Biscuits Supreme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center. Pour in the milk all at once. Stir just until dough clings together; NO MORE.

Knead gently on a lightly floured surface for 10-12 strokes. Roll or pat to about ½-inch thickness. Cut with a (about) 2½-inch biscuit cutter, dipping the cutter into flour before each cut.

Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degrees F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden.

Lots of cookbooks tell you to use two knives, or some such, to do the cutting-in of the first step. Forks work fine for me (I'm a klutz.)

All of the trick to making light, fluffy biscuits is in how you handle them: THE LESS, THE BETTER. You can make these as drop biscuits (skip the lack of handling.

Outside North America you might not know what shortening is. Use butter, margarine, copha or lard. Vegetable shortening really is better for this recipe, but don't forget lots of butter to put *on* them.... I make these for study breaks. They disappear at an exponential rate....

NOTES:

* Simple, fluffy biscuits — This originated in "The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook," which I consider basic equipment for genteel middle-class living. Here "biscuits" is the North American meaning of the word and not the Commonwealth meaning of the word. In England these would be called "scones." Yield: makes 10-12.

: Difficulty: easy. : Time: 10 minutes preparation, 10 minutes baking. : Precision: measure the ingredients.

: Jean Marie Diaz : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., USA

Your Biscuits Supreme is ready. Good luck!