With a fat content ranging from approximately 36% to 40%, heavy cream serves as a great substitute for both butter and dairy liquids such as milk or buttermilk in any classic biscuit recipe.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour - Measure your flour correctly. If you are using a dry measuring cup, then first fluff up your flour with a fork, because it tends to settle in the container. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the cup. Once you have a heaping cup, level it off with a flat edge butter knife.
- Heavy cream - Use heavy whipping cream or heavy cream. Half and half will not work in this recipe.
- Baking powder - Be sure to use baking powder and not baking soda, and use the full tablespoon called for in the recipe. It gives sufficient lift!
- Sugar - It adds a subtle sweetness, balances out the salt, and elevates the taste of cream biscuits.
Tip: When measuring flour, do not pack down the flour into the cup which can result in too much flour in your cup.
How to make?
1.Add all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Pour one-third of heavy cream.
2. Mix until the flour is thoroughly moistened.
3. Pour remaining heavy cream in two additions, stirring until combined.
4. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top, and then fold the dough gently 2 to 3 times, onto itself, without working the dough too much, until it looks fairly smooth.
Pro tip: Too much kneading will cause you to overwork the dough, which will make then cream biscuits tough. As the flour absorbs moisture, it prompts the proteins gliadin and glutenin within the flour to combine and create gluten. Increased kneading causes more interaction between the flour and the liquid, resulting in the development of gluten, which makes chewy bread like the dutch oven bread, but not ideal for a tender biscuit.
5. Pat it down into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (mine measures 2 ¼-inches) to cut out the biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart.
Tip: Once you've cut out as many biscuits as possible, gather the scraps and pat the dough out to 1-inch thickness a second and third time to finish cutting out all of the biscuits.
Pro tip: When you cut out your biscuits, you want to make sure to not twist the cutter, which will seal the edges and not result in tall fluffy cream biscuits. So press straight down into the dough and pull straight up.
7. Brush the biscuit tops with melted butter. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.
How to serve?
These are enough for a weeknight dinner with any meat main course or also exceptional served for the Holiday table like the almond flour biscuits.
Storage and Reheating
Allow your freshly baked cream biscuits to cool completely on a wire rack before storing them. This prevents moisture buildup and soggy bottoms. If you plan to keep them for an extended period, you can freeze them for up to 1-2 months in freezer grade zipper bags. Let then thaw at room temperature for several hours before reheating.
To reheat:
- Oven - Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the desired number of cream biscuits on a baking sheet. Heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until they are warmed through and the edges are slightly crispy.
- Air fryer - Place the leftover cream biscuits in preheated 340 degree air fryer basket and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or warmed through.
- Microwave - This method is quick but makes the biscuits soft when reheated. Microwave for about 20-30 seconds, checking frequently to avoid overheating. Microwaving too long can make them tough.
Helpful tips
- When baking cream biscuits, it is important to keep the heavy cream as cold as possible. Avoid letting the dough sit at room temperature before baking the biscuits.
- Press straight down with your biscuit cutter and do not twist or turn it. Twisting the cutter seals off the edges and keeps them from rising as much.
- Brush with melted butter for golden brown top.
- Never overwork the dough. Overworking and over-handling will result in tough, hard or flat cream biscuits.
- Place them close together, for even taller cream biscuits. Biscuits rise up nice and tall when they are touching, pressed snuggly against one another in the oven.
Recipe FAQs
Heavy cream boasts a significantly higher fat content, crucial in imparting the luxurious richness and flakiness in cream biscuits. Should you opt for milk or buttermilk, incorporating butter becomes imperative to offset the lack of inherent fat.
Absolutely, freezing biscuit dough is a great way to have freshly baked biscuits at your convenience.
1. Follow the cream biscuits recipe until you have cut the dough into rounds.
2. Place the cut rounds in a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the freezer for one to two hours to flash freeze.
3. Transfer the partially frozen dough into a freezer safe zipper bags and freeze for about one month.
4. When you're ready to bake, remove the dough from the freezer and transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
5. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake as instructed.
Freezing the dough allows you to enjoy freshly baked cream biscuits whenever craving strikes.
Here are a few common reasons:
1. Overworking the dough, which is one of the most common reasons. When you knead or handle the dough excessively, you activate the gluten, which can lead to a tougher texture. To avoid this, handle the dough as little as possible, just until it comes together.
2. Using too much flour: When measuring flour, use a gentle spoon-and-level method to avoid packing it in, which can lead to excessive flour in the dough.
3. Overbaking: Follow the baking time and temperature in the cream biscuits recipe and keep a close eye on them as they baking. Baking them for too long or at too high a temperature can result in dry and tough biscuits.
4. Avoid twisting: Use a sharp biscuit cutter and press straight down without twisting, as twisting can seal the edges and inhibit rising.
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Cream Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon melted butter, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a medium bowl and whisk until combIned.
- Add heavy cream in three additions, stirring with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until evenly distributed after each addition. Pro tip: Incorporating the heavy cream in stages, creates a fluffy texture.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top, and then fold the dough gently 2 to 3 times, onto itself, without working the dough too much, until it looks fairly smooth.Pro tip: Too much kneading will cause you to overwork the dough, which will make then cream biscuits tough.
- Pat it down into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (mine measures 2 ¼-inches) to cut out the biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart. Tip: Once you've cut out as many biscuits as possible, gather the scraps and pat the dough out to 1-inch thickness a second and third time to finish cutting out all of the biscuits.
- Brush the biscuit tops with melted butter. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. These are outstanding served warm, with a slather of salted butter.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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