If you’re like most people, you’ve afraid to make biscuits.  After all, they take a long time to make, make a HUGE mess on your counter….and let’s be real…are they really that much better than the canned biscuits? If that’s you, it’s not your fault.  Biscuits CAN be very hard to make, but as Kate showed in the LIVE meet up (if you missed it click HERE) with these tips, biscuits are super easy!  Plus, you can also make one/freeze one (you know how I love that) and keep some in the freezer for next time. If you want Kate’s recipe to try (it’s honestly the BEST recipe I’ve ever made, soft and melts right in your mouth with great height) you can download the free Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner Sample (download your sample HERE) or just check your meal planner! Otherwise, you can use these same tips in any biscuit recipe to make it so easy your kid can make it…or you….whichever. 😉

TIP 1: MIX YOUR DRY INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

First, you’ll want to mix your dry ingredients together in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (this doesn’t include your butter or any milk)

TIP 2: CUT IN YOUR BUTTER, THE EASY WAY

Simply cube your cold butter and throw it into your stand mixer.  Using your whisk attachment, start slow and work your way up to the highest speed.  This will cut in your butter in just a minute or two, but make sure you start on a slow speed or it may kick up a flour mess out of your bowl. You’ll know it’s right when there are no more large butter chunks and when you pinch together the mixture it sticks together.

TIP 3: USE A BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE, IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY

Don’t get me wrong, real buttermilk will always produce a better result, but if you don’t have it around that doesn’t mean you can have some amazing biscuits. If you’re using fresh milk, you’ll want to add 1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk for every 1 cup of buttermilk your recipe calls for.  If you’d like to use powdered milk, it gets even easier.  You’ll want to use 3 Tbsp. milk powder + 1 cup water +1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice for every cup of buttermilk needed for the recipe. However, you don’t have to mix it all together! Simply add the dry milk powder to your dry ingredients and the water and vinegar to your wet ingredients (usually after you’ve cut in the butter).

TIP 4: USE THE DOUGH HOOK WHEN YOU ADD THE BUTTERMILK

When it comes time to add your milk or buttermilk, switch to the dough hook.  Be careful you don’t let it knead too much, that will result in tough biscuits.  You want to knead it just until a soft dough forms.  You may need to stop it once or twice to scrape the flour mixture to the center.

TIP 5: KEEP YOUR BISCUIT WORLD CONTAINED TO A SILICON MAT ON A BAKING SHEET

To keep the clean up super simple, pour a little flour onto a silicon mat placed on top of a baking sheet, then turn your dough out on top of the flour.  Then sprinkle a little more flour on top and knead it 3-4 times.

TIP 6: NO NEED TO USE A ROLLING PIN…THAT JUST ADDS TO THE MESS

I remember my mom making biscuits once and she had to go through so much to make the rolling pin work to roll out the dough…so don’t do it!  Just use floured fingers (dip your fingers in some flour) and flatten the dough to about 1 inch thick.

TIP 7: IF YOU WANT FLAKEY LAYERS, USE THIS EASY TRICK

For those easy-open biscuits with lots of buttery layers, just fold your dough over.  So after you’ve flattened your dough out, fold it over and flatten again.  Repeat that for as many layers as you’d like in your biscuits.

TIP 8: USE A BISCUIT CUTTER IF YOU HAVE ONE, OR A GLASS

So here’s the thing, you can totally use a glass to cut your biscuits, but if you want taller biscuits that keep all of those layers, you’ll want to use an actual cutter.  Using a glass with actually pinch the edges which will make your biscuits shorter and ruin those delicious layers.

TIP 9: BAKE THE BISCUITS RIGHT THERE ON YOUR BAKING SHEET TOPPED WITH A SILICON MAT

Now that you’ve got all of your biscuits cut, just bake them right there on 

TIP 10: IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THEM 100% WHOLE WHEAT BE SURE TO PAIR THEM WITH THIS INGREDIENT!

Wheat flour and honey are a perfect pair!  I like to use half whole wheat flour and half all purpose sometimes and when I do, I always pair it with honey because it’s incredibly delicious and you should too!

TIP 11: MAKE ONE FREEZE ONE!

You know I love to make one freeze one (I talked about it a ton in the freezer meal LIVE meet up, if you missed it, you can watch it here) because you get double the biscuits for no more mess or time. If you’d like to employ this, just freeze the unbaked biscuits until frozen through. Then remove them to a ziploc bag to use on another day. 

TIP 12: PREP THEM EARLIER IN THE MORNING

You can also prep biscuits in the morning to bake in the evening.  Just store the prepped, unbaked biscuits in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.

There you have it! If you want to be in on more LIVE meetups, make sure you follow on Instagram (@outsmart.dinner) and join our private Facebook group HERE.