I looove fresh biscuits in the morning and even though making Homemade Biscuits from scratch is super easy, I think the whole “cutting in butter” step tends to deter people from making them. But guess what! It can and does get even easier. I recently discovered that you can use heavy cream in place of butter and milk (both are heavy cream derivatives) and get nearly the same result. I went one step further and froze my dough so that the only work required when I want fresh biscuits is turning the oven on and setting the timer. 5 Ingredient Freezer Biscuits! YAS!
The Magic of Heavy Cream
I was a little worried the first time I tried cream biscuits because the little lumps of butter that are in normal biscuit recipes are what makes them nice and flakey. With heavy cream the “butter” is in microscopic globules, so I didn’t expect much of that buttery-flakey effect. It’s true, they weren’t flakey, but they were the most heavenly light, airy, and fluffy biscuits I’ve ever made. I’ll take that plus the extreme ease of prep over flakiness any day.
I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve had to exert real willpower every day since making these 5 Ingredient Freezer Biscuits. I “accidentally” ate three of them on the day I took the photos and I’ve wanted to bake the remaining biscuits every day since. This is going to be dangerous.
P.S. Heavy cream is usually a lot less expensive when purchased in quart-sized containers, so it wouldn’t hurt to make a double batch of biscuits. ;)
Can I Substitute The Heavy Cream?
No, you can not sub whole milk, 2% milk, skim milk, or non-dairy milk. They simply do not have enough fat to create the same texture in the biscuit. See the info above.
What to Serve with Freezer Biscuits
These tender little biscuits are perfect with some butter and jam, or perhaps some Homemade Lemon Curd. I usually serve them as a side to my eggs with breakfast, but they are also a nice quick side to go with dinner. And if you want to go southern-style, drench them with some Country Sausage Gravy! :)
5 Ingredient Freezer Biscuits
Servings 12 1 eachIngredients
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting) ($0.26)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
- 4 tsp baking powder ($0.16)
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream ($3.65)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder until well combined.
- Pour in the heavy cream and stir until a sticky ball of dough forms. Sprinkle the dough generously with flour and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently knead the dough 2-3 times, or just until the dough feels mixed and has enough flour that it is no longer sticky. Avoid over working the dough.
- Gently pat the dough down into a 6×8 rectangle, then fold it in half. Repeat this two more times. Folding the dough in this manner helps create layers within the biscuits.
- After folding, pat the dough down into a 6×8 rectangle one final time. The dough should be about one inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 squares.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, then place the cut biscuits on the parchment, separated just slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze the biscuits for a couple of hours, or just until solid. Label and date a gallon-sized freezer bag. Place the frozen biscuits in the bag for long term storage (3-4 months).
- To bake the biscuits, place any number of biscuits you want on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Let the biscuits thaw only as long as it takes to preheat the oven to 400ºF. Once the oven is preheated, bake the biscuits until puffed up tall and deep golden brown on top. Depending on your oven and size of the biscuits, it should take about 18-22 minutes (frozen), or 16-20 minutes (fresh).
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Looking for a savory version of these soft and fluffy biscuits to serve with dinner? Try my Cheddar Drop Biscuits!
How to Make Freezer Biscuits – Step by Step Photos
In a large bowl, combine 2.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 4 tsp baking powder. Mix them together really well.
Pour in one pint of heavy whipping cream.
Stir them together until a sticky ball of dough forms. It will likely be fairly wet and sticky, so before turning it out onto your work surface, dust it liberally with flour.
Gently knead the dough just a couple of times to work in just enough flour so that it’s no longer sticky. Press the dough down into a 6×9 rectangle, then fold it over. Repeat that process two more times. Folding the dough into layers like this helps create layers in the final biscuits.
After folding it over a few times, press it down into a 6×9 rectangle one final time. the dough should be about one inch thick. Cut it into 12 square biscuits.
To freeze the biscuits, line a baking sheet with parchment and place the biscuits on top (separated slightly). Cover with plastic and freeze for a couple hours, or just until they’re solid.
Transfer the mostly frozen biscuits to a heavy duty freezer bag for longer storage. As with most frozen items, I like to use them within a few months because food tends to dry out a bit after that… but I don’t suspect these will last that long!
To bake the biscuits, take them out of the freezer and place them back onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Let them thaw only as long as it takes to preheat your oven to 400º. Once fully preheated, bake the biscuits until they’re puffed up and golden brown on top. The total baking time will depend on your oven and the size of the biscuits, but it should take about 18-22 minutes if frozen, or 16-20 minutes if fresh. Just keep an eye on them. :)
Oh my biscuits… (I think that’s going to be my new saying)
I’m currently 39 weeks pregnant and Im gluten free. I’ve been craving a McDonald’s biscuit breakfast sandwich the entire time I’m pregnant. I just bought some Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour. I made these super fast… and they taste JUST like I remember from McDonald’s. you’ve made this pregnant lady very happy. Thank you!
Awesome! :D
Can these be made without adding the sugar?
Leaving out the sugar shouldn’t affect the texture too much, but the sugar does help counteract the bitterness of the baking powder. So technically you can leave it out, but it might not taste that great.
I just made these last night. Greatest Biscuits I have ever had!!
Melted butter brushed on top right after they came out. Good with Butter, honey and any flavor jam.
My family couldn’t get enough of these.
Also, a Huge Shout out to your blog. The best recipe blog out there! Great instructions and the step by step photos are Killer helpful. :)
Just what I was looking for! I’ve been searching for freezer biscuits and this is so simple and they are so pretty! Thanks for the recipe!! 🎀
These are so simple to make and SO delicious! I love how few ingredients they take, and they don’t even need a rolling pin, something I keep forgetting to buy. They’re so fluffy and flakey and indulgent. It’ll be hard to keep them in the freezer, I JUST baked them and devoured three of them in about five minutes!
I baked these exactly as described. I am not a great baker, but these were easy to make and hands down the best biscuits I’ve ever had. I have two dozen sitting in the freezer now. Thank you for this recipe.
Beth, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your recipes! You have a wonderful gift! I also enjoy reading your comments and instructions! God bless you! I’m going to try these biscuits and the Lemon Poppy Seed Two Bite Scones!
Thank you Debbie!!
Could you add berries to this with the recipe as is, or would you have to alter the proportions? My grandmother made blueberry biscuits with heavy cream, but has since forgotten the recipe (or that she ever made them), and I’m trying to come up with a replica.
I’m not sure how the juice from the berries might affect the biscuits. It would take some experimenting to see if and how it would work.
Is there a way to make these vegan?
I think you could probably do a regular biscuit recipe using shortening and a non-dairy milk, but you’d need something with a very high fat content to replace the cream for this one to work.
Fantastic! My shaping needs work though. Oh darn, guess I’ll just have to make more :D these are definitely my go-to biscuit recipe now. Thanks for another winner Beth!
These are great! I just added them to my growing arsenal of freezer-friendly recipes for my family. I’m convinced that having a standalone freezer dedicated to storing bulk quantities of food is the way to eat healthier and save money. I also read about dumplings being a great food that can be cooked directly from being frozen (actually you have to cook them right away versus thawing, otherwise the dough gets sticky). I’ve saved a lot of money this last year by cooking and freezing meals in advance for my family.
OMGeneralGrant these are awesome. One of the best things I have ever baked! And I have baked a lot of things. The dough is very easy to work with. I almost needed a net to catch these light little morsels when they came out of the oven
I made these this week and they were amazing! I’ll gladly skip the “cutting in butter” step too. When I went to cut the dough, I wasn’t paying attention and already cut the pie in half length-wise so I only made 8 large biscuits, but they still puffed up and tasted great out of the oven a few days later. So in case you wanted a little bigger biscuit, go for it!
I never though I could make bread. I’ve had many failed roll experiments in the past. This recipe has changed my perspective of myself and my holidays forever. THANK YOU!
I’m a longtime lurker here, but these were so amazing I had to post. We have friends staying with us this weekend and I wanted to make a special breakfast for them. I made these last night, in 10 minutes between making the guest bed and vacuuming, to have with sausage gravy this morning and MAN were they a hit!
For years I’ve wanted a biscuit recipe as an alternative to the palm oil-laden, but oh-so-convenient-, ones in the cans. I finally found it and SO EASY! Thank you!