Buttermilk Biscuits

Making biscuits from scratch is much easier than most cooks realize. This recipe has been in my family for generations and is modified here to update it; for instance, the original used vegetable shortening but I prefer butter. Also, I rarely buy buttermilk because I don't have much use for it, so I usually use whole milk curdled with a little vinegar.

1 cup buttermilk OR 1 Tbsp vinegar, brought up to one cup with milk, allowed to sit for 5 minutes
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter

Mix together the four dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or other utensil. Add liquid and mix well until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured board and knead 10-15 times, then flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch thick using a rolling pin. Cut into round biscuits using an inverted wine glass or a ring mold. Place each biscuit onto a greased cookie sheet and brush each top with a little milk. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until tops are a bit browned.
The Southern thing to do is to eat these with butter and honey. My grandfather used to mix the two together to make a delicious butter-honey paste and put that on his biscuits. I usually make these for breakfast, but I remember having them often with honey as a dessert when I was little.