Copycat Cracker Barrel Biscuits Recipe

You initial reaction might be to think that biscuits from scratch require a lot of elbow grease. Anything involving kneading dough is a potential racket, right? But this copycat Cracker Barrel biscuit recipe is basic in the best way possible and, dare we say, kinda fun. 

Erin Johnson, the mastermind of the fun food blog, Probably in the Kitchen, created this copycat Cracker Barrel biscuit recipe to take the hard work out of biscuit-making, but also to remind you of those sweet, mouthwatering, fluffy bread discs at everyone's favorite interstate stop-off. "These are similar in both size, texture, and flavor to Cracker Barrel biscuits," Johnson tells us. 

You will need a biscuit cutter, pastry brush, and sheet pan, but otherwise there are no complicated kitchen appliances involved in making these. Just make sure you've got all the potential fixings ready (jelly, butter, honey, gravy — the options are limitless) so you can serve these babies hot out of the oven, just as the gods of Cracker Barrel intended.

There are not a lot of ingredients in these copycat Cracker Barrel biscuits. Per the recipe, you'll need 2 1/4 cup of Bisquick (or a similar type of baking mix); 2/3 cup of buttermilk; one teaspoon of sugar; two tablespoons of butter (melted and divided); and some all-purpose flour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven heats up, get all your ingredients ready to go. Measure out the Bisquick baking mix. If you can't find Bisquick, Johnson suggest a similar type of baking mix, "Jiffy and Pioneer being the most common. All of them are a blend of flour, baking powder, salt, and an oil," she confirms. 

Also, prep the buttermilk, sugar, and butter. You'll be using the two tablespoons of melted butter in separate steps so melting them in separate small bowls might be wise. You'll need the flour for the surface you plan to knead your biscuit dough on.

The next step in this copycat Cracker Barrel biscuit recipe (has a lovely ring to it, doesn't it?) is to simply combine the baking mix, buttermilk, sugar, and one tablespoon of melted butter in a large bowl. While you may be tempted to bust out a hand mixer or your giant standing mixer to combine the ingredients for this dough, Johnson strongly advises against it, warning, "You should mix these by hand. Using a mixer could overwork the dough and is unnecessary." Honestly, this does save you the hassle of having to clean a giant dough hook attachment or two small hander mixer whisks. We told you this was an easy biscuit recipe.

Once the dough is combined, you'll turn it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface to begin kneading. Make sure you've thoroughly cleaned the surface. You can also opt to tape down some parchment paper to put the flour on prior to dumping that dough ball.

The next step is arguably the most fun part of making these copycat Cracker Barrel biscuits: kneading the dough. Who doesn't love to get their hands on a good ball of soft, puffy dough every now and then? The recipe calls for you to knead the dough until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and the dough is not sticky. 

How exactly do you knead dough? We like to think of it as folding the same item of clothing over and over again ... just keep folding the dough into itself, pressing it with your palms as you go. It's a great way to get your anger out on inanimate object (that you ultimately get to eat). 

Once the dough is adequately kneaded, you will press or roll it out evenly — approximately 1/2 inch thick — onto the lightly floured surface you've been kneading on, either by hand or with a traditional rolling pin. If you're using a rolling pin, be sure to lightly flour the pin as well. Yes, it's finally your chance to use the rolling pin that's been stuffed in the back of your drawer for who knows how long, silently begging to smooth out some copycat Cracker Barrel biscuit dough.

The biscuit dough should form a nice-sized rectangle, but don't go overboard with the roll out, making sure it's not any thinner than a half inch. If it's sticking to your pin or hands too much, you might need to knead it a bit more (and add a touch more flour). We're all too familiar with the need to knead — sorry, couldn't resist.

Onward to the art project-esque portion of this copycat Cracker Barrel biscuit recipe: the formal biscuit cutting. Cut the dough into biscuits using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass. Keep in mind, the size of your biscuit cutter (or glass) might affect the number of biscuits you end up with post-baking, which is why this recipe says you could potentially make as many as 12 biscuits, and as few as 8 biscuits. We maintain that biscuit size is totally your call.

After you've got all the biscuit dough discs on a lightly floured baking sheet, brush the tops with half the remaining melted butter. This butter-brushing (we're gonna call it that) ensures that perfect golden hue on the biscuit surface, the kind that would make Cracker Barrel proud, if you weren't sidestepping their establishment altogether to make their famous biscuits on your own.

Your oven should be hot and ready by now. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. When you remove the baking sheet from the oven, brush the biscuits again with the remaining half of melted butter. Cracker Barrel doesn't mess around with buttering up its biscuits, and neither do we. The more butter used in the baking process, the better. We're pretty sure that's in the Cracker Barrel handbook (this is not confirmed, but it's clearly a pretty good assumption).

These copycat Cracker Barrel biscuits are best served hot and will probably make a great slate for breakfast sandwiches if you're into that sort of thing. You can also enjoy these biscuits slathered with more butter, honey, jelly, or whatever else your heart desires. Gravy perhaps? We've plenty of got gravy making tips for you right here.