KFC and All Fried Chicken

First of all, you don’t need to impress his mother. Make some of YOUR signature dishes…things that you do well and enjoy. Have her try something different. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it! In the meantime, I will star your question so you can get some biscuit tips.

Go to foodnetwork.com and look at Paula Dean’s recipe for biscuits and Alton Brown’s recipe. They both are southern in their approach to biscuits. I’ve made AB’s and they turned out great.

Good Luck

Biscuit Baking Tips

Light, fluffy buttermilk or quick biscuits take some practice, but you can do it! There are a few secrets you need to know before you tackle this recipe.
Make sure the recipe you are using is a good one. The best proportion of flour to fat is 1/2 cup of fat for every 2 cups of flour. More fat will make softer biscuits - not a big problem; too little fat, however, will result in dry and heavy biscuits.
The type of flour you use is important. Don’t use bread flour unless the recipe calls for it (see Flaky Biscuits), and avoid whole wheat and other whole grain flours. They will make the biscuits tough and heavy. We’re going for lightness here.
The best combination is all-purpose flour (bleached or unbleached doesn’t make too much difference, but I still prefer bleached for the lightest result) and cake flour. Cake flour is a soft flour that has less gluten protein. You can find it right next to the other flours in the grocery store. If you can’t find cake flour, you can ‘make your own’ by spooning 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch into the bottom of a measuring cup, then lightly spooning in all purpose flour to fill the cup. Level it off, then sift using a sieve or a metal sifter. I find that self-rising flour is too salty, and I prefer being able to control the amount and type of leavening I use.
For baking powder, I use Rumford or Clabber Girl baking powders, because they contain calcium phosphate instead of sodium aluminum sulfate in other products which tastes bitter.
When the recipe calls for baking powder and baking soda, make sure to use both! Baking powder provides the most reliable leavening, and baking soda helps neutralize acid ingredients in the biscuits for the best flavor. Don’t worry too much about the chemistry in baking - the products do the work by themselves. I just feel that you will be more confident if you understand a bit about chemical reactions in baking and cooking.
Fat is essential for the lightest and fluffiest biscuits! Butter adds more flavor, but shortening makes the biscuits more tender because it doesn’t contain water or milk solids. And the fat must be cold. Fat forms small pockets throughout the biscuit dough, and as the fat melts in the oven, the CO2 from the leavening agent takes its place so the biscuits rise. If the fat melts or softens before the biscuits bake, the biscuits will be hard and flat because there’s no place for the CO2 to go except out of the biscuits!
Don’t work in a hot kitchen. If the dough seems to be getting too soft or warm, place it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. I like to make sure my hands are cool too, by holding them under the cold water faucet for a few minutes during the baking process. Dry your hands and keep going.
Since the dough is soft and the biscuits delicate, place them about 1″ apart on baking sheets. If they are too far apart, the biscuits will spread too much. If they are too close together, the biscuits in the center won’t bake through when the end biscuits are done.
Finally, a light touch is essential! Handle the dough and the biscuits as little as possible. You don’t want gluten to develop and you want the fat to stay cold until the biscuits bake, so hands off! Think of handling clouds or other very delicate objects during this whole process.

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Notice the different ingredients and proportions in this recipe. The bread flour is necessary because for flaky layers, you need more gluten, or protein, in the biscuits. Some shortening is used for more tender biscuits; since these biscuits are handled more, they need a different fat combination to make sure they aren’t tough.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:
1-2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup bread flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
2 Tbsp. solid vegetable shortening, chilled
3/4 cup cold milk
2-3 Tbsp. butter, melted
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.
In large bowl, combine flours, baking powder and salt and mix well. Add butter and with your fingertips, 2 knives, or a pastry blender, cut in the COLD butter and shortening until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the cold milk and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gather the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured work surface.

Roll the dough into a 6″ by 10″ rectangle. Fold the short ends of the dough in so they meet in the center, then fold the dough in half again to form four layers. Roll the dough into an 8″ square and cut into 9 biscuits. (This prevents scraps of dough and re-rolling, which makes tough biscuits.) If you prefer round biscuits, cut with a 2″ biscuit cutter, flouring the cutter in between cuts. Make sure that you press straight down with the biscuit cutter so your biscuits will have straight sides.

Place biscuits 1-1/2″ apart on an ungreased cookie sheet a

I haven’t tried this before, but i think that you’re supposed to put a LOT of butter on top, all around the sides just before you put it in the oven.

I find biscuits to easy to make. They do take a little time but they are easy. Make sure you follow the instructions well and you should be okay. I use a Betty Crocker Cookbook that is over 30 years old if I need to recall something. Maybe see if they have a site. You can also make drop biscuits which are faster.

KFC Buttermilk Biscuits:
1/2 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Egg beaten
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/4 Cup Club soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
5 Cup Bisquick biscuit mix

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine all of the ingredients. Knead the dough by hand until smooth. Flour your hands. Pat the dough flat to 3/4-inch thick on waxed paper. Cut out biscuits. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 18 biscuits.

You’ve got a lot of great, detailed information already about how to make your biscuits better. I would also recommend investing a few dollars in an oven thermometer. Most home ovens (even new ones) are off 25 to 50 degrees and that can really mess up your baking.

My suggestions on this front would be to make something you are comfortable with and then flatter the mom by telling her how much her son loves her biscuits and ask her if she would mind giving you a lesson. Some bonding time over a mixing bowl is a great way to get her talking about her family and make you both feel like you are a part of that family. Best of luck.

!. Do not over mix or knead, just bring the dough together and let it rest for 10 minutes,

2. Buttermilk and lard are the best, but most use shortening, I like a combo of the 2 fats.

3. Do not bake to hot (350 d F) and this is one thing to crowd the pan with, brush with milk or melted butter before and after baking.

4. The key is to serve them with in 10 minutes of baking them

I would also check you baking powder, sometime it can go flat, assemble the ingredients and set the oven, so it is a smooth process to make them start to finish.

If you can’t find the right recipe, you might want to try Mary B’s biscuits. They’re in the frozen bread/roll section of most grocery stores. They are a family favorite. You could fix these delicious biscuits along with the rest of your meal then ask your BF’s mom for her advice for making good biscuits. She might be flattered. She also might think Mary B’s are better than hers!