Homemade Biscuits

Directions

1. 1
   First get out your big bowl. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Drop in the shortening and use your fingers to casually mix it in with the dry ingredients. Don't get too serious about it because it is better to under mix at this point than over mix. There should still be a few lumps of shortening, the size of peas, or even a little bigger, Two minutes of mixing or less should do it. Next add the milk. Stir it up into a soft dough. On dry days you may need to add another spoonful or two of milk. Form the dough into a soft ball. Get a piece of waxed paper and lay it on your counter. Sprinkle the waxed paper with a little bit of flour and knead it exactly 10 times. No more, no less. Next flatten out the dough with a rolling pin or your hands so it is about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into biscuit shapes with a biscuit cutter, or the rim of a glass. Lay the biscuits onto a cookie sheet or a pizza pan and bake them at 425F for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their size. Makes about a dozen medium sized biscuits. You can brush them with melted margarine when you take them from the oven if you want them to look pretty when they arrive at the table.
2. 2
   Cheese biscuits: Add a cup of shredded cheese after you mix in the shortening, right before adding the milk. Cut into smallish biscuits and bake as directed.
3. 3
   Bacon bicuits: Add 1/3 cup of soy bacon bits to the flour right after adding the shortening. Cut into small circles and bake as directed.
4. 4
   Drop biscuits: Substiute melted shortening or oil for the solid shortening. Increase the milk to almost a full cup. Stir it into the flour making a sticky dough. Drop the biscuits by small spoonfuls onto an oiled cookie sheet. Bake as directed.