Aunt Elsa’s Buttermilk Biscuits

Name: Aunt Elsa’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Yield: makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients: 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling; 3 tablespoons baking powder; 1 heaping tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon table salt; 1 cup very cold shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 2 cups buttermilk, plus more as needed; Butter, for serving (optional); Honey, for serving (optional)

December 9, 2011

Aunt Elsa always had a huge container of biscuit mix in her freezer, so whenever she needed biscuits she would scoop some out, add water or buttermilk, and have a batch baking in just a few minutes. When I was a kid, it seemed like magic. I was an adult when she brought me my first container of mix and I realized that this magic powder was in fact her own version of instant biscuit mix! Sometimes I mix up 3 or 4 times the recipe and store it in the freezer so I, too, can make magic biscuits. Tender and flaky, they are best straight out of the oven. The baked biscuits don’t store well, but I’ve rarely had any leftovers!

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