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"Biscuit" is one of those funny words that evoke different images depending on where you live in the world. To folks who live in the UK, a biscuit is a small, hard bread that we Americans would call a "cookie" or "cracker". Here in the USA, our idea of a biscuit is a small, soft, savory bread not unlike a British scone.

American biscuits are one of the hallmarks of good southern cooking. Biscuits are comfort food, something your mama might have made as part of a hearty breakfast. Piping hot biscuits taste oh-so-good dabbed with butter, drizzled with honey, or smeared with sweet jelly. They're marvelous in hot gravy, too.

The recipe I use to make biscuits is a variation of a biscuit recipe I found in "The Taste of Home Cookbook" issued by Reader's Digest. I substituted the shortening with butter for added flavor. I sometimes use a mixture of all-purpose flour and cake flour to make the biscuits extra light and fluffy.

Here's what you need:

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup of milk
1 egg

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar).

3. Cut in the butter. It's best if the butter is chilled. Mixture should look course and "crumby" afterwards.

4. Mix together the milk and egg separately, then pour it into the flour mixture a little at a time.

5. Thoroughly mix the ingredients by hand until a slightly moistened dough forms.

6. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and lightly knead no more than 20 times. (Over-kneading makes for tough biscuits.)

7. Roll the dough to about 1/2" thickness.

8. Cut out the biscuits with a biscuit cutter, placing each one on a baking sheet or stoneware dish.

9. Mush together the remaining dough scraps, roll them out, and cut more biscuits out until no more remains. (You may find that these biscuits won't be as light and fluffy as the first ones you cut out.)

10. Bake the biscuits for 9 to 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned.

Yield: 1 dozen biscuits

Learn more about this author, Victoria Neely.
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