Homemade Biscuits

Warm biscuits are the classic comfort food. They go great with home made gravy, to make egg and cheese sandwiches, or just to eat plain with butter and honey. Although I'm lactose intolerant and baking doesn't really break down the lactose, I can usually eat baked goods made with milk, as long as it's in moderation. You can also try low-fat or fat-free milk which can make it even easier to digest for some people.

I think this is probably because there's not that much milk in any individual biscuit serving or you can always substitute regular milk with fat-free or lowfat lactose-free milk. More importantly, milk provides a great texture for baked goods, it helps to keep them soft and moist.  I regularly use milk for bread, dinner rolls, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and, of course, biscuits.

Here is our tried and true recipe.

Homemade Biscuits
Makes 16-20 biscuits

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

6 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup milk (or substitute with low-fat, fat-free, or lactose free milk)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) together.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture. This can be done by repeatedly cutting the shortening into small peices with two butter knives or a pastry cutter. In the end the shortening should be cut into pea sized balls and coated in the flour mixture.
4. Finally, add the milk and mix until the dough is slightly sticky.
5. Knead about 8 or 10 times, just enough to stick everything together. Do not over knead. The kneading will provide the layers so the biscuits can be split open nicely.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface so that it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits with a circular cookie cutter. Be careful not to roll the dough too thin, the best biscuits with lots of soft layers are usually a little bit thicker.
   
7. Put the biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they bake very quickly and oven temperatures may vary.

This post was written while participating in my partnership with the National Dairy Council, and as always my opinions are my own.