I never carry Bisquick or any sort of baking mix. I find it much more “space efficient” to just take basic ingredients like flour and baking powder and make whatever I wanted, whether it was biscuits, cookies, cakes or anything else.
Dave absolutely loves biscuits with eggs for breakfast (a special treat!) and one of my favorite desserts is strawberry shortcake made with these biscuits.
While I could make “old fashioned” biscuits, cutting butter into the flour, then rolling the dough out on the counter and cutting it, I prefer these — they taste every bit as good, take far less time to make and there’s no messy counter to clean up. Perfect for a boat (or in my opinion, anywhere)!
Quick Biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/8 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons canola oil OR vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl.
- Add milk and oil and mix well.
- Depending on your flour, you may need to add a few teaspoons more milk. Batter should be thick enough to clump around the spoon and pull away from the bowl, but there shouldn’t be any problem mixing all the flour in.
- Drop 4 to 6 spoonfuls onto greased pan, cookie sheet, or aluminum foil.
- Bake 15 minutes at 400° F.
Video
Notes
- Measure the 2 tablespoons oil into a measuring cup.
- Then fill the measuring cup up to the 1/2 cup line with milk.
- Two tablespoons is 1/8 cup, and so the total of oil plus milk will be 1/2 cup (1/8 cup oil plus 3/8 cup milk).
- Use whole wheat flour in place of white.
- DAIRY FREE: Use soy milk, almond milk or water.
- You can make the biscuits without the oil, but the texture will be different — be sure to add additional milk or water to make up for the oil.
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MaryJo Boyle on Facebook says
Ingenious recipe! A little flavoring would be an easy addition, too. Going to try this soon.
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Sure — don’t know why I’ve never added stuff like cheese or garlic (maybe that I usually make them for breakfast)? I’ll have to think of them for dinner with some additions!
ben says
Great flavorings for biscuits can be cheese and garlic like you say in the previous comment, but for strawberry shortcake some lemon zest brightens it up and will make it taste more strawberry-y. A tiny bit of thyme tends to go well with most savory breakfast foods like eggs or sausage. Biscuits are one of those blank canvass foods that are completely open to flavor experiments.
In my house growing up we did “jam drop biscuits.” Follow your recipe but before baking make a little pool of jam in the middle of the biscuits. After baking, drizzle with a powdered sugar and milk glaze.
Charlotte Caldwell on Facebook says
Fantastic recipe and the video was superb too. Congratulations and we hope to see many more videos, perhaps you can show your face ‘live’ next time!
Verena says
Great video! Thanks! i just learned about self-rising flour from an Australian friend. Have you tried that with this recipes? It could cut out another step.
Carolyn Shearlock says
You can use self-rising flour for biscuits, but I don’t because I like the flexibility of adding different amounts of baking powder to the flour depending on what I’m making, and some things don’t get any baking powder at all (such as yeast breads). So that means that if I carried self-rising, it’d be a second type of flour and defeat the “space saving.” But if you’ve got the room for two types, it’s a possibility.
MaryJo Boyle on Facebook says
I forgot to mention, Carolyn, that is a very nice video–you have a nice voice and I like the music in the background. Really good job.
Mid-Life Cruising! says
Seeing those eggs n biscuits and thinking of one of my favorite desserts, strawberry shortcake .. I’m gettin’ hungry! Will have to try this, and one of the comments about adding garlic n cheese .. yum! Also the comment about adding lemon zest to recipe when using for the strawberry shortcake .. sounds like a great idea! Thanks!
Andrea Dollins on Facebook says
I do these with buttermilk…yummy! 🙂
The Boat Galley on Facebook says
Happy Breakfast!
Marie says
Too much salt in this recipe but otherwise good and easy to make.
Brenda says
1/2 teaspoon salt spread among 6 biscuits is a problem for you? Salt definitely serves a purpose in baked goods.
Mariana says
It was a bit too much salt for four biscuits but it could be that I overmeasured as I eyeballed it. Other than that, great recipe!
Heather Braun says
Thanks for the recipe, I’m definitely trying this! 🙂
Leslie Womack says
Going to try the biscuits with fish soup tonight!
Also–in wholehearted agreement about stocking basic ingredients-rather than premixes–so much more versatility *and* expiration dates not tied to the quickest to go!
Colin Mombourquette says
Mmmm
Liz Andrews says
Did you try making them in the Omnia?
The Boat Galley says
I’ve made them many times in the Omnia. Works great. https://theboatgalley.com/biscuits-in-the-omnia-stove-top-baking-oven/
Liz Andrews says
Awesome, thanks.. I bought one after reading your review!
You, Me & BLP says
Looks like a great recipe, and so easy. I can’t wait to try it.
Rox Adams says
Could you make them in the Omnia?
Rox Adams says
Got it!
Dave Skolnick (S/V Auspicious) says
Carolyn – I definitely agree with you about mixes like Bisquick. The more I sail the more strongly I feel. I suggest that same applies to spices. There are few mixes commonly used that aren’t built on a foundation of simple spices: Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt and pepper, oregano, basil, paprika, turmeric, red pepper flakes, cumin, cayenne, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, dried mustard or mustard seeds, bay leaves, tarragon. Making your own spice mixes also turns over you spice inventory more quickly which keeps everything fresher.
Whether for baking or spices, making your own mixes puts you in control of the ingredients which means you can cut back on salt or anything else you don’t want in your diet.
Shirley Schiessl says
When my Bisquick had bugs, and I hadn’t had it long, I looked for an alternative. I’m 78 years old and no sailor, but found your recipe when looking for biscuits made with oiI. I was raised on Bisquick and have never made biscuits from scratch. These were better and just as easy. I was also happy to make only 6 biscuits. I’ll not be buying the mix again. Thanks.
Carolyn Shearlock says
So glad that you liked them!
mrsGgoes says
Not living on a boat, but discovered this recipe and it’s now a staple. So easy, adaptable, & my husband even likes them! We’ve substituted 1:1 GF flour mix and used almond milk. Added a bit of sweetener (sugar) for shortcake biscuits but they’re good on their own too. So easy! Thank You!
Sophie says
Can I do this recipe with not oil and water to replace the milk?
Carolyn Shearlock says
It won’t be as good, but it will work.
Maria says
This recipe was so quick and easy! I tried it with half white flour and half whole wheat. They were ready in 15 minutes and were very good. Your video was great and easy to follow. I like that the recipe used oil instead of butter.
Thank you!
Ashlee Teske says
Do you think coconut or extra virgin olive oil would work?
Carolyn Shearlock says
They will work, but the olive oil may have too much of a flavor for most people. Coconut oil will have a bit of a taste, but it’s not bad in biscuits.
mary l shero says
After using this recipe for three years now I felt compelled to say thank you Carolyn so much! As a single person I actually halve the recipe with a yield of just 3 biscuits. It’s so quick and easy to make. I like to add just a tad of sugar and some finely grated orange peel for extra flavor.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Glad that you like it so much!
Daniel says
I appreciate this recipe so much. I’m not boating around the world or trying to save space – I’m just lazy. But this is the easiest recipe I’ve found online in 2022 for making drop biscuits. They turned out perfectly. Thank you.