Biscuits
I may not look like it, but I am a child of the south. Adopted by parents from North Carolina and Texas, I was raised to the slogan “grits is groceries.” My grits are plain with butter. I love okra. And I spent many years trying to find the right biscuit recipe. Here is the one that finally made the grade—Daddy liked them almost as much as his Mama’s—which I’m posting because my friend Patti Ferguson posted on Facebook that she bakes them every Sunday and the Columbia River Sewing cookbook in which it’s include is no longer available.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons chilled butter
1 tablespoon chilled shortening
⅞ cup milk
Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and shortening and work all through the flour with the fingertips. Every bit of flour should be combined with a bit of the fat. Add the buttermilk and stir vigorously until the dough forms a ball.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly for 10 strokes. Stop just as soon as the dough begins to look smooth.
Pat the dough out to approximately an 8 x 7 x ¾-inch rectangle. Cut into 2-inch rounds. Place on an ungreased sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 500°F for 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve hot with lots of butter.
12 biscuits