Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, measure this by very lightly spooning the flour into the cup. Do not pack.
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter
2/3-3/4 cup milk

Spoon Mage Option:

To make buttermilk biscuits change the baking powder to 2 t and add about ½ t of baking soda, then swap out the milk with buttermilk for incredibly moist buttermilk biscuits.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Set out the butter to come to room temperature and soften a little. Do not soften in a microwave or on the stove.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.

Then use a fork and “cut” in the butter – use a cutting motion and keep on incorporating the shortening into the flour. This is the most important part of making flaky traditional biscuits. Just keep on cutting in the butter until the flour resembles an evenly sized coarse meal.

Add the milk – use the smaller amount at first and stir a few times. Add more if it looks like there is not enough to get the dough lightly damp.

To keep the biscuits tender, do not over-stir or make the dough soggy. It should be only just wet enough to knead. If you mess up the first few times, don’t fuss it. They will still taste good.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very gently about 10-12 times only just until it is no longer sticky. Again, over-kneading can make the biscuit tough, so count the kneads.

Pat the dough out gently with your fingers until it is reasonably even and about 1/2 inch thick.

Use a drinking glass or a biscuit cutter and cut out the circles as close as possible. Place each on a baking sheet leaving space between, about half an inch. This helps them to get crispy brown instead of soft. No need to grease the pan. If it is an old pan, you may want to give it a light spritz with non-stick spray.

Finally gather the remaining bits and pieces. Gently press them together into a sort-of kind-of biscuit shape and add it to the sheet. This is the special biscuit that the baker gets to eat “just to make sure” they are good enough for everyone else.

Bake about 8-12 minutes or until they are a pretty light brown.

Enjoy these mindfully and quickly with dinner or a bit of jam at breakfast!