Need help: biscuits

[norrahsmommy]

I have tried several recipies for biscuits and none of them are great. I need some tried and true recipies to try please.

[Michelle_M]

This is my mom's recipe that I grew up on, and now make for my family.

1 cup of butter milk. If you don't have buttermilk (which I never have in the house), pour out 1 cup of milk and add 2 tablespoons of plain white vinegar. Stir and let it sit while you get the rest of your items together.

1/2 cup shortening
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 - 1 cup of your soured milk or buttermilk.

Heat oven to 450.
Cut shortening into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, using a bastry blender or by criss-crossing two knives, until the mixture looks like crumbs.

Stir in 3/4 cup of the milk, until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.

Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and lightly flour.

Turn your dough onto the parchment paper. Knead the dough about 10-12 times.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* Do not knead with your bare hands, lift up the sides of the parchment paper and push on the dough that way. Over handling the dough will make the texture not turn out right, so by not using your bare hands you avoid over working the dough.

Roll the dough out with your rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Using your biscuit cutter, push down on the dough, give the cutter a little twist once you have pushed it all the way through the dough. Lift it up, and place your dough round on your baking sheet or stoneware.

If you use a 2 1/2" cutter, you should get about 9 biscuits. Once you run out of room to cut, gather up the remaining dough, pat together into a little ball, and roll out again, cut more biscuits.

Put your biscuits on your cookie sheet (I prefer to use stoneware). Lay them down so that the edges are barely touching.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy.


PS. Depending how humid/dry the climate is where you live, you might need a little extra milk, which is why the recipe says to start with 1 cup, but only mix in 3/4 for starters. If you mix the milk in and find your dough isn't quite holding together, add a little extra milk 1 tablespoon at a time. If you find it's too loose add a little extra flour.

God bless!