In my not-so-humble opinion, everyone should know how to make biscuits from scratch. Mostly, I believe that because it's so stinkin' easy that anyone can do it. But I also just adore biscuits and I'm always trying to spread the love. So, there you go.

My biscuit recipe is so easy that I can usually mix the batter in less time than it takes my oven to preheat. It can be adapted to be sweet or savory, or just left as "plain ol' biscuits" which is the favorite in our house. A couple of our plain ol' biscuits are shown here on the right slathered with blackberry preserves and, that's right, a big ol' pile of grits. We're from the South, ok?

The best reason to keeping the batter plain is that biscuits freeze beautifully. You can bake up a whole batch and save your leftover biscuits for other meals. My tips? Defrost a frozen biscuit in the microwave and turn it into: a quick breakfast sandwich, a dinnertime soup-soaker-upper, or low-guilt dessert when smeared with melted dark chocolate and drizzled with pureed berries!

Basic Biscuit Batter
Yield: 14-15 biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter-flavored shortening (Did you know it could be accidentally vegan?)
1 cup non-dairy milk (plain/unsweetened soy or almond milk are best)

Preheat oven to 450°F  and oil a baking sheet. I use olive oil spray and think you should too.

In a medium bowl, stir dry ingredients thoroughly with a fork. Cut in shortening until the mix is consistently crumbly. Add milk and stir with fork until all of the flour is wet.

Drop batter onto baking sheet. How much? You can make biscuits in almost size, but I'd go with something between 2 Tbsp and 1/4 cup, otherwise they may not bake properly.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown and delicious!

Some variations:
If you don't want to make plain ol' biscuits, try some of these alternatives.

For a sweet biscuit, add 1 Tbsp sugar when you mix in the shortening.
For a savory biscuit, add 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp dried sage and 1/4 tsp dried rosemary to the dry ingredients.
For a biscuit with a kick, add a pinch or more of cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients and a few drops of Liquid Smoke when you add the milk.