How in the world did someone come up with
a name like that for biscuits?
Whenever I make them, I put on an apron and wash my hands because I mix the batter with my fingers. I imagine I’m Auntie Shen with a woodstove in my kitchen, a spring house out back and a gorgeous mountain view that fills my heart.
You’ll need:
- a bowl to mix your ingredients
- a pie pan or cake pan to bake them in
- a measuring cup and measuring spoons
- and two hands – one to hold the bowl and the other to mix.
Ingredients:
Note: White Lily Flour is what I decided upon after reading how this flour makes the lightest, fluffiest biscuits ever. I ordered it on-line and had it shipped up from the southern states. It landed on my Vermont porch in no time at all. I also use Earth Balance shortening because, in my opinion, it is the healthiest choice.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
- 1 cup organic plain whole-milk yogurt
- 4 1/2 tablespoons of shortening
Measure flour spoonful by spoonful, lifting it out of the flour bag and sprinkling it into a measuring cup in a gentle shaking motion. Level the flour with a knife. Add the other dry ingredients, stir and make a well in the center.
Drop the yogurt into the well and then the shortening.
Now, hold the bowl in the crook of your arm. With the hand of your other arm, reach in and start mixing. Gooey, I know. Keep mixing. You can feel the shortening in your fingers. Squish it up and mix it with the flour in a twisting motion. It feels funny but get into it and you’ll discover your own rhythm. Mix only until the sides of the bowl look clean.
Pinch out a hunk of that dough (what fits in the palm of your hand) and roll it into a ball. Take that ball and place it in the pan. There is no need to grease the pan. Place each ball of dough so they touch. This causes them to rise up instead of out and it gives them those cute little peaks that look like a kitten’s ears.
Hmmm … peaks that look like kitten ears, biscuits big as a cat’s head …
Now you know how they got the name – Cat-Head Biscuits.
