Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Toss in the cubed butter to coat with flour. Using a pastry blender or by rubbing the butter pieces between your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the butter pieces range in size from peas to almonds.
Using a silicone spatula, fold the milk into the flour mixture until most of the flour is moistened but the dough is still crumbly. (Don’t over mix it. It will come together in the next step.) Turn out onto a well-floured surface.
With floured hands, pat the dough to a 1-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half. (A bench scraper or large spatula can be helpful here!) Cut the dough in half crosswise and stack the two halves on top of each other. Pat the dough into a rectangle again. Repeat folding, cutting, stacking, and patting 3 more times.
Roll the finished dough to about ¾ to 1-inch thickness and cut into biscuits using a 2½ to 3-inch round floured cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet. For best results, freeze the biscuits for 20 minutes.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are golden brown. Immediately brush with melted butter, if desired. Enjoy hot or cool completely on a wire rack. While biscuits are best fresh from the oven, you can store them at room temp for up to 3 days.
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Notes
Place the biscuits right next to each other on the baking sheet. Doing so will help them rise higher.
If you live somewhere warm, freeze your cubed butter for around 15 to 20 minutes beforehand, so they hold up better as you work it into the biscuit dough.
When cutting the biscuits, don’t twist the cutter. Press it straight down into the dough and lift it straight up. Twisting can compress or pull the layers making the biscuits rise less or flop over while baking.
Don’t have a round cookie or biscuit cutter for this biscuit recipe? Cut the dough into 3-inch squares with a sharp knife!
High-quality butter isn’t required here, but it does make the biscuits that much better. I like using high-fat butter like Kerrygold or Pelugra for super flakey, buttery-tasting biscuits.
Make sure the oven has reached 425F before adding the biscuits in. The immediate hot temperature will make sure the biscuits get nice and tall.