Perfect biscuits every time

2 1/4 C Flour (approximately)
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 C Shortening
1 C Buttermilk (I use regular milk and add a bit of white vinegar to it)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Cut in shortening until it has the consistency of course cornmeal.

Stir in the buttermilk. Do not stir too much. You want to be careful not to overwork your dough.

Add a spoonful of shortening to your cast iron skillet and put the skillet in the oven. You want to get it really hot.

While your skillet is heating up, lightly dust the area you will be cutting the biscuits on with flour. Turn dough out onto this area and knead the dough about 3-4 times. Once again, you want to make sure you don't overwork the dough.

Press the dough out until it is about 1 in in thickness. Do not use a rolling pin, use your hands.

Cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter or a knife.

Place the biscuits in the heated skillet and turn them over. (it is important to turn them over after you have put them in the skillet).

Bake for 15 minutes.

Here are some other fun things I do when I bake biscuits:

Add a little bit of sugar to the dough and some blueberries. Cut the biscuits in the shape of a triangle. Your family will think you made scones.

Experiment with adding some cheese and diced jalepenos to the dough for some TexMex biscuits.

If you bake some of the refrigerated biscuits, make sure you use the skillet technique. This will improve them.

Other things you can add to your biscuit dough:
- Rasberries
- Chocolate Chips
- Currants
- Italian herbs
- Any type of chopped dried fruit

I also like to make chicken pot pie. Instead of making a crust, try baking biscuits on top of the filling. Makes a great casserole.