Maya Angelou's Buttermilk Biscuits

A few years ago, when my mom first asked me to make the bread side for Thanksgiving, I chose a biscuit recipe. I figured it would be quick and easy - just mix all the ingredients together and you don't have to wait for it to rise! Except it was a disaster: I was unfamiliar with how butter is supposed to be mixed into biscuit dough so, as I often do when I get frustrated, I had a bit of an emotional breakdown (Fortunately my mom was able to quickly run to the store and get some rolls).

I ended up getting a pastry cutter that year for Christmas (I had used knives, as often suggested for cutting in butter so that might've also been the problem?).

I have since discovered two things: 1) Thanks to Food Network, there's supposed to be dots of butter in biscuit dough as you cut it in (it'll all melt as the biscuits bake) and 2) yeast doughs are my strength. So for the last couple years I made yeast rolls for Thanksgiving. This year I decided to try biscuits again. A redemption of sorts. After searching through all my sources, I finally decided on the Buttermilk Biscuit recipe that People magazine posted shortly after Maya Angelou passed away in 2014 (apparently her cooking was as good as her writing and her heart).

Maya Angelou's Buttermilk Biscuits (source)

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 6 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup lard (butter is a good substitute)
• 2 cups buttermilk (2 cups milk + 2 tbsp lemon juice)
• All-purpose flour, if needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sift 4 cups of flour with salt, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal (not sure I did this right but I think I got close). Add buttermilk and stir until dough leaves side of bowl.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth. Roll out to ½-inch thickness, and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or water glass. (If using a glass, turn it upside down, dust rim in flour, then cut biscuits.)
4. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.

Not gonna lie - I was still a bit unsure about there being dots of butter in the dough as I cut the biscuits. Guess that's what I get for being a perfectionist? They still turned out well: got a text from my mom a few days later with a couple of them on her breakfast plate. Also, I don't know how, but I ended up with at least twice the 24 that People claimed it makes - and the cutter I used was bigger than 2 inches. As successful as this was, I think I might go back to yeast rolls next year.