Mister’s family and I were up north in the lovely town of Swan River this weekend. Though the reason for our being there wasn’t a very happy one, it was a good couple of days because I got to see some of the places in Mister’s childhood that were pretty special in his upbringing. We went to his grandparents farm, the lake where he learned how to fish, and I got to meet some of his extended family members. Because of his having grown up out of province, and the trip to Swan being quite a drive, most of his childhood haunts are far away.  It was nice to take a walk down memory lane and learn about the things, people and places that have affected his growth into the man he is today.

These biscuits are his dad’s recipe (Hi Tom!) and Mister and his brothers ate them often while growing up. Normally he makes them round, as we did too, but I couldn’t resist a couple of hippopotamus shaped ones as well. A hippo shaped biscuit is just too irresistable a thought.

Tom’s Best Biscuits

(from Company’s Coming Muffins & More 1983, Best Cheese Biscuits)

Ingredients

2 Cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 Cup grated cheddar cheese

1/3 Cup cooking oil

3/4 Cup milk

Directions
  • Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl.
  • Add the grated cheese, stirring to coat.
  • Add cooking oil and milk, stirring to form a soft dough.
  • Turn dough out onto a board and knead gently 8-10 times. Note from Tom: Do not over-knead!
  • Pat dough out to approximately one inch thick.
  • Cut out your biscuits using a biscuit cutter, glass, or cookie cutter. Hurray for hippopotamus!
  • Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, at least one inch apart to attain crisp sides.
  • Bake in a 425° F oven until nicely browned (~15 minutes).

These biscuits are good with pretty much any spread I’m told, but we ate them with butter and honey.