To me, it is so satifying to make baking powder biscuits. I don't use a recipe; I just go by the feel of the dough. The oven should be very hot and preheated before you put your biscuits in the oven. I bake mine in a cast iron skillet. I get my grease hot in the skillet and I put a teaspoon of butter in with the shortening. So when I put the cut biscuits in, I turn them over so the biscuits have the grease on the top. With the butter in the grease, it causes the biscuits to be brown on the top.
As a young bride, I had a lot of trouble making biscuits. They turned out hard as a rock, but I kept trying and I got it right. My problem was I didn't preheat the oven or turn it up high enough. You need to have biscuits in a hot oven, like 425 degrees. Another reason biscuits get hard is that you knead them too much. You want to work with a light and quick hand, and a hot oven.
See, with kneading yeast bread dough, you have to work slowly and put some muscle into it ... but not so with biscuits. Just knead the biscuits about 10 times and, even if the dough is lumpy, flatten it out with your hands and cut the dough into biscuits. Some ladies use a rolling pin to flatten biscuit dough out. I think that makes them tough, too. I just flatten my dough with my hands to about an inch thick, and then I just cut the biscuits out.
Also, make sure your milk or water is cold when you put it in the flour. Self rising flour works good for biscuits but you don't need it. I got some on sale and I have used this lately for my biscuits. It does make them higher and lighter. But if you are wanting to make biscuits and don't know how, it would be good for you to buy Bisquick and learn from the directions on the box. Then later, make your own flour mix.
The old time mothers made yeast bread a few times a week and then she made the baking powder biscuits for in between. Then, of course, she made pancakes, too, and muffins for breakfast.
My friend, Jillr, lived on a farm as a child, and there were five children. Her mother made a dessert every day. Like, she made a cake or cookies or pie each day for the supper meal. But back then, folks didn't go to the Quick Trip for a snack. You made all of the treats at home.
When I was a girl, we would often make popcorn and fudge for an evening snack. One time, Christiane Joy made popcorn balls to surprise us with when we got home from the grocery store. She couldn't find any syrup, so she used BlackStrap molasses, instead. Wow! Black Popcorn Balls!!! I am sure they got eaten, but they were a real creation.
Joy also made old fashioned taffy candy. She pulled it and everything. She was a wonder at making candy. She took her time with it, and candy does take a lot of patience.
But no matter what we made, someone ate it, no matter what. Even if the kids wouldn't eat it, the dog would. Well, actually, the dog ate things she wasn't supposed to. You had to watch her.
