The Classic Biscuit

This biscuit recipe comes from Country Living Magazine. It is a delicious biscuit, but didn't top Lila's Biscuits in my opinion (see previous post). The sifting of the flour in the recipe is a bit time consuming (and I'm always in a hurry to turn out some biscuits)! As you can see in the photo, one of my favorite ways to eat bisucits is with butter and jam or preserves. Add a glass of milk and you have a delicious late-night snack!

The Classic Biscuit

from Country Living Magazine

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (sifted twice before measuring)

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup plus 2 Tbs cold buttermilk

1 Tbs melted butter

1. Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Cut butter into small cubes and freeze 15 minutes. Stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.

3. Stir in buttermilk using a fork just until dough forms. Knead 3 to 4 turns on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7 x 10 inch rectangle. Cut out biscuits using a 3" cutter. Gather scraps until all dough is used.

4. Place 2" apart on a baking pan. Brush tops with melted butter.

5. Bake on top shelf of oven 16 to 18 minutes.

Lila's Biscuits

One word. . .yum! These buttermilk biscuits will melt in your mouth! They are light and fluffy and not the least bit dry. I halved the recipe and they turned out great. Oh, and as you can see I used a cast iron skillet rather than the cookie sheet that the recipe recommends. Worked just fine. These biscuits will definately appear on our dinner table again!

Lila's Biscuits

from a cookbook put together by The Junior League of Memphis, TN

Stirring Recipes from Memphis: Heart & Soul

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup shortening

2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center. Add buttermilk. Stir just until the dough sticks together. Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently about 10 times. Gently roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet, close together for soft-sided biscuits or 1-inch apart for crisp sided ones. Prick biscuits with a fork. Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 400 and bake 8 to 10 minutes more. Serve with orange marmalade, jam, or honey. Make about 20.

Side note from recipe submitter: Lila was the family cook for four generations of hearty Memphis eaters. She served these piping hot biscuits at every supper. Any leftover biscuits were presented with sausage at breakfast the next morning.

Southern Drop Biscuits

These easy biscuits were the fist on my list to try. Why? They don't require any rolling or cutting! They were very tasty, yet a little crumbly. Also, I don't care for the look of the drop biscuit. I just don't think my great-grandmother would approve. She might call me lazy, so I'm moving on with my rolling pin and biscuit cutter in hand.

Southern Drop Biscuits

from a hometown cookbook published in 1951

How We Cook in Corinth

Sift together:

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 heaping tsp sugar

4 tsp baking powder

Blend in 3/4 cup Crisco - work until texture of corn meal.

Add 1/2 cup milk - handle dough as little as possible.

Drop a heaping teaspoon full of doubh for each biscuit on greased cookie sheet. Chill in refrigerator. Bake 450 for 12 minutes or less. Makes 8-10 medium sized biscuits.

How All of This Got Started

Call me sentimental. I admire the talents of yesterday's homemaker. I am sad that many of the talents of my grandmother's and great-grandmother's generations have fallen by the wayside. We have more at our disposal today, and many of us work which makes it difficult to find the time to darn socks, pluck chickens, and let the rolls rise. However, if I never find the time to learn to quilt (which is on my list of things to do), I am DETERMINED that my grandchildren (that I don't have) can at least say, "Granny could make a mean biscuit!"

I have had many failed attempts at making edible biscuits. My mother told me that biscuit making is something you have to do on a regular basis to get the hang of it. She was right! I have finally figured it out. Now I want know the difference in all of these recipes I dug up! Everyone professes that theirs is the best. I'm gonna find out!

Just in case you are wondering, I'm not eating all of these. I try one at a time, my husband eats a few, and the rest go in the freezer!