Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Biscuits are my absolute go-to gluten free biscuit recipe. These light, fluffy, phenomenal gluten free biscuits are so good, no one even suspects they are gluten free. Because they are so easy to throw together, you can be eating these flaky biscuits in no time. I promise they will change your {gluten free} life forever. 🙂
As a parent (and someone with an abnormal food obsession), I employ food as an incentive and a punishment with my kids. It’s amazing all the things food can coerce your kids to do! I use these Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Biscuits, as well as many other manipulating foods, in our house for some creative mind games.
- When Finn, our 4 year old, goes to bed each night there are books, snuggling, and prayers. Then our parting sentence is always, “If you stay in bed in the morning, you can have a marshmallow.” Yes, that is correct. Jet-puffed marshmallow are how we get Finn to not needlessly bother us at 6:30 AM every morning. Works like a charm.
- Getting Elliot, our 2 year old, into the car can sometimes get hairy. Of course, I never plan enough time for the unexpected tantrums, so a graham cracker comes in handy to speed things along. If I could tie one to a fishing line and slowly bait him out to the car with it, I would. Instead I just make a big production of getting one out of the box and he doesn’t get to put his chubby little paws on it until he’s buckled in.
- A package of fruit snacks (especially if they have a superhero blazoned on the box) are a great way to inspire your kid to reach outside their comfort zone. Since Finn has a tendency to be a big wuss at swim lessons, I inspire him with a fruit snack prize if he lets go of the teacher every once in awhile. I find high fructose corn syrup a very resourceful adrenaline aid.
- As any parent knows, mealtime can often be a battle of the wills. I try not to stress too much about it, but sometimes I have to pull out the big guns. If they refuse to even try something, chances are I will whip out a delicious dessert for all the non-grumbling eaters to devour it in front of them. Cruel, I know, but effective. It’s amazing how quickly they are re-inspired to try their food.
- Kids often don’t realize how much they have it made, and I take it upon myself to remind them from time to time. During the school year, my four kids tromp down to breakfast daily and it is all just magically laid out before them. Unfortunately I am sometimes greeted with, “I don’t want to have that for breakfast!” to which I respond, “Oh, my apologies. For the rest of the week why don’t you make your own breakfast every morning? Frosted Flakes aren’t an option.”
- We’ve all made a dinner we know we are setting ourselves up for some protesting. This is when I like to dangle the proverbial carrot, or in this case biscuit, in front of them. If I know there’s going to be some balking about my dinner choice, I plant “inspiration” on their plate. My kids, as well as many others, would have no problem subsiding on a steady diet of bread. That’s where my Light and Fluffy Gluten Free biscuits come in. They can eat as many as they want after they’ve finished their main course. When they see their braver siblings reaching for more biscuits, the bellyacher usually starts chewing faster.
Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Biscuits
Yes, these biscuits are so good {and deceptively gluten free} you can exploit them for malicious mind games. Gluten free bread is something I am very skeptical of. Since I love to make a lot of homemade bread I’m very judgy when it comes to the gluten free version. For me, it has to taste like, well, bread. There’s nothing worse than eating some nasty sub-in to remind you how much you are missing out on.
These biscuits are adapted from my all-time favorite gluten free cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen: The How Can it Be Gluten Free Cookbook. Believe me when I say nothing I’ve ever made from this cookbook ever tastes like an inferior version of the gluten-full recipe. These biscuits are no exception. They are light, tender, buttery, and quick to throw together. Not only will you thoroughly enjoy eating them, but feel free to use them to make your life a little easier as well.
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- 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour blend (I always use Cup 4 Cup flour
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 3 tbsp. butter chilled and cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 tsp. lemon juice I've left this out before, it just gives it more of a buttermilk tang
- Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the butter to the mixture cut in with a pastry blender, fork, or fingers until small, pea-size pieces remain.
In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice. Stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until no flour pockets remain. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes to allow the starches to blend with the liquids and make the dough easier to shape. Preheat oven to 450ºF
Place one baking sheet inside a second so you have a double layer, and line the top baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease a 1/3 cup measuring cup and scoop a heaping amount of batter into it. Drop on prepared baking sheet, spacing the biscuits only about 1/2 inch apart in the center of the sheet (this traps a little extra steam between the biscuits and makes them more tender).
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, watching carefully and rotating pan 1/2 way through.
Place baking sheet on wire rack and cool for 5-10 minutes before serving
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp. powdered psyllium husk added to the dry ingredients. You can find this at a health food store. I left it out because it's a little tricky to acquire and I don't think it adds much to the recipe. I've made it with and without, both turning out fine.
Hello fellow food lovers! I am a wife and mother of four who obsesses and contemplates food probably way too much. I refuse to eat mac and cheese and chicken nuggets every night until all my kids have flown the nest, so this is how a foodie feeds a family...
I’m new to gluten free and I thought these turned out great. I used a different flour so I needed to add a few more scoops of yogurt and even a few tablespoons of water but eventually got it to work. Baked it a bit longer too and they were very good for being gluten free,will definitely make again,maybe put some melted butter or buttermilk on top before baking? “)
Hi Emily, thanks for writing. Learning how to bake gluten free definitely takes some getting used to! I think it’s great you adapted the recipe. It’s hard to make it an exact science with different types of gluten free flours because they all turn out so differently. They all have a very weird consistency when mixing up so it’s hard to judge what it should be like, but fortunately most of them end up tasting fine when baked. I do think you always have to bake things a little longer when using gluten free flour. The time I have listed is for using Cup 4 Cup, but I agree, it would be different for a different flour. I think brushing some melted butter over the top would never be a bad idea!
These did not come out AT ALL. They fell apart, butter was leaking all over while cooking…disappointed 🙁
*I followed the directions exactly
Sorry to hear that. I hate when something doesn’t turn out, especially when baking gluten free because the ingredients are that much more expensive! I was just wondering what type of flour you used? Some gluten free flours don’t have xanthum gum in the mix, which is the binder. I always test my recipes using Cup 4 Cup, but unfortunately not all gluten free flours are created equally so it doesn’t always translate the same.
I made these biscuits. i may have made a mistake but the dough didn’t all come together. I added 2 T of water to get it to hold together. Was that the best thing to add? I was thinking about pie crust, so that is why I added water.
The biscuits took a few minutes longer to cook. They were crisp on the outside and the inside was soft. I had made a chicken potpie mixture. I put some rosemary on the top of some of the biscuits-great recipe.
It could have been the type of flour you were using. Unfortunately all gluten free flours aren’t created equally so you do have to be a little adaptable when baking with them. Adding water is perfectly fine, you can also add a little more of the yogurt. I’m glad they still turned out for you. Rosemary on top sounds like a great addition!
Can I make these with with AP flour and continue with the recipe as is?
I don’t see why not. Shouldn’t change anything, but I’d love to hear how they turn out…
I am not much of a baker, but I made these tonight, and everyone loved them. They were so simpla and delicious!
Christine, That’s so great to hear! They are very easy to make. Anyone can do it!
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! It’s the only biscuit recipe I use. I double the recipe and freeze some. They reheat wonderfully loosely wrapped in foil. Even the gluten eaters in my family love these!
Diane, I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. They really are a little slice of heaven for those of us that can’t eat gluten!
Making these right now. We all agreed that even the dough is yummy. My kids are so excited as I do not make gluten treats being that I am celiac. We are so happy to have delicious biscuits. This may change our lives. Stay tuned for dancing in the streets.
Wow, Melissa! I really do hope these changed your life 🙂 Please let me know!
These are delicious! Which is a good thing because I volunteered to make them for Christmas dinner without a test run. They taste like the real deal!
I forgot to rate it. Five stars!!
Just made these and they were a big hit! Thanks for a delicious recipe! We plan on making these again soon.
Hi Natalie, glad you all enjoyed them!
I cannot have dairy! Any ideas for substitutes? Otherwise, these look great! Thank you for the recipe!!
Hi Jennette, can you just not have the yogurt or butter too? Substituting the butter and yogurt would probably drastically change the recipe too much, and I can’t really guarantee it would still turn out. If just yogurt is the problem, you could try to substitute silken tofu in it’s place. Or you can pour 1 tbsp. vinegar in a liquid measuring cup, fill the rest with dairy free “milk” till you reach 3/4 cup. Let it stand 5 minutes to “sour” and try using that instead of the yogurt. I’d love to hear back if it worked out for you!
Wonder if it work to sub the yogurt for non dairy coconut yogurt and replace butter with lard or sbortening if not opposed to those…
Carol, I sub things all the time when I make these. Just the other night I made them and used light sour cream because I didn’t have any yogurt. They still turned out great. I think both of those substitutions would be fine, but I would probably use the “butter” flavored shortening if you can have that…
These are delicious, don’t even taste gluten free. One question, are you supposed to pack the dough into the measuring cup?
Thanks Christine! No, I don’t really pack the dough in. I just kind of scoop it out of the bowl with the measuring cup and plop them on the cookie sheet. Glad you enjoyed them!
Melissa, these look yum! 🙂 Just a question- I unfortunately cannot have dairy, any chance you would know what I could do in replacement of the yogurt? I’m sure some non-dairy milk, but I worry it might not be as thick. Any ideas? Thanks! 🙂
There are some great non-dairy yogurts on the market – My Kroger carries coconut yogurt (I get the plain – no coconut taste to it, so it makes a great sub!).
Thanks for the great idea, Carol!
Hi Christy,
Coconut yogurt sounds like a great idea or maybe silken tofu? Has anyone out there baked with silken tofu for a substitute? I wonder if it affects the taste…
This made my day – not just the recipe but the use of food as incentives. Seriously, food is the best motivator ever! It works with kids, significant others – even cats LOL. Now if our fur babies would just eat marshmallows, perhaps we could sleep past 5…
Hey Julie, Glad to hear I’m not alone! Maybe you should fashion some sort of catnip-laced marshmallow and go on Shark Tank with it!
These look so yummy! Gorgeous photos <3
Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
Thank you Edye!