In my humble opinion, a homemade biscuit comes as near to being the Swiss Army Knife of foods as any food. They adapt easily and well to almost any menu or combination, egg and cheese biscuit, sausage and egg biscuit, or any other breakfast combination. Biscuits adapt easily as a topping or crust for casseroles, pies, or almost any oven-baked dish.
Jimmy Dean, a few decades ago, made famous the phrase, Pass the biscuits, Please! a funny country song with the underlying theme “I just can’t eat without bread.” In years past, when most meals were cooked at home, made-from-scratch biscuits served as the basic bread. Soon after Paige and I married, we sat down for an enticing meal. I looked at our table and said, “Oh, sweetheart! You made tea cakes!” She burst into tears and said, “No. They are biscuits.” They were as flat as a sheet of copy paper! Although Paige was a good cook, she had never made biscuits before.
Growing up in Deepstep, I was surrounded by relatives. Our farms joined borders or were close together, with most parcels having been part of original land grants centuries before. Therefore, it was customary to visit and eat with our numerous relatives. One Sunday after church, we visited Aunt Ada, Grandaddy’s sister. The large table was filled with luscious food, and the room was crowded with relatives. After eating, the young cousins played well into the afternoon. Tired and hungry, again, we went back to the kitchen. Aunt Ada gave each of us a “bore hole biscuit.” They were large, fluffy, and delicious biscuits. She said, “Here. Hold this biscuit. Turn it on its side and poke your finger into the top side. We did, and she poured sorghum syrup in, filling the hole. It was a wonderful, hand-held afternoon treat!
Southern Living wrote this about biscuits — If there’s one thing Grammy’s known for, it’s cooking with lots of love—and sweetness, of course. These easy biscuits (which call for honey in the dough) are sure to please any day of the week, especially since they don’t require much hands-on time.
One segment of a Time Management Seminar I used to teach included an example of how Paige’s grandmother made biscuits. Her description of Grandma Lindsay’s biscuit making was so metered that every batch — which she made at least twice a day — turned out with exacting precision and mouth-watering taste. We never forget things like that!
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2025
There is nothing better than a fresh, hot biscuit ! You made my mouth water just thinking about it.
Willis, what you are saying leave my mouth watering, plus the photo of the biscuit and jam.
But, I’m afraid the biscuit baking was ended with my mother.
I tried making them for my dad one time, but I took a shortcut and made “drop biscuits”. My dad took one look at them and said, “What are those?”
Pillsbury seems to be my “go to” biscuits.
And now I need a biscuit with some fig preserves!
I like the idea of the “bore hole” biscuit