Family Recipe Friday - Mary's Homemade Biscuits

Mary was my ex-mother-in-law. Sadly, Mary passed away in 2002.

But I will always remember the delicious biscuits that awaited anyone who visited Mary's home!

I lived in Germany from 1979 -1981, and didn't return back to the States in the entire time for a visit. So, when we were preparing to return, I wrote to Mary and asked her to please be sure and make me some biscuits when I got there! I missed them so badly! I even told her I didn't care if they were cold!

When I arrived, Mary met me at the front door with a plate of cold biscuits! I grabbed one and was prepared to eat it... she laughed and told me it was a joke! She had brought me a plate of cold biscuits since I'd said I didn't care if they were cold! She then took me into the kitchen where she pulled a pan of just baked biscuits hot from her wood-fueled cookstove!

The closest I ever came to Mary's biscuits is the recipe below. I've made it thousands of times over the years. And while it's never quite the same, I've come pretty close! To date.... no one ever complains!

Mary's Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups Martha White self-rising flour

1/4 cup lard [I just can't bring myself to use lard, which is probably why I never get the same flavor as Mary's!]

3/4 cup cold whole milk

1/4 cup butter melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400-degrees farenheit.

In a medium mixing bowl, cut lard into flour with a pastry cutter. Mixture will be grainy and appear like a cornmeal consistency.

Make a well in the dough and pour the milk. Mix with your hands.

Place dough onto a well-floured pastry board or counter and knead well. But do not knead beyond the point where dough is smooth and elastic or it will make the biscuits tough and dense.

Roll out approximately 1/2-inch thick and place on cookie sheet.

Brush biscuits with melted butter and allow to sit for 10-minutes.

Place pan in oven on middle rack, and bake for approximately 10-minutes or until golden in color.

Serve immediately.

Makes 12.