As a child, I remember my maternal grandmother, Ethel, puttering in the kitchen. She had a large stoneware crock that held the flour. She had a can of lard and a pitcher of milk nearby. Gently patting the flour and making a well in the middle to hold the milk, she would glance around the room with a doleful look.

She wasn’t a warm and fuzzy granny to my recollection. In my later years, I learned from Momma that she had not had an easy life but she did love her family. When I had children, she was still very active and really enjoyed playing with them. She died when I was 43 years old. That in itself is amazing. How many people get to enjoy a grandparent for that many years?

Back to her biscuits, she would just pour some milk in that well in the flour. No measurements were necessary obviously. Then she’d reach down in that can of lard and pull out a fistful and start squeezing it into the milk and flour. It appeared to me to be the same process I used to make my mudpies. Occasionally a cloud of flour would escape and land on the table like a thin cloth. This seemed to be a very lengthy process as she massaged that mixture and finally started pinching off pieces to form the biscuits. And they were delicious, mouth-watering biscuits, too.

So, Momma taught me to make biscuits, but I needed tools and calculations. I needed practice. I made a lot of hockey pucks before I was successful. Sometimes now, I will add an extra splash of milk. Just depends on how I am feeling that day. Plus I have learned this is not an exact science either..this biscuit-making business.

You can buy all sorts of canned biscuits. And there are frozen biscuits. But there is nothing that gives me greater satisfaction than baking biscuits like Momma and Ethel.

Yield: 15 biscuits

MOMMA'S BEST BISCUITS

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Good hearty biscuits like Momma used to make!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup Crisco shortening 
• 2/3 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare large pan by greasing with shortening.
2. Whisk all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut the Crisco into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs or meal. Make sure all flour has been incorporated into the Crisco.
4. Pour milk into the mixture and stir to form a pliable dough.
5. Sprinkle the work surface generously with flour. Sprinkle flour on your clean hands to work with the dough.
6. Turn the dough onto the floured surface.
7. Fold dough over 5-6 times and press with the heel of your hand. If it is sticky, sprinkle a little flour over it.
8. Pat the dough out about 1/2 inch thick and use biscuit cutter or glass to cut out the biscuits. Before using, dip the cutter or glass into flour.
9. Place biscuits close together in the prepared pan.
10. Bake about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Drizzle melted butter over the tops before serving.

Notes

Sometimes I use two pans according to the size and number of biscuits.

I use the sticks of Crisco for more accurate measurements.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 245mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.

You gotta risk it to get the biscuit.

–Unknown