Cathead Biscuits

Don't worry, there aren't any actual cat's heads involved. The origins of the name are lost to time, but the conventional wisdom seems to be that they're called that because they're about the size of a cat's head. An old Appalachian favorite. Less fuss than rolled and cut biscuits. White Lily flour is preferred.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄4 cups flour
• 1⁄3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 5  tablespoons shortening (lard, butter or crisco)
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1⁄8 cup  melted butter, for tops of biscuits (optional)

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients and sift into mixing bowl, then cut in lard or crisco until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
2. Stir in buttermilk until it is incorporated with the flour mixture. The dough will be kind of wet and very sticky.
3. Flour your hands and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough in the flour just enough to make it handleable - you don't want it to stick to your hands too much, but don't work in too much extra flour either or the biscuits will be heavy and taste of raw flour.
4. For each biscuit, pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a large egg or a small lemon and pat out in the ungreased pan with your hands. You don't want it to be really flat, just pat it down a bit so it's relatively biscuit-shaped and about 1 inch high.
5. Bake at 475 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Keep your eye on them while they're in the oven so they don't burn.
6. Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter, if desired.