Anna’s Biscuits

Here’s an old family recipe: it came from my mother’s best friend, an amazing Pennsylvania Dutch cook. What makes these unusual is the addition of egg to the batter.

You need:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons double-acting baking powder (such as Calumet)
4 generous tablespoons butter, margarine, or Crisco
1 egg
Milk to fill one cup

Time: About 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients—Anna used to sift them together, but I don’t bother with that.

Place the egg in a measuring cup and beat it with a fork or wire whip until it is well mixed. Then fill to the one-cup line with milk. Mix egg well with milk.

With a pastry mixer or two knives, cut the shortening into the flour until well mixed—that is, until it’s about the texture of coarse corn meal. Make a well in the center and add the liquid. Work together gently with a spoon. Do not knead! The secret to this recipe is to handle the dough as little as possible.

Drop the dough by large spoonsful onto a nonstick or greased baking pan. If you prefer, you can turn the dough out onto a floured board, gently roll it about 1/2 inch thick, and cut biscuits with a small floured glass or orange-juice can.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes at about 400 degrees.

At the ripe old age of 8, my son was selected as a “Chef of the West ” by Sunset Magazine, which published his variant of these biscuits. His version:

Drop a small spoonful of the dough onto a greased baking sheet. Flatten it out a bit. Place a small dab of jam or jelly in the center of this. Drop another spoonful of dough on top of it. Gently push the dough around the outside edge to seal the filling inside the biscuit. Bake as usual.