Cream Biscuits

With just 4 ingredients and no cold butter to cut in, these cream biscuits rise a mile high with a soft, tender crumb and golden, crisp tops. Heavy cream does all the heavy lifting, which makes this about the easiest homemade biscuit you can pull off on a weeknight!

Before You Get Started

These bake up softer and more cake-like than the pull-apart layers in my Flaky Biscuits, with a crisp top and a pillowy middle. They are as simple as biscuits get, but three things separate a tall, tender batch from a flat, tough one:

• Use heavy cream and nothing else. In this recipe, cream replaces both the butter and the milk. Half-and-half, whole milk, and buttermilk do not have enough fat to work.
• Keep the dough cold. Cold dough hitting a hot oven creates the steam that lifts the biscuits. A 10 to 15 minute stint in the freezer before baking is not optional.
• Never twist the cutter. Press straight down and pull straight up. Twisting seals the edges shut and the biscuits will not rise as high.

How to Make Cream Biscuits

There is no mixer to drag out, no pastry cutter, and nothing that needs to soften on the counter first. You are about ten minutes of real work away from a hot pan of biscuits, and the oven and freezer handle the rest.

Step 1: Preheat and Prep the Pan

Heat the oven to 425°F and grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet or 9-inch cake pan. 

A skillet or pan matters more than you would think. The walls give the biscuits something to lean against so they rise up instead of spreading out. 

A rimmed baking sheet works in a pinch, but expect a wider, shorter biscuit.

Step 2: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

Whisk the self-rising flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Self-rising flour already has the leavening and salt mixed in, which is why the ingredient list is so short. 

I like White Lily, a soft winter wheat flour that gives Southern biscuits that light interior.

⇢ No self-rising flour on hand? Whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt.

The sugar is not there to make these sweet. Two teaspoons just brings out the flavor of the cream. If you want something closer to a scone, bump it to 3 tablespoons and add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Step 3: Stir in the Cold Cream

Add the cream and stir with a wooden spoon just until the dry ingredients are moistened. 

Heavy cream runs 36 to 40 percent fat, which is why this dough never asks you to cut in cold butter: the fat brings the tenderness and the water content brings the moisture. 

Stop the moment it comes together into a shaggy mass, since overworking develops the gluten that makes a biscuit tough.

⇢ Want to add cheese or herbs? Stir in about 1 cup of shredded cheddar, or a teaspoon of chives, thyme, or garlic powder, along with the flour before the cream goes in.

Step 4: Fold and Pat the Dough

Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and fold it over onto itself 6 to 8 times. This is where the layers come from, so do not skip it. 

The dough should feel soft but not sticky. If it clings to your hands, add more flour to the counter and to your palms.

Pat it into a rectangle about ¾ inch thick. Thinner dough gives you thinner biscuits, so resist the urge to roll it flat.

Step 5: Cut and Chill

Dip a 2 to 2½-inch round cutter in flour and punch straight down through the dough.

Arrange the biscuits in the prepared pan with the sides touching. 

Crowding them is intentional here: neighbors give each other something to climb against, and you get a noticeably taller biscuit than you would from biscuits spaced apart.

Re-roll the scraps, cut out the rest, then cover loosely and freeze for 10 to 15 minutes.

⇢ Skip the cutter entirely. Drop the dough by heaping spoonfuls straight into the pan for a rustic, craggy biscuit. My Drop Biscuits use the same idea.

Step 6: Bake and Butter

Bake for 15 to 19 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown and the sides have set. Brush the hot biscuits with melted butter the moment they come out, while the tops are still porous enough to soak it in. 

Serve warm.

⇢ Biscuits came out flat? The usual culprits are dough that warmed up before baking, a twisted cutter, or biscuits spaced too far apart in the pan.

Ways to Serve These Biscuits

A biscuit is rarely the whole point of a meal, but it is often the part people reach for first! These earn their spot at breakfast and at supper both.

In the morning, split them and smother them with Sausage Gravy, or keep it simple with a swipe of Honey Butter or a spoonful of Apple Butter. Here in Virginia, tucking a slice of salty country ham inside is practically a food group of its own, which is exactly what my Country Ham Biscuits are all about.

At dinner, they are the right partner for anything with gravy or a sauce worth sopping up. Crispy Fried Chicken is a classic pairing, but a basket of these next to my Beef Stew or a pot of my “Good Luck” Southern Chili does not last long at our table!

Storage & Reheating

Store: Keep the biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They are best warm from the oven, but you can bake them up to 3 days ahead if you need to get ahead of a busy morning.

Freeze: Cool completely, then wrap tightly in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the counter or for a few seconds in the microwave.

Reheat: Warm day-old biscuits on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes, which brings back the crisp top. A microwave works for 15 to 30 seconds if you are in a hurry, though the exterior softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of self-rising?

Yes. Whisk 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt, then use it exactly as you would the self-rising flour. Make sure your baking powder is fresh, since it is doing all of the lifting in this recipe.

Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, which one should I buy?

Either works. In the United States both contain at least 36 percent fat, and the labels are used more or less interchangeably. What you want to avoid is anything labeled light cream, whipping cream without the “heavy,” or half-and-half, since those fall below the fat content this dough needs.

Can I swap in milk or buttermilk?

Not in this recipe. The cream is standing in for the butter as well as the liquid, so a lower-fat swap leaves the dough without enough fat and the biscuits turn out dry and tough. If buttermilk is what you have on hand, my 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits are the perfect way to use it up!

More Homemade Biscuit Recipes

• 7UP Biscuits
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Cheddar Biscuits with Chives and Bacon
• Cathead Biscuits
• Angel Biscuits