Baking Powder Biscuits

Growing up we had biscuits for breakfast all the time.  It wasn’t until I lived in my second or third apartment that I realized you can buy biscuits from the store–you know those pop-tube ones with obscene amounts of oil and fat?  My roommates kept making fun of me for my having a box of baking powder.  “Who uses baking powder?” they’d ask.  Well, if you’re making *real* biscuits, everyone uses baking powder.  To this day the pop-tube variety frighten me, I can’t help but get scared every time I open them.

These biscuits are one of my all-time favorite foods, and you can mix them up in less time than it takes for the oven to pre-heat, so don’t tell me “they’re just so much harder!”  Add this recipe to your cooking repertoire immediately, if not sooner.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450′

2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Cut in shortening (with a fork or your fingers) until mix resembles crumbs.  Stir in milk lightly with a fork until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn onto lightly floured surface.  Roll or pat to 3/4″ thick, manipulating the dough as little as possible for fluffy biscuits.  (I just use my palms and fingers to do this.)  Cut into circles with biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass.  Place on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake 12-15 minutes.

Serve with jam or honey, or you can use this as the base to strawberry shortcake, simply drown in cut strawberries and top with whipped cream. (When using these biscuits for shortcake, I usually put in a 1/4 cup or so of sugar.)