Homemade Cream Cheese Biscuits
Cream cheese in the dough makes these from-scratch buttermilk biscuits so fluffy, thick, and tender! The perfect biscuit to enjoy, plain or smothered in gravy!
“Hey! Can you wake up early and make fresh biscuits every morning?” my husband asked. Usually, I just stare at him for about five seconds and continue whatever I’m doing whenever he asks crazy questions. But this time, I decided to surprise him.
I got up and made biscuits! He never saw it coming! And guess what? I actually kinda enjoyed the peacefulness of baking so early in the morning. He came down and made sausage and cheese eggs to go with it. He’s a keeper.
Now, I’m absolutely NOT about to start making fresh biscuits every morning, lol, but I know how much he loves my biscuits, so I’ll put forth the effort to try to surprise him with them more often.
Besides, biscuits are sooooo quick and easy to make!
I made these cream cheese biscuits, which may just be my new favorite classic biscuit!! I know I say that a lot about every biscuit recipe I post on this blog, huh?
These biscuits are the bee’s knees, and I think you’ll agree! Buttery and golden on the outside and thick and fluffy on the inside!
What are cream cheese biscuits?
Have you ever had cream cheese biscuits biscuits before? They are pretty much regular buttermilk biscuits but with cream cheese! Cream cheese is used to replace some of the fat from the butter. This results in a buttermilk biscuit that is thick, fluffy, tender, and delicious!
Tips for Making The BEST Cream Cheese Biscuits
Biscuits are super easy to make, but following these tips will help you get the absolute best cream cheese biscuits ever! However, when it comes to biscuits, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
- Use good ingredients. Use the freshest ingredients and double-check to ensure the baking powder and buttermilk hasn’t expired.
- Keep ingredients cold. Cold ingredients are the best for making biscuits! I always make sure that the butter, buttermilk, and cream cheese are super cold. I even freeze the butter sometimes.
- Work quickly. The goal is to get the biscuits into the hot oven while the dough is cold. As the butter melts in the hot oven, it creates steam, which helps the biscuits to rise.
- Be gentle. Once you mix in the flour, you want to use a very gentle hand to knead and fold the dough. This will prevent overworking the gluten in the dough, which creates tough biscuits.
- Use a sharp cutter. Use a sharp biscuit cutter to make a clean through the dough without twisting the cutter. Twisting the cutter will seal the dough and prevent the biscuits from rising.
Ingredients to Make Cream Cheese Biscuits
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure.
- Granulated sugar- Adds balance to the tangy cream cheese and buttermilk.
- Baking powder- Leavening agent that helps the biscuit rise.
- Baking soda- Leavening agent that helps the biscuits rise.
- Sea salt- Adds flavor and supports the gluten in the dough.
- Butter (salted or unsalted)- Adds richness, fat, and natural flavor that creates a flaky biscuit.
- Cream cheese- Add flavor and provide extra fat, resulting in thick and fluffy biscuits.
- Buttermilk- Adds a tangy flavor and reacts with the baking soda to help the biscuits rise and give a tender texture.
INSTRUCTIONS
(see bottom of post for printable recipe)
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Move the oven rack to the second-highest position.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. (You can also sift if desired.)
- Grate cold butter into the bowl.
- Add cream cheese to the bowl.
- Using a pastry cutter (pastry blender), cut the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Pour buttermilk into the bowl. Gently stir with a rubber spatula to form a dough.
- Spread some flour on your work surface. Transfer the dough onto the lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle more flour over the dough and on your hands. (Try to use as little flour as possible.)
- Gently knead and fold the dough, adding more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and work surface.
- Fold the dough several times to create layers, and then gently flatten the dough out into a 1-inch thick rectangle. (you should be able to cut out 4 (3-inch) biscuits.
- Dip your biscuit cutter in flour and cut out the biscuits. Place biscuits about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
- Flatten the remaining dough again and cut out two more biscuits.
- Brush biscuit tops lightly with butter or heavy whipping cream to encourage browning.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes. If necessary, allow extra time.
- Take the biscuits out of the oven and brush with melted butter.
- Set your oven to a low broil and place the biscuits back into the oven.
- Broil until the tops are golden brown. (Do not take your eyes off the biscuits! Broiling happens fast.
- Remove from oven and brush with additional melted butter.
- Serve biscuits hot or at room temperature.
- Store any leftover biscuits in an airtight container.
Common Biscuit Questions & Trouble Shooting
Can I use cake flour- Yes, you can; however, the biscuits will have a very fluffy, cakey texture. I prefer biscuits made with all-purpose or White winter wheat flour (White Lily) for the best texture.
Can I use a food processor? Yes, you can! I find making biscuits by hand the best way to learn the thought.
My biscuits didn’t brown, help! Brushing the biscuits with butter and broiling them for a few seconds will result in a beautiful golden brown top.
Can I use parchment paper on my pan? Yes, but it is not necessary.
How to Serve Cream Cheese Biscuits
Serve cream cheese biscuits as you would any homemade biscuits! It’s a great side dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
- Use cream cheese biscuits to make breakfast sandwiches with sausage or bacon, cheddar cheese, and eggs.
- Spread on homemade fruit jam or drench them in honey.
- Serve with soup
- Smother them in gravy
Get the Recipe: Homemade Cream Cheese Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (plus more for flouring work surface)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons cold butter (unsalted or salted), (plus more for brushing biscuits)
- 5 ounces cold cream cheese (cut into small pieces), (see note)
- 1 cup cold buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Move the oven rack to the second-highest position.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. (You can also sift if desired.)2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Grate cold butter into the bowl.4 tablespoons cold butter (unsalted or salted)
- Add cream cheese into the bowl.5 ounces cold cream cheese (cut into small pieces)
- Using a pastry cutter (pastry blender), cut the butter and cream cheese into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Pour buttermilk into the bowl. Gently stir with a rubber spatula to form a dough.1 cup cold buttermilk
- Spread some flour on your work surface. Transfer the dough onto the lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle more flour over the dough and on your hands. (Try to use as little flour as possible.)
- Gently knead and fold the dough, adding more flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and work surface.
- Fold the dough several times to create layers, and then gently flatten the dough out into a 1-inch thick rectangle. (you should be able to cut out 4 (3-inch) biscuits.
- Dip your biscuit cutter in flour and cut out the biscuits. Place biscuits about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet.
- Flatten the remaining dough again and cut out two more biscuits.
- Brush biscuit tops lightly with butter or heavy whipping cream to encourage browning.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes.If necessesary allow extra time.
- Take the biscuits out of the oven and brush with melted butter.
- Set your oven to a low broil and place the biscuits back into the oven.
- Broil until the tops are golden brown. (Do not take your eyes off the biscuits! Broiling happens fast.
- Remove from oven and brush with additional melted butter.
- Serve biscuits hot or room temperature.
- Store any leftover biscuits in an airtight container.
Made a double batch tonight as a dinner side, and OMG they were SO good!
OMG! These were out of this world! I used the recipe as a base for a raspberry coffee cake. I spread a line of raspberry jam lengthwise down the center after shaping the biscuit dough into a rectangle. Then cut slits along the long sides, and folded the dough slits over the filling. Baked at 450 degrees about 15 -20 minutes. Let cool a bit and drizzle on a simple powdered sugar icing.
I love that the ingredients are in the instructions. For me to use your site so often, I didn’t don’t comment enough.
Just made these with some southern style sausage gravy! Without question among the very best biscuits I have ever had! So moist and rich with the cream cheese, this is now my go to recipe. But I must confess I skipped the part of rolling and cutting the dough, and went the lazy way with drop biscuits. Thanks for the recipe! :p
My husband is a big fan of yours and found this recipe. I made this biscuit this morning. Our son ate two. Just the way how I like my biscuit, dense and fluffy but will not crumble. Thank you