Biscuits Anyone?

There's not much better to warm a person up on a snow day than a hot cup of tea; except a big mug of tea! And I'm now on my second snow day. I did venture out today for some staples. Luckily, I didn't have to go far.

I've gotten myself caught up in a Netflix series and had a hard time pulling myself away to Tea Talk with you. Midsomer Murders is a pretty good series. But alas, that's not what I'm going to talk about today. I want to talk about biscuits. Every time I set out to cook up some breakfast sausage, I have this internal debate about whether to make biscuits to go with them; today was no exception. I do like sausage on a good biscuit. I also like biscuits with butter or eggs. Oh gee! I like biscuits.

Sometimes I feel like a biscuit snob, even though I don't mean to be. Really, I don't. I don't actually understand why people use a baking mix for biscuits, when making them from scratch is so easy. You don't have to stock up on exotic ingredients and it doesn't take long to make biscuits the old fashioned way. And I will show you how easy it is.

You start with a flour, baking powder and salt. Then you cut in shortening. I'd say all together, it takes about 4 minutes. Add some milk and mix it up.

This is what mine looks like after I mix. Then I have to give it a little kneading and then ball it up and pat it down on the counter.

From here you can use a standard, round cookie cutter. A long time ago I was known to use a drinking glass upside down. Today, I have a special biscuit cutter from the Civil War era.

I imagine those women making lots of biscuits to sustain their family and soldiers. Possibly even some of my relatives used a cutter like this. I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

Then they go on a baking sheet. Notice I have my special baking mat over my cookie sheet. Bake them for 12-15 minutes at 450 degrees. Then you have some wonderful biscuits for whatever purpose you have in mind. What food do you like to make from scratch? 

Here's the recipe in case you want to try it out. 

2 cups flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt (I don't use that much, though)

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add milk and mix. Knead and form into dough. Cut into circles and place on baking sheet. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown in a 450 degree oven.