These are soft, tender, buttery biscuits with a little something extra, the tang and richness of cream cheese worked right into the dough. Cream cheese biscuits are an easy, old-fashioned Southern breakfast biscuit made by cutting softened cream cheese and butter into a simple flour mixture, then bringing it together with buttermilk and baking until golden. The cream cheese makes them especially moist and tender, with a subtle richness you don’t get from a plain biscuit. They’re wonderful warm from the oven with butter and jelly, and they come together with pantry staples in well under an hour. If you love a good homemade biscuit, this is one to add to your regular rotation.
What sets these apart is how the cream cheese enriches the dough. It adds moisture and a gentle tang, giving the biscuits a soft, tender crumb and a little extra flavor, while butter and buttermilk bring the classic richness and lift you want in a Southern biscuit. They bake up light and fluffy with golden tops, and the recipe makes a big batch, so there’s plenty to go around or to stash for later. Simple, comforting, and reliable, these are the kind of biscuits that disappear fast at the breakfast table.
Why this works
A few simple techniques are what give these biscuits their tender texture and good rise, and they’re worth understanding.
The cream cheese is the special ingredient, and it does two things. It adds moisture, which keeps the biscuits soft and tender, and it adds a subtle tangy richness that makes them taste a little more interesting than a basic biscuit. Cutting it in along with the butter, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, distributes little pockets of fat throughout the dough, which is what creates a tender, flaky result.
Keeping the fat in distinct crumbs (rather than fully blended) matters. Those little bits of cream cheese and butter melt as the biscuits bake, creating steam and small pockets that make the biscuits light and tender. Softening the cream cheese and butter (but not melting them) makes them easy to cut in, the recipe smartly suggests a quick few seconds in the microwave to soften, just until they feel soft to the touch.
Buttermilk brings tang and lift. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help the biscuits rise, and it adds that classic slightly tangy flavor of a Southern biscuit. (Regular milk works too if that’s what you have.) Together with the baking powder, it gives the biscuits a good, fluffy rise.
And a light hand with the dough is key. Knead just until the dough comes together and is elastic enough to roll out, adding only enough flour to handle it. Overworking biscuit dough develops gluten and makes the biscuits tough, so you want to handle it gently and just enough.
What goes in
The ingredient list is short and made from baking staples.
You’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, baking soda, softened cream cheese, softened butter, and buttermilk.
A few notes. Soften the cream cheese and butter but don’t melt them, a few seconds in the microwave (just until soft to the touch) makes them easy to cut in. Use buttermilk for the best tang and rise, though regular milk works in a pinch. Have a little extra flour on hand for the work surface and to bring the dough together, since you’ll add enough to make it workable. And brushing the tops with melted butter before or after baking is optional but gives a lovely golden finish.
How to make them
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
Cut in the softened cream cheese and butter (a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers work) until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. (Tip: soften the cream cheese and butter together in the microwave for just a few seconds, until soft to the touch but not melted.)
Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together into a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and add just enough flour that you can handle and knead it. Knead gently until the dough is elastic, then roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut out the biscuits with a 2-inch cutter and place them on a sprayed or lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden on top. If you like, brush the tops with melted butter (this is optional but gives a nice finish).
This makes about 28 small biscuits with a 2-inch cutter. Serve them warm.
Tips, serving, and storing
A few things help. Don’t overwork the dough, knead just until it comes together and is workable, so the biscuits stay tender. Soften (but don’t melt) the cream cheese and butter for easy cutting in. And cut your biscuits straight down without twisting the cutter, which helps them rise tall and even. Keep an eye on them toward the end, since baking time varies with biscuit size and thickness, and ovens and altitudes differ.
A couple more. For taller biscuits, place them close together on the pan so they support each other as they rise. Re-flour your cutter between cuts so it doesn’t drag. And gather and gently re-roll the scraps just once or twice, since the more you handle them, the tougher those biscuits get, so use the first cuts for the best ones.
These are best warm from the oven, split and spread with butter and jelly, honey, or jam. They’re also wonderful alongside eggs and breakfast spreads, used for breakfast sandwiches, or served with soups and stews at dinner. With their soft, rich crumb, they’re versatile enough for any meal.
For storing, keep cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to about 5 (warm them briefly before serving to bring back their softness). They also freeze beautifully: freeze baked biscuits for up to 3 months, then reheat from frozen in a low oven. You can also freeze the cut, unbaked biscuits and bake them straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the time, for fresh biscuits any morning.
This makes a generous batch of about 28 biscuits. Soft, tender, buttery, and subtly tangy from the cream cheese, these easy biscuits are a comforting Southern classic that’s perfect for starting the day, and they just might become your new go-to biscuit recipe.
WP Tasty (Tasty Recipes Premium) field values
- Category: Breakfast (Bread)
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American (Southern)
- Diet: Vegetarian (contains wheat and dairy, so not gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan.)
- Keywords: cream cheese biscuits, easy biscuits, Southern biscuits, buttermilk biscuits, homemade biscuits, cream cheese biscuit recipe
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit (recipe makes about 28)
- Calories: (leave blank. No nutrition data was provided. Generate values with Nutrifox before publishing rather than estimating.)
- Equipment: Mixing bowl, pastry cutter, 2-inch biscuit cutter, rolling pin, baking sheet
Cream Cheese Biscuits
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Pastry cutter
- 2-inch biscuit cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for handling
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 tbsp butter softened (1/4 cup or 1/2 stick)
- 1 cup buttermilk or regular milk
Instructions
- Combine the Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and baking soda.
- Cut in the Fat: Cut the softened cream cheese and butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs. (Tip: soften the cream cheese and butter in the microwave for just a few seconds, until soft to the touch but not melted.)
- Make the Dough: Add the buttermilk and mix into a dough. Turn out onto a floured surface, adding enough flour that you can handle and knead it. Knead gently until elastic, then roll out to about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut and Bake: Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter and place on a sprayed baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven 15 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden. Brush the tops with melted butter if desired (optional). Makes about 28 biscuits.
