Maime's Buttermilk Biscuits

The trick to delectable biscuits is to have a light hand, mix as frugally as possible (you still want to see chunks in your dough, and touch as little as you can. Finally, when you roll out the dough, make sure not to twist the cutter (or in my case ... the glass) when stamping out your rounds.

For a healthier version, you might want to try Stephanie's Healthy Biscuits.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or lard - makes for scrumptious biscuits)
1 cup buttermilk
melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Then grease a 9 by 12-inch baking pan.

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and stir with a fork until just combined. Add shortening or lard. Rub the flour and shortening together with a pastry cutter or your fingers, until about half the dough makes small crumbs, the other half are in larger chunks. Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a fork to moisten.

Turn dough onto floured surface and lightly knead 6 or 7 times. Gently roll out dough first with hands and then a floured rolling pin. Once rolled, prick dough with fork tines until it completely covered the dough.

Using biscuit cutter or glass, cut rounds of biscuits, being careful not to twist the cutter. Lay biscuits on baking sheet and pop in the oven.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Yummy!