These Gluten Free Biscuits are just like the real thing – tender and salty with flaky layers.  They’re amazing fresh out of the oven or reheated with a pat of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread and your favorite jam. 

Biscuits are an American cousin to the British scone, so, of course, I love them.  But what is the difference between a scone and a biscuit?  It’s not just a different name for the same thing.  Oh my goodness, no.  They are completely different. 

Well, they have some similarities – the layers, the chemical leaveners… But they are absolutely not the same.  Scones are crumbly and sweet, a little more dry in the mouth.  Biscuits are buttery and flaky and not sweet at all.  They should have that indescribable delicious taste of baking powder and salt that I crave.

Also, while scones look charming when made with a crenellated scone cutter, biscuits need a more non-nonsense plain round cutter. 

I grew up in the South and fell in love with the delicious biscuits at Flying Biscuit Café in Little Five Points in Atlanta.  They served them with homemade apple butter – oh, my tummy is starting to growl just remembering them! 

But my family is not originally from the South, so I was not blessed with a Southern grandmother who makes biscuits from scratch without any recipe.  I did get to have this experience once with a friend’s Southern grandmother, and it was everything I had dreamed a biscuit could be.

It has taken me many years to perfect this biscuit recipe and to make it Gluten Free and Dairy Free.  Oh, and Sugar Free.  I think biscuits should have zero sugar in them anyway, but some folks add a little sugar.  They don’t need it, in my opinion.  If you want it sweeter, put some jam on it.

The most important thing to pay attention to in this recipe is the technique of patting out the dough and layering it before we cut out the biscuits.  In a traditional biscuit recipe with gluten flour, you would fold the dough over again and again onto itself to create the biscuits layers.  Gluten-free dough doesn’t hold up well to all that folding.  Just cut the dough in pieces and stack the pieces on top of each other, and then pat the whole thing down again.  Do this a few times, and you’ll have those scrumptious biscuit layers.

Why You’ll LOVE this Recipe:

• Flaky Southern biscuits!
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Sugar Free
• Low-FODMAP

Ingredients for Best Gluten Free Biscuits:

• Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• kosher salt
• Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
• coconut milk
• white vinegar
• large egg

Notes on Ingredients:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour – This Gluten Free flour blend is pretty failproof.  It works great in this recipe, and the small amount of xanthan gum in the blend helps to hold the dough together and give it a little stretch.

Baking powder – Biscuits, like scones, are heavy on baking powder.  It’s what gives them their lift.  It also gives a very particular flavor that I happen to love.

Baking soda – A little extra leavening never hurt anyone, and the baking soda helps to get those biscuits rising high.

Kosher salt – Definitely don’t forget the salt.  It’s essential for biscuits.

Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks – This is really the best plant-based, low cholesterol substitute for butter.  It has the right consistency and the right buttery flavor. 

Coconut milk – The biscuits need the extra fat in the coconut milk to make them just tender enough.

White vinegar – Acid helps baked goods rise, so we’re adding some vinegar here to give the biscuits an extra lift.

Large egg – Biscuits by definition don’t have eggs.  However, I found that adding just one egg gave the biscuits just the right amount of tenderness so that the biscuits could actually flake properly.  Without the egg, the biscuits were too dense on the inside and too hard on the outside.

How to Make the Best Gluten Free Biscuits From Scratch

Preheat oven to 450 F.  We want a high temperature to get a lot of steam going inside the biscuit so that those flaky layers are created.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Gluten Free Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, white vinegar, and egg.  Set 2 Tablespoons of the liquid mixture aside to use as an egg wash.  The egg wash gives the biscuits a beautiful golden color, and it helps to hold the tops together as well. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir until completely combined.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface.  Use your hands to gently knead the dough until it sticks together well. 

Pat the dough out into a rectangle.  Cut the rectangle into thirds, and stack the 3 pieces of dough on top of each other.  Pat the dough down into a rectangle again.  Then repeat the same process two more times.  This is how you’re creating those awesome biscuit layers.

Use a 2-inch circle cutter to cut out the biscuits.  Don’t twist the cutter, just press straight down and pull up.

Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.  Use a pastry brush to brush the top of each biscuit with the egg wash.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Eat warm from the oven plain or spread with fruit-sweetened jam.  Enjoy!

More Sugar Free Breakfast Recipes:

• Paleo Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Paleo Strawberry Lemonade Muffins
• Paleo Blueberry Pancakes
• Paleo Chocolate Cherry Pancakes
• Gluten Free Belgian Waffles with Yeast
• Sugar Free Chocolate Frosted Donuts