Copycat Church’s Chicken Honey-Butter Biscuits

Church’s Chicken is known for its fried chicken, but the honey-butter biscuits are the side that many people order first. They are golden on top, soft and slightly flaky inside, and brushed with a sweet, buttery glaze that soaks into the crust while they are still hot.

This copycat recipe is a homemade approximation built from common biscuit technique and a simple honey-butter brush. It makes a small batch with pantry staples, so you can have a warm basket on the table without a drive-thru trip.

About Church’s Chicken’s Honey-Butter Biscuits

A fast-food style honey-butter biscuit sits between a flaky layered biscuit and a tender drop biscuit. It has a tall, soft crumb, a lightly crisp golden top and a noticeable but not cloying sweetness. The honey-butter finish is what sets it apart: a thin coating brushed on right out of the oven so it melts into the surface.

The technique is simple. Cut cold fat into the flour so small pieces stay intact, add cold liquid just until the dough comes together, fold it a few times for layers, and bake in a hot oven. The cold fat melts in the heat and releases steam, which lifts the biscuit and creates flaky pockets. A blend of butter and shortening gives both flavor and a tender texture.

How Much Does It Cost to Make Church’s Chicken’s Honey-Butter Biscuits at Home?

A full batch makes 8 biscuits for an estimated $2.86 in ingredients, roughly $0.36 per serving. Ordering the equivalent at Church’s Chicken runs around $4.49 (approximate menu price), so making it yourself saves an estimated $3.06 (68%). The grocery figures are estimates based on US average grocery prices (US BLS Average Price Data, May 2026) and typical store prices for the rest; the per-ingredient breakdown is in the table above. Your local store and restaurant prices will differ, but the gap stays large because you buy staple ingredients instead of a prepared, served dish, and one batch stretches across several servings.

Why Make It at Home?

Making these at home means the biscuits come out of your own oven hot and fresh, rather than sitting in a warming tray. You control the sweetness of the glaze, the amount of salt and the size of each biscuit, and a batch costs a fraction of ordering out. The ingredients are everyday pantry items, and the dough comes together in one bowl in about fifteen minutes.

Ingredients for Copycat Church’s Chicken Honey-Butter Biscuits

Here’s the full ingredients list you’ll need to make Church’s Chicken Honey-Butter Biscuits at home:

• 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 0.75 tsp fine salt
• 0.25 cup vegetable shortening, cold
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 cup cold buttermilk or whole milk
• 4 tbsp butter, melted, for the honey-butter glaze
• 4 tbsp honey

A few ingredient notes:

• Keep the butter and shortening cold, straight from the refrigerator or even the freezer for ten minutes. Cold fat is the main reason biscuits rise tall and flake.
• Buttermilk gives a slight tang and a more tender crumb, but whole milk works well too. If using milk, a tablespoon of lemon juice stirred in and rested for five minutes is an easy substitute.
• Use a mild liquid honey such as clover or wildflower for the glaze. Stronger honeys can overpower the butter, and crystallized honey will not blend smoothly.

How to Make Church’s Chicken Honey-Butter Biscuits at Home

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 20 min · Makes: 8 biscuits

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the cubed butter and shortening in the freezer while you measure the dry ingredients.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl until evenly combined.
3. Add the cold butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the fat into the flour until the pieces are pea-sized and the mixture looks coarse and crumbly.
4. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Do not overmix; a few dry spots are fine.
5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold it into thirds like a letter, turn it, and pat it out again. Repeat the fold two more times for layers.
6. Pat the dough to a thickness of about 1 inch. Cut straight down with a floured 2.5-inch round cutter without twisting, and place the biscuits touching each other on the baking sheet so they rise upward. Gather scraps gently and cut once more.
7. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, until tall and deep golden on top.
8. While the biscuits bake, stir the melted butter and honey together. Brush it generously over the tops the moment the biscuits come out of the oven, then serve warm.

Tips for the Best Results

• Press the cutter straight down and lift without twisting. Twisting seals the edges and keeps the biscuits from rising fully.
• Placing the biscuits so their sides touch helps them climb and keeps the sides soft.
• Brush the honey-butter on while the biscuits are very hot so it absorbs into the crust instead of sitting on top.
• If the dough becomes soft or sticky while you work, chill the cut biscuits for 10 minutes before baking.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using warm butter or shortening, which melts into the flour and produces dense, greasy biscuits.
• Overmixing or kneading the dough, which develops gluten and makes the biscuits tough.
• Rolling the dough too thin, which leads to short, cracker-like biscuits instead of tall, soft ones.
• Baking in an oven that is not fully preheated, so the fat melts before the biscuit has a chance to rise.

Variations to Try

• Add a pinch of garlic powder and chopped chives to the dough for a savory twist, and keep the honey-butter light.
• Stir a little cinnamon into the honey-butter for a sweeter, dessert-style biscuit.
• Mix a spoonful of hot honey into the glaze for a sweet-heat finish.

Storage & Reheating

Store cooled biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate for up to five days. For longer storage, freeze them unglazed in a zip-top bag for up to three months. Reheat in a 350°F oven wrapped loosely in foil for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until warm, then brush with fresh honey-butter before serving. Microwaving works in a pinch but softens the crust.

What to Serve It With

Serve these biscuits alongside fried or oven-baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, mac and cheese or green beans for a full Southern-style spread. They also make a good breakfast base split and filled with egg and cheese, or a simple snack with extra honey and butter on the side.

The Bottom Line

Church’s Chicken’s Honey-Butter Biscuits is one of those dishes that feels like it should be hard to make and expensive to buy, but at home it’s neither. For an estimated $2.86 in everyday ingredients you get 8 biscuits, fresh and warm, for roughly 68% less than ordering out. Make it once and it’ll join the short list of recipes you reach for without thinking. Bookmark this one, grab the ingredients, and keep an eye on CopyKitchen for more copycat favorites with an estimated cost to make them at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the official Church’s Chicken recipe?

No. This is a homemade copycat approximation based on the biscuit’s well-known qualities: a tall, tender crumb and a sweet honey-butter glaze. Church’s does not publish its exact recipe, so the formula here relies on standard biscuit technique.

Can I use self-rising flour?

Yes. Swap the all-purpose flour for self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt. The texture will be very similar, though it is a bit harder to fine-tune the salt level.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

You can cut the biscuits and freeze them unbaked on a tray, then transfer them to a bag once solid. Bake straight from frozen at the same temperature, adding a few extra minutes. Refrigerating the cut dough for a few hours also works, but baking powder loses some lift over time.

Why did my biscuits come out flat?

The most common causes are warm fat, overmixed dough, twisting the cutter or old baking powder. Keep everything cold, handle the dough lightly and check that your baking powder is fresh, since it loses strength after about six months.

Can I make them without shortening?

Yes. Replace the shortening with an equal amount of cold butter. The flavor will be richer, though the biscuits may be slightly less tender and spread a little more.

How do I keep the honey-butter from burning?

Apply the honey-butter after baking, not before. Honey browns quickly at high heat, so brushing it on once the biscuits leave the oven gives full flavor without scorching.

Cost figures are estimates for comparison, based on US BLS Average Price Data (US city average) and an approximate menu price; your local grocery prices and Church’s Chicken’s current menu price will vary. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. CopyKitchen is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Church’s Chicken or any brand mentioned; this is an independent, homemade copycat recipe, and all trademarks are the property of their respective owners.