Scratch Biscuits

Utensils Required:
Non Stick Cookie Sheet (thinner or thicker sheets may result in some differences in the final results)

Mixing Boal

Measuring cups - 1c, 1/2c, 1/4c

Fork

Non-tapered drinking glass 

Was paper

Ingredients Required:
2 1/2 cups of Self Rising Flour

1/4 cup of Crisco (all vegetable, not liquid)

~1/2 cup of Buttermilk

~1/45 of Regular Milk (whole is best)

Mix in Buttermilk and milk until you get the consistency you want, but don't let it liquify

How to Make it:
1) Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees.

2) Mix in the flour and 'cut' in the (solid Crisco) with a folk until they're mixed fairly well. Do this by hand with a fork.

3) Add buttermilk and regular and continue to mix with a fork or by hand until the consistency is a bit 'gluey'. You DON'T want the mixture to be liquified.

4) Layout wax paper and spread some additional flour on the wax paper to keep the flour mixture from sticking.

5) Roll out the mixture on the wax paper and flatten the mixture until you own personal thickness. ~1/2 inch is a good estimate. Experimentation is needed to find the preferred thickness.

6) Flatten the dough by rolling it out with a glass - a flat and even glass, not a pint glass with a taper at the bottom. Rolling pins are not recommended, but that can also be personal choice

7) Use the glass to cut out round disks of dough. DON'T twist the glass while cutting out the disks as that tends to make the biscuits tougher. Just push down. 

8) Put the uncooked biscuit disks on a greased cookie sheet pan. Spreading a little bit of butter on top of each biscuit is optional.

9) Cook biscuits in the oven until golden brown. Estimated time is about 15 minutes. Different ovens and type of cookie sheet play a factor in determining the best time to let them cook.

Finally, when they're done, I STRONGLY recommend slicing a good sized tomato and putting one or two slices in the biscuit with a little salt and pepper. Biscuits and tomatoes are one of the best things ever. Some prefer butter and jams or even topping with cream-corn.

Story:
My dad and his family are from the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and to this day, there have been no greater cooks that I have ever met my entire life than my MaMaw and Aunt Mary. There's a southern flair to how they cook and the atmosphere of the mountains that always made everything cook just right. My MaMaw passed away when I was in 6th grade, but I was blessed enough to enjoy her home cooking a good number of times and what were the greatest scratch biscuits ever made. She taught her daughter, my Aunt Mary how to make them right and to this day the only person who has ever made a better biscuit than my Aunt Mary was my MaMaw. 

We found the the biscuits even cooked better in North Carolina mountains than they did back home in Virginia even when the recipe was the exact same, so if you get the chance to make these in the mountains, I highly recommend it. 

Thanks for the recipe Aunt Mary Parris and MaMaw (Esther Greene Sutton)!