Food - Southern Biscuits

Growing up my father was the biscuit maker in our home, and Saturday's we always anticipated waking up to frying bacon and home made biscuits.  My friends used to love to stay the night with me so that they could experience this treat as well.  My father's recipe was one that was handed down from his grandmother and mother, but for whatever reason I could not grasp how to make them.  Time and again I tried and would end up with my hands stuck together in one big doughy mess.  The problem was my father knew what consistency he wanted and guestimated all the measurements...I need exact measurements and instructions.  Later when I was married, a mother and living far away from the south and all its good biscuits I determined to learn to make them myself.   I stumbled upon a treasure of a cookbook at a neighbors garage sale.  It was an older paper back version of Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.  I paid .25 for it and it has been my most used cook book ever.  It is packed full of reliable basic recipes that taught me how to cook, a skill I was too busy to learn growing up.   In that treasure of a book I discovered the perfect biscuit recipe.  It's been my go to for the last 13 years and I have now turned it over to my 16 year old son to make.  He is our official biscuit maker at this point.  I've made it a point to teach my children the skills I was too busy to learn.

Here it is:

2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of butter
2/3 cup of milk or can add 1/4 baking soda and use 3/4 cup buttermilk

In bowl stir together dry ingredients, cut in butter until it resemble coarse crumbs(I leave a few clumps of butter large because the make for flakier biscuits).  Make a well in center, add milk/buttermilk and stir lightly until the dough clings together.  Use hands to gather and knead a couple of times, roll or pat onto well dusted counter or pastry mat and cut with a biscuit cutter or ring.  Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.  We usually brush with melted butter right before the come out of the oven.  Recipes makes 10-12, I usually triple it to feed the 9 of us, because no one can eat just one.

Enjoy and make sure you stop by and visit Stacy and follow through our group to see what other delightful treats they are sharing with us this month.