Mom's Homemade Biscuits (Crisco Biscuits) (2024)

Mom’s Homemade Biscuits are the best I’ve ever tasted. She always uses White Lily Flour and Crisco. They have a slight crunch on the outside and are tender on the inside.

My mom isfamous well known for her homemade biscuits. She should be. She’s been making them since she was 8 years old – for 76 years!

That’s right. She grew up on a big farm – working in her dad’s cotton fields and in her mom’s kitchen. She learned to make biscuits at the side of her mom (my namesake).

Her biscuits are really homemade or from scratch as they used to say. Growing up, she made them in their special wooden biscuit bowl that her mom had promised would be hers someday.

We don’t know what happened to that old biscuit bowl, but Grandma’s biscuit-making skills live on through my mom and my daughter (hey, it’s OK to skip a generation, right?). And that’s all that matters!

Mom’s Homemade Biscuits Are Made From Scratch

Mom makes her biscuits entirely by hand – no rolling pin, no biscuit cutter, nothing but her hands. She’s always used White Lily self-rising flour and Crisco. Mom’s biscuits are always the exact same size. Every single one of them has the ridges on top from her perfect three-finger pat.

My daughter has mom’s biscuits down pat. She has become an expert.

I’ve tried and tried to duplicate her biscuits. Well, I haven’t tried too often because the results have always been dismal at best and caused me to throw in the towel, stomp it and shake my fist at it.

To me, the perfect biscuit is not too thick, but crusty and flaky on the outside and tender in the middle. It’s the perfect vehicle for my mom’s homemade jams and jellies. My mouth is watering just thinking about mom’s biscuits with homemade blackberry jam.

I finally realized that one of my many problems with biscuit making was the fact that I don’t like to do it by hand. I don’t like the squishy feel of combining that shortening and flour with my fingers.

So, I adjusted my biscuit making to include my pastry blender, a fork, and a biscuit cutter and now they are pretty decent. Not my mom’s, mind you. But decent.

Mom’s 81 Year-Old-Hands Making Biscuits

Once, when I was visiting my mom, I purposely made sure I had my camera to capture each step of my mom’s process. Mom’s great-grandkids were with me, so she made biscuits for breakfast every single morning. The lighting was not good at all, but that’s okay too.

My mom, of course, doesn’t really have a recipe, but she measured everything that morning so I could share it all on my blog. My mom is the best! And I’m so excited to present mom’s homemade biscuits. Remember: Practice makes perfect!

Mom’s Homemade Biscuits AKA Crisco Biscuits

Preheat oven to 500º F and grease a baking pan.

Place flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and mix in shortening with your fingers or a pastry blender until blended well. If using a pastry blender, mix until the mixture resembles small peas.

Add milk, a little at a time, and mix until just blended, kneading a few times. (Don’t overwork the dough or the biscuits will be tough). You want a soft dough and all of the flour will not be used.

Wash hands with cold water, dry, and sprinkle hands with flour. According to mom, cold water keeps the dough from sticking to her fingers.

Pinch off dough, roll, and place on a baking pan.

Pat with three fingers to get that perfect indention.

Bake at 500º F. for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.

How to Make Self Rising Flour

Self-Rising flour is all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt already added. To make your own, add 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a cup of all-purpose flour. For this recipe, you will need two cups of flour.

How to Store Leftover Biscuits

Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature. If I have any leftovers, I like to slice the biscuits and toast them in a skillet for breakfast the next morning. I add a little butter and toast them on medium heat.

Update: My mom passed away unexpectedly in 2016. I’m so glad I took these photos of her making biscuits. She wouldn’t let me get her face because she didn’t have on makeup – typical southern woman. I’ll cherish these photos always.

I’ve Been Practicing Making Mom’s Biscuits

I decided to throw caution to the wind and I’m trying to duplicate mom’s biscuits. The photo below is of the biscuits I made. They aren’t quite as thin as mom’s and not quite as good but you know how that goes. Practice makes perfect!

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Alli

Southern, Morning Person, Jesus Girl, Frugal Party Planner, Writer/Blogger, Mom, Nana, Wife, Beach Bum Wannabe - Let's Have a Party!