Biscuits

I have always loved biscuits, and I believe it may be a genetic trait. My present method is simple:
3 cups Bisquik
1 cup milk
Mix until soft dough forms. Knead eight turns. Roll out about 3/4" think, cut with a biscuit cutter and bake ten minutes at 450 degrees.

My great grandmother Estella Lucinda Randall (Johnson) probably had to put a bit more work into it. I ran into a description in an old book recounting memories of pioneer women from Iowa about 1890:
Flour was always kept in a large tin with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to accomodate the mixing pan. Biscuits were usually made in a blue or gray granite washpan, never used for anything but making biscuits.
Put 3 pints flour in mixing pan. Make a "well" in the center. Add 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well.
Mix in a scoop of lard about the size of a pullet's egg.
Make another "well" and add 1 cup sweet milk. Mix well until soft dough is formed.
Roll enough dough in your hand for a biscuit. Pat flat, and bake in a quick oven or on a greased pan until firm and brown. May also be fried in hot grease.
If baking powder is unavailable, mix 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1 pint sour milk for the liquid and leavening.