Sour Cream Biscuits are almost unbelievably soft with tender, flaky layers and a subtle bite from the cream. We’re making these biscuits with all purpose flour, butter, and just a dash of milk for pillowy, golden brown bites!
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Reasons to Make Sour Cream Biscuits
1. The rich, tangy flavor is so delicious you can enjoy this sour cream biscuit recipe all on its own! Even so…
2. They’re great to use in other recipes, including with our homemade gravy for biscuits and gravy. It’s the best biscuit recipe to learn when making savory dinners, breakfast sandwiches, and more!
3. The bake time is extremely short — less than 25 minutes! Not quite as quick as our 15-minute Bisquick buttermilk biscuits… but they come pretty close!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- All Purpose Flour – All of the ingredients need to be cold, so stick it in the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before starting! You can’t go wrong with simple, all purpose flour! We explain why below.
- Butter – It needs to be cold, and it needs to be salted! Freeze the butter beforehand and grate it so that it can be easily incorporated into the dough.
- Sour Cream – Again, it needs to be cold! It’s possible to use low-fat variations, but full-fat cream makes for a fuller, richer flavor.
- Milk – An optional ingredient to get the classic, golden, Southern sour cream biscuits look!
Why Make Biscuits With All Purpose Flour?
Self-rising, bread, whole wheat, and cake… of all the types of flour that you could use in the kitchen, what makes biscuits with all purpose flour the best?
The truth is that the flour is all about the body. We need a flour that hosts a healthy amount of protein — which you need to develop gluten — but not so much that the biscuit becomes too dense.
High-protein flours like bread flour will yield a very chewy biscuit, while low-protein cake flour will be so soft that you won’t get that golden brown crust. All purpose flour falls right in the middle for a tender, pillow center and perfect crust.
Sour Cream Biscuit Recipe Tips
- Fold the dough for fluffy, flaky layers.
The most important step of this recipe is to fold three separate times to create a thick, layered piece of dough that you’ll cut the sour cream biscuits from.
This technique is crucial for a tender, layered biscuit! If you’re more of a visual learner (we are, too!) then see this technique in action over in our 3 ingredient biscuits recipe. See the video at the 48-second mark!
- Gently roll out the dough.
In order to keep the butter from melting, handle the dough as little as possible.
Dump it out onto the table, pat it out, then use a rolling pin to roll it out to your desired thickness.
- How to make biscuits that rise right every time.
Want to know how to cut biscuits that are guaranteed to be fluffy and pillowy? It’s not always about the ingredients — it’s also a matter of technique!
And it all comes down to the motion itself. You need to press the cutter down and lift it up… that’s it!
It might seem simple, but many people actually twist the cutter to get a clean cut out. They don’t realize that, by doing this, they’re sealing the edges and preventing them from rising during baking.
So don’t complicate things: press, lift, repeat!
- Don’t overbake… and don’t underbake, either!
It can be a little tricky to know when a biscuit is done baking, so keep an eye out for these tell-tale signs that your batch is ready to leave the oven.
Visually, they’ll rise considerably and become golden brown around the edges and top. If they’re pale, they likely need more time.
Additionally, they should be firm. Check by giving them a quick tap on the surface. If there’s a bit of resistance, and you leave a small dent, they’re done!
Alternatively, if the biscuit doesn’t bounce back once it’s poked, or you end up with batter on your finger, it needs more time.
TFN Tip:
Make 10 regular-sized or several smaller sour cream biscuits.
Using a 2 ¼” cutter, as we do, will yield 10 old fashioned biscuits with all purpose flour. This is a good size for breakfast sandwiches, to serve with gravy, as a dinner side, and so on.
But if you’re looking to make a larger number or snack-sized rolled biscuits, then use a 1 ¾” cutter or even a shot glass like we do with our mini biscuits — this size makes for a fantastic appetizer!
Sour Cream Biscuits FAQ
If your sour cream biscuits come out crumbly, it’s likely that you used too much flour. There aren’t many other dry ingredients in our sour cream biscuit recipe, after all, so there couldn’t be any other culprit!
When combined, the dough should be solid yet sticky. If it seems crumbly even at this stage, add a bit more sour cream.
In our sour cream biscuit recipe, we brush with milk before baking. This helps the biscuit tops brown — but not get too brown or overbaked.
We then brush with melted butter after baking to get the same buttery flavor! It’s really a best-of-both-worlds technique.
Yes! And this is an especially great recipe to freeze because there is no rising involved. No added complications!
Line them on a baking sheet and transfer to a freezer. Once partially frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months.
Storing and Reheating
Sour cream biscuits can be kept on the countertop for 2 days or so. Store in a Ziploc baggie or other airtight container. They’ll keep for up to a week in the fridge, if you wish to make them last even longer.
Reheat in the oven at a lower temperature, around 375°F, for just a few minutes until warmed through.
If you tried this sour cream biscuits recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Sour Cream Biscuits (Rolled Biscuit Recipe)
Equipment
- medium mixing bowl
- Baking Sheet
- rolling pin
- 2 ¼-inch biscuit cutter
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour cold
- 2 teaspoons baking powder cold
- ½ teaspoon salt cold
- 6 tablespoons butter shredded from frozen *See Notes
- 1 cup sour cream cold
- 2 tablespoons milk optional (for brushing tops before baking)
Instructions
- To encourage a higher rise and fluffier texture in the biscuits, chill all dry ingredients in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
- While ingredients are chilling, use the large holes of a box grater to grate the frozen butter. Then, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk until completely mixed.Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the butter and sour cream. Stir until the dough comes together in a ball. You may need to finish mixing by hand.
- Lightly flour your work surface and place dough on it. Using your hands, flatten it into a disc shape about 2 inches thick.Fold the bottom third of dough up and over the middle, then fold the top third down, (like you're folding a letter). Turn the dough clockwise 1/4 turn, then fold letter style again. After folding, you should have a thick square of dough consisting of several layers.
- Lightly dust rolling pin, then roll the dough into a disc shape about 1 inch thick. Using a 2 1/4-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 10 biscuits from dough. Note: Press the cutter straight down through the dough, then pull it straight up – do not twist. Twisting seals the edges of the dough, resulting in dense, flat biscuits.
- Arrange unbaked dough on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-inch of space between each. Optional step: Before transferring sour cream biscuits to the oven, use a pastry brush to apply a little milk to the tops, to encourage browning. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until biscuit tops are golden.
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Tara says
Oh yum! That flavor sounds amazing with the use of the sour cream. I love how quickly the biscuits come together too.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
This recipe came out perfectly and thank you for all of the tips too – really useful.
Dannii says
These were so light and flakey. Really incredible!
Suja md says
This was delicious! We really enjoyed both making and eating it!
Erik says
These were so delightful. Never thought that sour cream could add so much to biscuits.