Friday, December 21, 2007

Baking Powder Biscuits (Recipe)

I credit my maternal grandmother for my baking prowess ... the pyrex baking dish on the counter seldom lacked biscuits, or buns while we were growing up.
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I remember trading a metal tin with her. She would fill it with her yummy ginger snaps and send it home with me, and on my next visit I would (with mom's help) fill it with chocolate chip cookies and leave it behind. I can't remember how long we traded it back and forth, nor why we stopped ... but I can remember one day getting something for Grandma out of the cupboard and finding the tin ... I reached out and just touched it as the memories flooded back ... And, Yes, I even had to wipe away a tear ...
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But the all time favourite for me was Grandma's Christmas FUDGE !!! I think it remains a much missed highlight for most of us grandkids ... Last year's heaping plate of Christmas Fudge prepared by one of the cousins for the Clan Xmas gathering was pretty damned close to Grandma's original. Mind you, I think we will always hold her's higher than it was simply from nostalgia ... BUT - it was a treat to enjoy the fudge in the presence of my cousins many of whom I hadn't seen in years ... and with whom I hadn't spent a Christmas in almost15 years !!! In such a setting, even a bag of cheezies would border on the gourmet!!
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I have many memories of Grandma and her baking and cooking ... lessons that have been indelibly etched within me, and that have made be the baker and chef that I am today ... I remember learning her ginger snap recipe after asking her for it one day.
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Grandma said - "Oh, it's a handful of this, and a dash of that. I just make it up as I go along."
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One afternoon we "measured" her handfuls of this and dashes of that, and wrote it down.
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Some of my most prized possessions are the slips of paper that have various recipes scrawled on them in Grandma's handwriting. They are true family heirlooms that will be passed on to my children.
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Her Christmas Fudge, her baking powder biscuits, her bread and buns and of course her ginger snaps are all culinary delights that remain favourites in my memories, and they are things I struggle valiantly to emulate in my cooking and baking ...
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Biscuits are one of my specialties ... I learned the "touch" from Grandma's hand, and I learned some tricks of the trade along the way. The handful of this and a dash of that has never failed me and won me the Blue Ribbon at the Fall Fair in Bella Coola back in the day.
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A plate of fresh baked biscuits has never been poorly received anywhere ...
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So, in reply to a couple of requests to my recipe I offer here a recipe from an old cookbook that once was published by the Vancouver Sun. It is a recipe that is pretty close to the one I use and works well ...
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2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar (optional) * I am generous with sugar (Grandma's secret!!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup of milk (zapped in the microwave briefly to warm it up helps)
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Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (the smoother the better)
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Add milk all at once, stirring only until dough follows fork around bowl. (having the milk at hand is helpful in case the mix is too dry - you don't want it too wet though!)
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Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead for 1/2 minute. (this is where the "touch" comes in to play - you have to learn to know when the dough feels "right")
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Pat or roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter or drinking glass.
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Bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a very hot oven - 450 F for 10 - 12 minutes.
(in the picture above I added shredded cheese just before adding the milk - I threw in a healthy handful of shredded cheese (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) and kneaded it in. I've also made raisin biscuits by increasing the sugar and throwing in a cup of raisins that I had soaked in warm water for a few minutes. I've also thrown in dried herbs and spices at times too ... It's all about playing !! Experimenting and having FUN)
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Enjoy !!
Happy Baking !!

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