Ingredients

Instructions

Heat oven to 500°F. Place flour in a medium mixing bowl; add shortening. With a pastry blender or a fork, cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Tip: Mixing by hand tends to soften the shortening, making a sticky, difficult to handle dough. Blending the fat completely with the flour or using a liquid shortening produces a mealy biscuit rather than a flaky, tender one.

Gently push the flour mixture to the edges of the bowl, making a well in the center. Blend in milk with a fork until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Do not overmix. Tip: Too much milk makes the dough too sticky to handle, not enough dough makes biscuits dry.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently 10 to 12 strokes. Tip: A short period of kneading develops biscuit structure and evenly distributes the moisture to make the biscuits more flakey.

Roll or pat the dough to slightly more than a ½-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2- or 2 ½ -inch biscuit cutter, dipping the cutter in flour between cuts. Tip: Press the cutter straight down to get straight-sided, evenly shaped biscuits. Be especially careful not to twist the cutter or flatten the cut edges.

Transfer cut biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet. For crusty-sided biscuits, place about 1-inch apart. For soft-sided biscuits, place biscuits with sides just touching. (If sides touch, bake biscuits 8 minutes; bake to 7 minutes if sides don”t touch.) Reroll scraps of dough and cut into biscuit shapes. Bake in a 500°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden.

Note: Makes eight 2 ½-inch biscuits or twelve 2-inch biscuits.