+Baking Powder Biscuits
from 1950 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Baking Powder Biscuits are the classic biscuit used for Strawberry Shortcake, Chicken and Biscuits, Breakfast Sandwiches, or to just eat with butter and jam. In the South, Biscuits and Gravy are popular as a breakfast dish. Biscuits made with cheese (see variations below) are a nice accompaniment for dinner.

For buttermilk biscuits and other variations, see below. Also see Tips for High-Rise Biscuits.

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons COLD shortening (for richer biscuits, use 6 tablespoons)
3/4 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together, then cut in shortening with a pastry blender until butter has been cut into small pieces. It is important that the butter be cold so when it is worked into the flour mixture it becomes small, flour-coated crumbs, not a smooth dough. These small pieces of butter give the biscuit its delicate and flaky texture similar to pie crust.

Add milk to make a soft dough. Only mix the dough until it comes together and all the flour has become moistened. Place on a lightly floured board and knead a few seconds to bring the dough together, using as little flour as possible on board. Don't work in a hot kitchen. If the dough seems to be getting too soft or warm, place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. A light touch is essential! Handle the dough and the biscuits as little as possible. You don't want gluten to develop and you want the fat to stay cold until the biscuits bake, so hands off!

Roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut with floured biscuit cutter.

This made a difference in the last biscuits I made: Take a tip from doughs that are laminated to create more layers: By rolling the dough out into a square and folding it into thirds in both directions, you create nine distinct layers (3 × 3). Roll the resultant package out into a square again and repeat the process, and you've got yourself a whopping 81 layers (9 × 3 × 3)!
- from . Kenji López-Alt at https://www.seriouseats.com/

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake in very hot oven (450 degrees) for 10 - 12 minutes. Place close together so they are touching for soft sides and an inch apart for crusty sides. They are done when the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean.

Makes 20 1 3/4" biscuits [Brain and I get about 6 - 8 larger biscuits, depending on how thick they are. Our biscuit cutter is 2 3/4" and we roll out the dough to about 3/4".]

Variations:

Buttermilk Biscuits - Use buttermilk in place of regular milk. Use only 2 tsp. baking powder and add 1/2 tsp. soda.
Cheese Biscuits - Add 1/2 cup grated American cheese to dry ingredients. Continue as above.
Cheddar Biscuits - Add 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper to dry ingredients. Continue as above.
Drop Biscuits - Increase milk to 1 cup and drop from a teaspoon onto a greased baking sheet. Bake as directed.