These biscuits are great with breakfast, lunch or dinner or as a snack between meals! I have used numerous variations of this recipe and I have included some of them for you at the bottom of the instructions. But don’t let that limit you – you can add other items (like chopped ham or bacon for breakfast biscuits) to this recipe and create your very own and special treats!
Prize Winning Tea Biscuits:
2 cups of flour
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of shortening
1 cup of milk
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with 2 knives or a pastry blender, until mixture is the consistency of course cornmeal. Make a well in the centre of these ingredients; add liquid slowly. When all the liquid has been added, stir dough rather vigorously until it comes freely from the side of the bowl. Turn dough onto lightly floured board and kneed lightly for a few minutes. Roll or pat out to desired thickness – about 1/2 inch. Cut dough with a knife or biscuit cutter, place on greased baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven (450F) for 12 – 15 minutes.
Variations of Tea Biscuits:
Cheese - Decrease shortening to 3 tablespoons and salt to 3/4 teaspoon. Cut in 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese with shortening.
Buttermilk – Decrease baking powder to 2 teaspoons; add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Substitute 1 cup of buttermilk for milk
Fruit or Nuts - Add 1/4 cups of granulated sugar and decrease milk to 3/4 cup. Add 3/4 cup of raisins, currants or nuts with milk.
Whole Wheat – use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour
Update: If you enjoyed this recipe, you may want to check out my Top Ten Biscuit Recipes by following this link:
Enjoy!
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I made these, once without the salt and once with huney added to the original recipe. People loved them. Thanks!
Hi Sara! Did you try any other recipes? If you make changes and additions like the awesome ones you noted, please let me know – I would love to have you to continue sending in comments, any recipes or stories you may want to share! That is what this site is all about!
Hello, the biscuits turned out great! Thanks for your recipe. I used whole wheat flour. I substituted some of the flour with a 1/3 cup of flax seeds and 1/3 cup of wheat germ and it still worked out well.
Thank so much Natasha! I will definitely try your variation with flax seeds and wheat germ!
Do you know how to calculate these for a diabetic?
In any recipe it’s OK to substitute something like Equal or other sugar substitute for any sugar amount the recipe calls for. Here is a biscuit recipe approved by the Diabetic Association for you:
2 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup Margarine
1/2 cup Lowfat milk
Directions: Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut in the margarine
with a fork or pastry blender. Add the milk. Stir to make a soft
dough.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface until 1/2 inch thick. Cut into
biscuit shapes. (Or divide dough in 12 balls, roll in your hands and
pat lightly to flatten.)
Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 12 to 15
minutes or until lightly browned.
1 biscuit – 109 calories, 1 bread exchange, 1 fat exchange 15 grams
carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, 4 grams fat 152 mg sodium, 37 mg
potassium, 0 cholesterol
Hope this was helpful to you!
If you use coconut what would you change?
Hello Fanny! I would reduce the flour by a little bit so the biscuits wouldn’t be too dry. Add your coconut first with only 1/2 the flour recipe calls for and then add more flour to get the desired consistency. That would be when the dough doesn;t stick to your hands. Hope this works well for you and let me know how it turned out!
I haven’t tried these yet but looking forward too! I read on another site that someone substituted the following:
-flour to spelt
-shortening to coconut oil
-use less baking powder and a tinch of lime or lemon juice – if necessary add more flour (spelt).
-milk to almond milk
Maybe worth a try!
That does sound interesting – I think the coconut oil and almond milk combination would give it a nice flavour! Probably the only thing to watch for is getting the texture right so the biscuits don’t end up a bit on the dry side. If you are going to try it, please let me know how it turned out! Thanks!
I made this recipe, but then rolled it out flat, put on a little cooking oil and some cinnamon sugar, rolled it back up and then cut it into sections with floss and made great little cinnamon buns. They turned out wonderfully!
Hello, this is the first time for me and don’t know how to ask these questions, but here goes, when I was in Honduras the best time of day was when these ladies with large baskets on their heads pasted by in the streets selling “pan de coco” it was sweet bread made with coconut milk and coconut oil, I would like to know if anyone knows how to make it?
Everytime I try to make biscuits they come out like rocks….. Dry and hard.
I’ve just about given up.
Can anyone help me. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks,
B
I made these using soy milk instead of cows milk and they still worked out well.
Thanks for the recipe
That is a great idea Bronwyn! Thanks so much for letting me know!
these are great and are soo easy to make. they also work really well with butter instead of shortening.
thanks for the recipe
I made these tea bisuits but I used half sour cream & half milk (because I was short of milk). These bicuits are the best I’ve ever had. They really puffed up like puff pastry.
Thanks Sam! I love the recipe too – try adding things you like, like fruits, spices, etc. And they work really well with cheese – little cubes of cheddar are the best!
I was wondering if anyone has ever made a tea biscuit recipe using custard?
Hello Holly! I have personally not tried using custard when making tea biscuits – but pouring hot custard over freshly made biscuits and adding some berries is a great dish for a snack or dessert!
To the girl who asked why the biscuits turn out hard, usually it means you’re working the dough too much, so the fat/butter is melting before you bake them. Try putting your fat/butter in the fridge, or freezer and grating it into the bowl.
I absolutely agree with you Lorie – I think it is when the dough is overworked. The only thing with putting the fat into a fridge or freezer is to be careful when working the dough even more – you might have a tendency to work it harder because the fat is hard to begin with. Also – possibly reducing the flour amount a bit may be work and so will brushing your biscuits with melted butter as soon as you take them out of the oven and covering them with clean dishcloth to cool.
How would you do an onion flavoring?
Hello Gerri! I would try using about 1/2 package of onion soup mix – it will depend just how much onion flavour you would like to give to the biscuits. The way to do that is to usbstitute the amount of onion soup mix you will use for flour. I would love to know how these turned out for you – please let me know – you might have just asked a questions that will create tons of new biscuit recipes!
I am going to try it with vegetable soup mix – that could be good as well!
When I was young my dad used to make delicious tea biscuits with stew instead of dumplings, and this recipee was exactly what I remember! Thank you so much for it!
Hi Trina! I am so glad – this is exactly why I love adding recipes and tips on the site – let em know how the biscuits turned out for you and also check the recipes for more types of biscuits!
Really helpful.
I want to try my hand at baking buscuits, but have been afraid until now. My biggest worry was having them turn out hard. My fears are subdued now that I have read all the comments, and I am sure to have successful buscuits for when the nana & papa come to visit this weekend!
I have just one question – how long can you keep them for, and what is the best storage method for buscuits?
Thanks for your comment and your question – first thing that came to my mind is that I very seldom have any leftovers as I hope you will as well! The best way to store your biscuits is in a airtight container. You can use any container you have on hand but you can also put them into ziplock bag and push out as much air as you can without damaging the biscuits. As far as how long you can store them – unless you freeze them, I wouldn’t keep them for more than 3 days. To serve your leftover biscuits, you can heat them up in your oven or microwave. Let me know how they turned out for you!