Tea Biscuits

I love biscuits! I especially love biscuits with butter, buttermilk, cheese and garlic. My mouth is watering as I type. I'm not kidding. You could make these with margarine but really you should skip the one molecule from plastic and go with the real stuff. I like these with or without cheese and garlic. If you want them plain, also skip the final step of pouring the butter over before they're done baking. What you could do instead, is brush the tops with milk before putting them in the oven. The last time I made these, I skipped the cheddar and in the last five minutes, mixed up some melted butter, garlic and Parmesan and poured over the top. I found it a little salty, so you could probably cut back on the salt in the recipe if you wish. One more thing: when I make the cheese biscuit version, I skip the sugar. You won't miss it.

2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder, optional
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup grated cheddar, optional
1 cup cold milk or buttermilk

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp parsley flakes

• Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and garlic powder.
• Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly, or mix in a food processor for a few seconds.
• Add cheese.
• Add milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Sometimes I find the dough is too wet, even though I measure the same way each time, so I have added more flour and no disaster ensued. Try not to over-mix the dough, which could result in tough biscuits.
• Shape into biscuits and arrange in a greased baking dish. You will find the dough too sticky to roll and cut out the biscuits. Never mind, because I find that method a complete waste of time and energy.
• Bake at 375° anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits.
• Just before they are finished baking, mix together the butter, garlic powder and parsley and pour over the biscuits. Return biscuits to the oven for about 5 minutes.
• Serve warm!