Biscuits Lab321 recipes
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What goes into biscuits

The main ingredient list of all 321 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Nearly all biscuit recipes use butter (94%); 9% use shortening, and 6% use both.
  • For sugar, 61% use white sugar alone, 30% no sugar at all, and 6% honey or maple syrup (with or without sugar).
  • For leavening, 53% use baking powder and baking soda together, 41% baking powder alone, and 3% baking powder, baking soda and sourdough starter together.
  • For dairy, 65% use buttermilk alone, 17% milk alone, and 3% cream alone.
  • 40% add cheese, herbs or other savory, 7% fruit and 3% spice; 53% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 300 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

Margarine and vegan butter count as butter (1 recipe). Oil includes coconut oil (1 recipe) and olive oil (2%).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

"With honey or maple syrup" means any liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, molasses and other syrup), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking powder and baking soda

    median 15 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Cheddar Sage Biscuits (twopeasandtheirpod.com)

    53%171 recipes

  • Baking powder only

    median 17 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Copycat Cheddar Bay Biscuits with Whole Wheat Flour (breadtopia.com)

    41%134 recipes

  • Baking powder, baking soda and sourdough starter

    median 12 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Sourdough Biscuits Recipe (littlespoonfarm.com)

    3%10 recipes

  • Everything else

    1%6 recipes

Sourdough starter includes discard, which many recipes add for flavor rather than lift.

Which dairy

Each recipe counted once, by the dairy in its main ingredient list. Butter is counted with the fats.

  • Buttermilk only

    median 242 g dairy · closest to typical: Cheddar Sage Biscuits (twopeasandtheirpod.com)

    65%211 recipes

  • Milk only

    median 220 g dairy · closest to typical: Easy Drop Biscuits (thesaltymarshmallow.com)

    17%56 recipes

  • Cream only

    median 309 g dairy · closest to typical: Homemade Butter Biscuits (bakeschool.com)

    3%10 recipes

  • Everything else

    13%44 recipes

Cream includes heavy cream, whipping cream and half-and-half.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 53% add none of these.

  • Cheese, herbs or other savory40%

    cheese 31% · garlic 18% · herbs 14%

  • Fruit7%

    blueberries 1% · raisins 1% · strawberries 1%

  • Spice3%

    cinnamon 2%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 321 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 300 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Salt100%

    321 recipes · median 4.8 g

  2. Baking powder98%

    317 recipes · median 14 g

  3. All-purpose flour95%

    307 recipes · median: all of the flour

  4. Butter93%

    301 recipes · median 120 g

  5. Buttermilk70%

    225 recipes · median 242 g

  6. Granulated sugar62%

    200 recipes · median 13 g

  7. Baking soda56%

    182 recipes · median 2.9 g

  8. Cheese31%

    101 recipes · median 189 g

  9. Milk20%

    67 recipes · median 220 g

  10. Garlic18%

    59 recipes · median 4.1 g

  11. Herbs14%

    46 recipes · median 18 g

  12. Onion or chives12%

    41 recipes · median 36 g

  13. Eggs12%

    40 recipes · median 56 g (about 1 large egg)

  14. Black pepper9%

    32 recipes · median 3 g

  15. Shortening9%

    30 recipes · median 49 g

  16. Jalapeño or chile8%

    27 recipes · median 1.4 g

  17. Bacon or meat6%

    21 recipes · median 204 g

  18. Cream5%

    19 recipes · median 93 g

  19. Honey5%

    18 recipes · median 17 g

Toppings and extras

23% of recipes (77 of 321) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Butter11% (36)
  • Powdered sugar4% (13)
  • Herbs3% (11)
  • Salt3% (11)
  • Garlic3% (10)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 300 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.