I and a few of my readers are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  We’re calling the endeavor “The Pioneer/Pirate Project.”  Feel free to join in any time and discuss your exploits in the comments with us.  The next assignment is at the bottom of this post.

My biggest fear at this point is that after posting this and last month’s Red Velvet debacle, that you all will deduce that I cannot cook.  I can cook.  Promise.  Or maybe my overuse of the crockpot has just deceived myself into thinking I can cook.  Hmmm…but I have had a difficult time with these two recipes, but I think, with this week’s recipe especially, that I’ve learned a bit, and that, my friends, is the whole point in this project.

I am always fascinated with ingredients, and how those ingredients work together to make the finished product.

I mean how in the world did someone, long ago, even come up with biscuits?   Things like that are a mystery to me.

So anyway…so far, so good.  My dry ingredients were all mixed together, and I add the shortening and the cold butter pieces.  And speaking of shortening, I bought a new container, and it was nice and white and creamy and free from any funky aftertaste.

Then I started cutting them together using my grandma’s old pastry cutter.  I love that her hands once held tightly to that handle, rubbing the red paint off over time, making biscuits and other yummy things.

I was starting to get the feeling at this point that there was too much flour because I couldn’t tell if the butter and shortening were getting evenly distributed, and the dough didn’t seem crumbly enough to me.  I went ahead anyhow and added the buttermilk and mixed.  When I turned the dough out onto the cutting board though, it seemed way too dry to me, so I added another splash of buttermilk.  That seemed to help.

I don’t have a biscuit cutter or even a round cookie cutter, so I used a dinner glass.

I think these must be a good bit bigger than a biscuit cutter because I only got 14 biscuits out of this recipe that claims it will make 18-24.  I also think, even though my dough was probably rolled out to about 1/2 an inch that this was too thin.  They didn’t rise well and got too brown, I think.

I baked them for the minimum time listed of  nine minutes.  Next time I would probably reduce that to between seven and eight and take a peek then.

Interestingly, they weren’t as bad as they looked.  The inside was flaky and flavorful, and my family actually enjoyed them.  Next time I just need to leave the dough thicker and invest in a biscuit cutter, and I think I’m in business.

Or I just need to open a can of Pillsbury.  Seriously…that is a good bit of work for something that can be done quite conveniently and cost-effectively by buying a roll of pre-made dough.  But still…I’m willing to give it another shot.  I am a Southern woman afterall.  I should know how to make biscuits.  But if I don’t ever figure it out, thankfully I only live about ten minutes from a Cracker Barrel restaurant.

I didn’t receive any photos from others this time.  If you just forgot, go ahead and send them.  It’s easy to add them in.  Did anyone else try these?  How did it go?  What did you think?

***Update***  One reader posted about her biscuits on her blog. Check out Angela’s experience….http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jasonangela93/768896/?#c1394168

Our next assignment is from the Dinner/Lunch section.  We’re going to make the Simple, Perfect Chili on pps. 82-83.  I already have a really good, stand-by chili recipe, so it will be interesting to compare.  And it really does look simple, so if I mess this one up, I’m turning in my apron.  You have until March 15 to make yourself a pot, and if you’re like us here in Tennessee, it is still plenty cold enough for some chili!  Have fun!