@nemosmom
Pie crust:
3 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Cut in 1 cup shortening (I use Crisco) using a pastry cutter or fork until pea sized balls form.
Add COLD water a couple tablespoons at a time and toss mixture until a ball starts to form. Don’t get it too wet or over-mix (makes crust tough). I’ll often start kneading the ball when there is still dry flour around the ball. Knead just enough to get everything formed together.
Divide pastry into 4-6 (depending on size of pie pans used) and form into thick discs 1-2 inches high, 4-5 inches across. If you are making a 1 or two crust pie, freeze the other pastry discs for use another time. Wrap in wax paper, then pop in a ziplock baggie or wrap in tin foil.
Roll dough flat and quite thin with a rolling pin into a circle about 1 inch bigger than your pie plate. Fold pastry gently I half, then in quarters. Place in pie plate and unfold. Most filled pies (fruit, meat) bake at 425deg for 45-60 min.
Baking powder bisquits:
2 cups flour
1 tblsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening (half butter/half Crisco or all butter)
3/4 milk (I sometimes use 10% coffee cream)
Put first 4 ingredients into a bowl. Cut shortening into dry ingredients. Add milk until dough leaves side of bowl (will be soft and sticky). Empty dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly 10 times. Pat to 1/2 inch and cut with biscuit cutter or an inverted drinking glass.
Bake in 450deg oven 10-12 minutes. If using as a topping for fruit, bake in 350deg oven for 25-30 min.
You can also mix shredded cheese into dry mixture (1 cup) for cheese biscuits, or blueberries (1/3 cup) during kneading phase for blueberry biscuits.
FWIW: the biscuit recipe is the first recipe the DS’s asked for when they were living on their own (uni) and the thing they brought to pot lucks! They are nice as a side for soups and stews.
