Homemade Biscuit Mix w/multiple uses and variations

I am going to make a huge assumption here. I am willing to take a risk in saying that most of the homemakers across America have made or make biscuits, muffins, pancakes, or waffles. These standard staple bread items of the average house are great for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

How do we go about making these? Well, a good majority will use a mix that was purchased from the grocer where all one does is add water or milk, stir and bake. This is easy, but can be expensive. Or we have individual recipes for each item and sometimes multiple recipes for each item.

What if I told you there was a recipe that you could make a mix at home that would work for all 4 of the items; biscuits, muffins, pancakes, and waffles.  Would you be interested? I was when I came across it in a 1958 cookbook set that I recently acquired; Encyclopedia of Cooking Volume 2 authored by Mary Margaret McBride.


Because I don't make these items everyday, I cut the recipe in half. This gives me enough mix to make on average 4 batches of something. I can keep the mix fresh with making less. Oh, and it stores well in the refrigerator for a couple of months.

There recipe is as follows:

Homemade Biscuit Mix

8 cups sifted enriched all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons baking powder

1 cup shortening

1. Mix and sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl.

2. Have shortening at room temperature. Cut it into flour mixture with pastry blender or fork until mixture is like coarse corn meal.
3. Store in a closely covered container.
4. Mix will keep 3 to 4 weeks in a cool cupboard and much longer in a refrigerator.
5. Rich Homemade Biscuits: Sift in with the flour 1 cup dried/powdered skim milk.

To make 6 Biscuits: Measure 1 cup biscuit mix into a bowl. Stir in 1/4 to 1/3 cup milk. Using a fork until mixture cleans side of bowl and rounds up into a ball. Turn out on lightly floured board. Knead gently 1/2 minutes. Roll or pat out dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased baking sheet in very hot oven (4750 degree F) 12 to 15 minutes.

To make 6 Muffins: Measure 1 cup biscuit mix into a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 well beaten egg, and about 1/2 cup milk. Stirring only until just moistened. Do not beat. Drop batter gently by spoonfuls into greased muffin pans, filling 2/3 full. Bake in hot oven (425 degree F) 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

To make 6 Pancakes: Measure 1 cup biscuit mix. Beat 1 egg well; combine with 1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons flour. Add to mix and stir only to dampen flour. Then add more milk to make batter just thin enough to pour. Pour by spoonfuls onto hot, lightly greased or ungreased griddle. Bake until bubbles on top burst. Turn and bake on other side.

To make 6 Waffles: Measure 2 cups mix; add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 well beaten egg, and 1 1/2 cups milk. Beat liquid ingredients into biscuit mix. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into waffle iron. Bake 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown.

There you have it. Simple. Inexpensive. Handy. Homemade. No Preservatives.

A rough estimate at what it would cost to make a cull batch of this mix will cost you around $.85 to $1.50 (depending on if you buy generic or name brand). Whoa! What a savings compared to the store bought stuff at $4 plus dollars a box.

So if you are looking for a way to cut back on you grocery bill, I would recommend giving this a try

***Don't forget to make your guess of how many jars of home-canned goodness we have on hand. Go to yesterday evenings post (Organizing Larder) and leave your guess in the comments.***

Happy Savings!