The Magic Biscuits.

You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.-Deuteronomy 11:19

My mother was one of the best biscuits makers. As far back as I could remember her buttermilk biscuits with and sometimes without yeast were a family treasure. She literally used them to persuade, calm, trick, negotiate, corral us together for family gatherings, talks, prayer, and even as a peace offering.

Waking up to the smell of her hot buttermilk biscuits was one of the greatest memories for us. Almost four years after her transition her biscuits are still a major topic of discussion from my oldest family member to the youngest that we’re fortunate to experience the magic as well as some friends, neighbors, and church members. My great-nieces and nephews were the last to experience her phenomenal biscuit-making skills. The Unfortunate thing is no one can reproduce them. Yes, we have tried many times to duplicate them and at one time I was close while she was living. Surprisingly, biscuits were one of the first successful baked goods I mastered at the age of 12. My brother Jeffery was the biscuit monster. I recall the days when he and I were the first to arrive home after school and work. We were always careful when it came to using the stove/oven. A pan of uncooked biscuits would be left for us to heat up to snack on until she arrived from work. Unfortunately, there were times when only 5 would fit in the pan. Because I was the youngest, my brother always felt he was supposed to get 3 and I was to receive 2. One day I wanted to protest the rationale and discovered he felt if I didn’t want the 2 he offered, he could take those back. Of course, I quickly retracted and waited until my mother came home and it was quickly resolved by ensuring 6 biscuits were left from that point on.

My fondest memory is one summer I was home for the weekend when I was in college. We had our carport screened in and all the grandkids who are now in their 40’s were visiting. She had the picnic table set up out on the carport and the sunbeams were shining through and the menu was biscuits, eggs, grits, and Roger Woods Sausage. While the last items were ok, they would be ok with just the biscuits and the pure cane syrup. Growing up in our little town, pure cane syrup was like water from the nearby flowing well, free and plentiful.

I recall seeing a picture we actually captured that day as a crisp summer morning and the hot biscuits were served as we gathered at that table. I ironically can remember the year because my niece who was born the year I graduated from high school was in the infamous bug suit and was at least 2 years or younger. She can be seen and the rest of the grandchildren totally concentrating on those hot buttermilk biscuits that their grandmother was serving to them right out of the oven. My mother was literally baking as many biscuits until they didn’t want anymore. The final count from our oldest nephew was 60 of the fluffiest buttermilk biscuits were baked that morning.

Here we are years later yearning for that taste and some of us attempting to come close to her recipe but still not succeeding with the Magic Biscuit Recipe.

However, I leave with you this video of the skills I obtained including my very own attempts to recreate her recipe. Not only did she leave with us the understanding of cooking brings the family together and her Sunday Dinners were guaranteed to be ready after church. With love, she instilled in me the joy of not just biscuit making but cooking for my family and it is a spiritual connection to your loved ones.

The music to this video was appropriately selected and it is called “Sundays”.