The Perfect Biscuit....

My husband is from the south so gravy and biscuits are a staple for him. This is hard for me because I dont like this particular meal..... I eat my biscuits with butter & jam or honey only. Still, I wanted to find a biscuit that suited me....fluffy....and also my husband.....chewy. I sortof came up with this one on my own based on a few different recipes I found combined with tips for perfect biscuit making. I think these are perfect.....hope you do too!

2 cups self rising flour
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup fat (butter or shortening)
1 cup buttermilk (or plain milk)

~combine flour & sugar. Add butter and blend with a pastry blender until it becomes mealy. Dont over mix though because you dont want the butter to get to soft. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Use your hands to fold the flour into the milk until it is all blended. You may have to add a little more milk to make a dough but dont put too much....you dont want it too gooey.

~place onto lightly floured surface and fold the dough over itself 3 to 4 times. This creates layers. Softly roll out the dough but leave it thick. If you roll it too thin you will end up with what I like to call hockey puck biscuits..... Use biscuit cutter to cut out circles. Place the cutout biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and make sure they are touching each other. I like to place them all in a circular clump in the middle of the sheet. Bake at 415 degrees for about 15 minutes. I prefer to watch them and take them out when they are just browning on the top.

SOME TIPS:

• 
  if you use regular all purpose flour, you will need to add leavening agents....ie, salt & baking powder
• 
  butter gives the biscuit more flavor but shortening will give you a lighter/fluffier biscuit. Its all about preference.
• 
  buttermilk gives the biscuit a distinctive "tang"....sometimes I prefer to use regular milk and they turn out just great either way