Drop Biscuits – And How Your Mama Did It Just Right
This is a recipe that is always considered a treat at my house, met with the same zeal as a dessert even though it is just a bread. A variation on my Mama’s hoe cake, she often mixed up the same batter and made drop biscuits instead. When I first served hoe cake to my in laws, hot from the oven with generous helpings of homemade apple butter, they declared it a hit. They loved the crispy outer layer and soft as clouds biscuit inside. But the next day when I made them drop biscuits (the same recipe, prepared so that there is more of the crispy part), they assured me that the drop biscuits with apple butter were their new favorite.
Hoe cake recipes vary widely. A lot of people make it with corn meal or use more traditional methods of preparation (actually cooking it on a hoe). Every now and then a reader will respond to a recipe telling me it just isn’t like their mother’s. Sometimes they will go so far as to tell me I am doing something flat out wrong because the recipe varies in some way from how their Mama did it. It’s these comments that stand out the most to me because my heart just aches for the folks that say them. I understand there is a lot more to what they are saying than ingredients and preparation methods.
“It’s not like Mama’s” is not so much about missing the food as it is missing the person.
I feel the same way even though I am fortunate enough to still have my mother with me. She was the one who taught me how to cook and as a result, I cook just exactly like she does. Anyone could taste a dish made by Mama next to one of mine and not be able to tell a bit of difference. Still, my cooking to me just isn’t Mama’s.
I want to make one thing as clear as possible : How your Mama made it is the right way. No one will ever cook for you like your Mama did and I’m surely not here to try. But on the same token, Southern Plate is a singular website run by a singular person and as a result, when I bring you a recipe I’m going to bring it to you how My Mama made it, which is the only right way for me.
I know how much a Mama can mean to a person and I hope I can help bring back some of those memories from time to time, maybe by telling you a little of my childhood or my mother’s childhood that reminds you of your own in some way. I hope when this happens that it brings a smile to your face and most importantly, I hope when you make a recipe of one of yours or my loved ones, that it helps to bring a bit of their spirit into your kitchen again.
Your Mama will always be a better cook than you, me, Martha or Julia. There was never any competition.
At the end of this post in the comments, I’d really like for you to share any memories you’d like about your mamas and how they cooked for you. Tell me about your Mama’s heart, her sense of humor, lessons she taught, or about how good it made you feel when she wrapped her arms around you.
Most of all, tell me how your Mama did it just right.
For this, you’ll need: Self rising flour, vegetable shortening, and milk.
Isn’t it amazing how all of the best Southern recipes have the fewest and most simple of ingredients?
Just think about all of the food channels and fancy cookbooks touting “quick and easy” that have ingredient lists a mile long!
All we need to do is look to the old days when folks used what they had on hand.
If you’d like to know how to make your own self rising flour, just visit my Frequently Asked Questions page.
Now take your ugliest baking sheet,one with a bit of a lip around the edges,and pour some vegetable oil on it.
You just need enough to coat the bottom.
You know that really ugly baking sheet you have that you make sure you don’t use when company comes? That is the one we want for this. Mine is so old and ugly I covered it in foil so you wouldn’t see! Bless it’s little heart, its a workhorse of a pan though! I normally do not cover my pan in foil so don’t feel that you have to.
Place that baking pan in your oven while it preheats to get the oil good and hot.
Measure your flour into a bowl.
Add your shortening.
Cut your shortening into the flour by repeatedly pressing down with a fork and stirring it up a bit as you do so.
I’ve mentioned before that you can buy a fancy pastry cutter for this but I find a long tined fork works just as well and I don’t have one more thing to keep up with. Simple is better here at Bountiful.
It’ll look like this when you are done.
Now pour in your milk.
I used the very last bit of milk I had for these drop biscuits! Been so busy lately I haven’t had time to get groceries.
Stir it up until you have a batter that is just a little softer than regular biscuit batter.
It will be lumpy but that is perfectly fine so don’t go frettin’ over it.
Katy calls these “grumpy biscuits” because of how they look when baked.
She sure does love to eat them though!
Drop globs by large spoonful onto heated baking sheet.
The oil should be hot enough to sizzle a little bit when you add the batter.
Now tilt your pan a bit until some of the heated oil pools in the corner and spoon a bit of that oil over each biscuit.
This will get us nice and crunchy tops!
Here are our drop biscuits all ready to go.
These are pretty good sized ones and this recipe ended up making about eight of them.
If you make them a little smaller you could get a dozen.
Bake at 425 until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.
Serve warm with butter, jelly, or homemade apple butter! YUM!
Drop Biscuits
- 2 cups self rising flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Preheat oven to 425. Pour a thin layer of oil to cover the bottom of a large baking pan and place in oven to heat. Cut shortening into flour well. Pour milk in and stir until wet – add a little more milk if needed. Drop by large spoonfuls onto well heated pan and spoon a bit of hot oil over each one. Bake for ten to fifteen minutes or until browned.
Be sure to try the original recipe, too! Click here.
Happiness is like potato salad,
when shared with others – it becomes a picnic!
Submitted by Southern Plate reader, Kathi.
To submit your positive or motivational quote (or to read a whole heap more!), click here.
Would you like to get an email from me every time I post something new on Southern Plate? You can do this by subscribing!
Click here to subscribe. Please note: No one has or will ever have access to these emails but me.
Bountiful Basket information may be found here.
Now,~settles in and leans forward with interest~ tell me bout yer Mama! Can’t wait to read! As always, feel free to talk amongst yourselves as well. If you’d like to reply to someone else’s comment, just click “reply” beneath what they wrote.
Gratefully,
Christy 
Related posts:
- Perfect Pioneer Biscuits – AND A GIVEAWAY!! UPDATE: We have our Winners in the Pioneer Giveaway!...
- How To Make Buttermilk Biscuits *Please see letter to readers at bottom of this post...
- Mama Reed’s Vanilla Wafer Cake For information on how to print off my recipes and...
- Pork Chop Biscuits – Fast Food My Way With few exceptions, I don’t care for fast food....
- Chocolate Gravy This morning I was making biscuits when my daughter...
Thanks for sharing your recipe. You are right biscuits are a very personal thing, especially for southerner’s. My family’s recipe is kind of a cross between a rolled and a drop, you make it in your hand. http://southerngracegourmet.com/butter-palm-biscuits/ Its very very messy, but worth the effort for us!
All that handling the dough puts more love in it! Thanks for sharing!
Gratefully,
Christy
My mom’s biscuits were sort of a combination of Christy’s drop biscuits and Angelia’s butter-palm biscuits. She kept the self rising flour in a big plastic bowl with a lid. She sifted some of the flour then dropped in a blob of Crisco (she said “the size of an egg”, worked the Crisco into the flour then dug out a little hole in the bowl of flour to pour in buttermilk. She stirred it around with her hands “until it feels right.” For each biscuit she would put the dough in her fist and squeeze it a certain way so that a little dough ball popped out between her forefinger and thumb, then she’d roll that out in her palm like in Angelia’s recipe. As many times as I watched her and even asked for her secrets, I never could figure out how she could do it without using up all the flour in the bowl. When she was done, she would sift the remaining flour again and throw out any little little hard bits that wouldn’t go through the sifter. Watching those mysterious hand movements was like watching magic. No wonder I could never make her biscuits. I have to stick to drop biscuits. I CAN do that!
Nicely put Christy! I always say folks need to make southern cooking there own. No one way is ever the only way!
Amen, Mary!!!
~hugs you~
Still drinking tea courtesy of you!
My mom always made the best pies, cakes, and just about everything. Even though she was of Irish decent, she made GREAT Italian food. She made delicious pepper relish every summer for years when I was growing up — I’ve never tasted anything like it since. I miss my mom and her good cooking.
Sadly when she passed away, my sister got all her stuff, including her cookbooks and recipes…
Diane in PA
I never thought of using the oil to make a crispier drop biscuit. I’ll have to try that next time.
I know what you mean about Mama’s cooking. I love it when she comes for a visit and makes all of my favorites. But even if your cooking isn’t quite like my Mama’s, it is still pretty darn close!
Sending you hugs, Christy! have a great day!
It’s always a pleasure to see you, Heather! I know just what you mean. To this day I refuse to make myself a ham and cheese omelet or a coconut pie because those are things MAMA makes for me!
lol
You have a good one, too!
Gratefully,
Christy
We have the same plate!…lol
My Momma is still with me too. I guess my favorite recipe of my Momma’s that me and all my siblings love is her Mississippi Mud Pie. That is sooo yummy! I’ve never tried making it tho. I’ve seen her bake it for years, but just never have for my family.
I’ve always loved the way my Momma would play with my hair. Her hands are always soft and makes me wanna go to sleep when she does that. Anyway, I guess that’s all I can think of to tell ya about my momma! Tell us about your Momma, Christy!
Oh goodness, tell you about my Mama?
She did everything perfectly, everything. Once, when I was five, we were getting ready to go somewhere and I didn’t listen to Mama and shut the car door by myself. She always insisted that we let her or Daddy shut it but I didn’t listen that one time.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, I shut it on my thumb and broke it.
But I don’t remember it hurting so much as I remember getting to ride in the front seat, sitting in Mamas lap with my head on her chest, all the way to the hospital. Her shirt was white with little blue flowers on it and she was warm and soft. Then I remember in the evenings, sitting in the kitchen with just Mama while I soaked my thumb in warm water every night after the supper dishes had already been done and my brother and sister were on to other things.
~smiles~ Who would have thought I would remember a broken thumb with such fondness? It was wonderful.
Gratefully,
Christy
The first time I tried to make my mama’s biscuits, they came out totally flat and hard as rocks. That’s the day I learned the very important difference between “flour” and “self-rising flour.”
MOther is such a good cook … I still think one of the reasons my husband married me was to get to eat her good southern cookin’. (He’s from New York – he had no idea what he was missing. You should have seen him at his first family reunion – hog heaven!)
My sisters and I are still trying to perfect Mother’s cornbread dressing. And she makes that same Vanilla Wafer cake you have on your website. OH, that is a good cake. (yes, her mother made it before her …)
I loved your story about self rising versus regular! lol It’s a good thing you learned that early on!
I also dearly love cornbread dressing. I like to make it year round, it’s such a treat! Have you looked at my Grandmother’s recipe for slow cooker chicken and dressing? It tastes exactly like my great grandmother’s but with easier prep and baking since you leave it in the slow cooker all day. You can even assemble it the night before, put your crock in the fridge, then place it in your crock pot base the next morning.
Here is the link in case you are interested. It may not be your mother’s but if you are looking for the recipe and it is close, it might help! We sure do like it!
http://www.southernplate.com/2008/07/crock-pot-chicken-and-dressing-tutorial.html
Gratefully,
Christy
we love drop biscuits in our house. (they are my “I forgot to make biscuits” biscuits) ~_* You have got to try them with a bit of garlic and herb seasoning (salt free kind) and shredded cheddar. Perfect for soups!
Love your site!
Amanda, that sounds like the Cheddar Bay biscuits they have at Red Lobster! Love those! Yum!
It tastes like them as well. ~_*
I’ve had ‘em this way also. YUM! You are SO right!
People use to ask me
OOPS! my computer burped!
I’m gonna try these. I have never been able to make a good buscuit. Mine were always heavy and hard, you could drop mine and it would probably make a hole in the floor
sounds like you maybe kneading too much…
People always ask “Where’s your favorite place to eat out?” My answer was always “At Mama’s!” Anything she touched was wonderful! She made good biscuits too, but she used buttermilk instead of sweet milk. Sadly I didn’t inherit her ability to make good homemade biscuits. I just can’t get them right. So I usually depend on whop or frozen biscuits. My mama is gone now and I really miss her.
Thanks for your posts. You bring back good memories!
I have come to prefer making drop biscuits to making regular biscuits, because I don’t have to roll them out so it’s faster and easier. But I’ve never done them in hot oil like that – I usually just grease the baking pan. Now I can’t wait to try it this way – I love the crispy coating on hoe cake and think it looks totally awesome on drop biscuits!
My mom was always a big-batch-of-something-easy kind of cook. We did spaghetti, rice lasagna (rice is cheaper than noodles!), casseroles, anything that could be prepared with a minimum of effort and a maximum of food! With eight kids, that was the only way to cook that made any sense. I loved it! Good home cooking to me will always be more about the great big pans full of cheesy casserole than about roasts and potatoes or fancy dishes. Every time I cook one of the dishes I grew up with it always tastes better than anything else, because of the memories that come with it!
My Mama made biscuits just about every day of her life from the time she was 8 years old! Incredible but true. When I was in school she always made brown gravy for me to eat with my biscuits. My biscuits and gravy come close but will never be exactly like Mama”s.
P.S. Besides our Mama’s cooking another thing I’ve noticed is different from family to family is how we spell “Mama”. My husband’s family spell it “Momma” but we’ve always spelled it “Mama”. Just a little observation. Nothing to do with biscuits or cooking.
These sound like something I just might could make come out ok…I haven’t had the “touch” to make biscuits. Of course, my mom only made Hungry Jack flaky biscuits…nothing from scratch (and she called herself a southren girl!)
My favorite meal Mom would make for us was “Meat with Sour Cream Gravy, Red Cabbage, and Homemade Noodles”. Mom passed 13 years ago, and I just recently figured out that the Meat with sour cream gravy was Beef Stroganoff…Still haven’t figured out how she made the red cabbage, though! Need to work on that soon. I would love for my kids to try it so they know what I mean when I say how yummo it was!
I’m glad you’ll understand when I say my grandma’s biscuits were absolutely positively the best!! Us yankees didn’t have self-rising flour, so she added baking powder and salt. She was one of those cooks who never measured anything either, yet her biscuits (dropped or patted and cut with a glass) were always wonderful. And her pie crusts!! Lemon meringue pie from scratch!! And her pancakes!!! All three of us kids used to love when she made pancakes for supper – we never guessed it was because there wasn’t anything else in the house. Some people would think we grew up poor, but we had Grandma and were very rich indeed.
Well I remember the best thing Mom did was her holiday dinners, especially her bread dressing, she always seemed to season it just right and it always came out moist. Funny thing, she never ate the dressing, she didnt like it at all, but she sure could cook it. I guess it was because Gramma made her eat oyster dressing when she was younger. I now make that dressing, as well as the whole holiday spread twice a year, just like she did. I just picked up on it by watching her do it, and it comes out perfect pretty much every time. Talk about passing good cooking from one generation to the next!!!
Well, I’ve just had a good cry and now I can finally see the computer screen again! My Mom died 2 years ago and boy, do I miss her! I’m smiling now thinking of how I had to stay close to her in the kitchen when she made her cornbread stuffing…although never stuffed in a bird, always baked in a 9×13 pan
YUM!! As she would add an ingredient,I would have to measure it and write it down…the only way I would know how to make it later! She was the kind of cook that put delicious foods together with no recipe!!Sadly,I did not inherit that trait from her:).I agree,there is nothing quite like our Mama’s cooking or hugs!!
Bountiful Blessings!
I think my favorite thing that Mom use to make was her fresh vegetable soup in the summer chocked full of lima beans, corn, tomatoes everything fresh from the garden.
I think what I remember most about my mom is that she was such a good cook on such a small amount of grocery money. We had five kids in our family and not much money but we always ate well and the meals were nutritious and varied. We had a lot of beans and potatoes and used a lot of ground beef . We canned everything we could get our hands on in the summer and even young ones were expected to help. Our baked goods including bread were all homemade and we used little or no convenience food or mixes. I remember when I started to school I would envy kids that had store bought Wonder bread and Twinkies and such as I had thick slices of homemade bread and chewy, sugared molasses cookies. I would trade them away never realizing how much better much better my lunch really was.I cook very much like my mom did and I have always loved doing it. Cooking for a family is truly a love offering and it doesn’t have to be extravagant to be delicious. Comfort food is made with heart and served with feeling.
Alas my Momma (God rest her soul) was not a good cook. But she worked hard and raised five children on her own. My Grandmother was a wonderful cook and actually had a small diner during the depression, but Mom hated cooking it was a chore that she did because she had to feed us, she worked nights and it was done in a rush prior to her having to leave for work. When we grew up we used to tease her that her best recipe was “Swanson” tv dinner. There is a famous family story about Mom making a cake for my Sister’s birthday she decided to try to make a “boiled icing” she did not realize she had over cooked it until the cake was frosted and decorated with lovely little gum drops. When it came time for Sis to blow out the candles not only could they not be removed but Mom had to use an ice pick to crack the frosting off so we could eat cake. I am laughing now writing this and Mom always laughed the loudest when we recounted the story. I miss her laughter much more than her cooking. Thanks for letting me share that.
You may regret this Christy because I think we’re fixing to find out how long one comment on WP can be. *ahem*
I love to brag on Mama as much as a mama loves to brag on their babies but don’t get the chance to do it often because I don’t get out much. Mama is such a great mama that every once in a while I have to remind her of the time she accidentally smacked me in the face with a badminton racket, frogged me in the face, or that the only time she’s ever made cream puffs I couldn’t eat any because I had strep throat just to keep her from getting a case of the big head.
Most of my mama memories are centered around food. Every Christmas we would make dozens of cookies in at least three varieties, homemade fudge, and pumpkin, banana, and zucchini breads. That was just for giving to other people as gifts not what we ate at Christmas dinner. I was about seven or eight the first time I ever made pie crust.
I also remember late nights eating cook and serve chocolate pudding and watching WKRP in Cincinnati which came on tv around midnight and made me feel very grown up when I was twelve. And the year I volunteered her to make a cake for the cake walk at my school’s fall festival, and the ice cream cone cupcakes she made to take to my class for my seventh birthday.
One thing Mama cooks that I can never get to turn out the way she does is fried potatoes. Mine end up greasy or burnt sometimes both. Her butter beans also taste better than mine. She doesn’t cook too much anymore because she is a smart woman and has me do it for her.
I am very blessed to have her and I really don’t deserve how good she is to me. If I am ever blessed with children I hope to be ten percent of the mom she is. I don’t see how she managed to take care of two young children and elderly father and step-mom but she did and most days didn’t complain the first bit.
I love talking about my Mama, I love her so much. I thank God that I am blessed to still have her very actively in my life. She is only 65 and very young at heart. My Mother is a wonderful cook. What I realize now that I didn’t when I was young were the meals my Mama made when money was tight. I remember having light bread with brown gravy on it with some kind of beans. I loved it! I never realized then that she was just doing what she could do at the time. I have so many recipes that have special memories tied to them. I really believe that food is so much more than just food! I love cooking for my four boys and most everything I make is a recipe from my Mom, Granny or my Mammaw. My Grandmother’s are in heaven now and I miss them terribly but I can make some of their recipes and the smell of the food cooking makes me feel like they are in the kitchen with me. Thanks again for giving us the opportunity to talk about our Mamas!
My mom wasn’t much of a cook, I grew up with ALOT of fried pork chops and mac and cheese. She always made cornbread from a box and vegetables from a can so that is how I learned to cook and I hated it. I have been married for 20 yrs and could own stock in Hamburger Helper and Jiffy mix. I was sick to death of it and realised that I was raising unhealthy kids. One day, I stumbled on this sight and it changed my life. I am changing the way I cook and am teaching my kids that good food is simple to cook and actually costs less to make. So thank you for what you do. I am forever in your debt. LaPaula
My mama and my granny are gone… and you are right no body cooks like your mama and your granny… now I am the granny and have to try.. and boy do I use a lot of your recipes because they remind me of home and my mama..My granny never had any fancy thing to cook with..so hers was very plain.. just like these or your regular biscuits.. my granny and my mama put up gardens…and made jelly.. and I will never be the woman they were..
And the only time I ever disagreed with you was back when you posted about making fried potatoes and I said you left out the bacon grease.. …cause you can’t have fried potatoes without bacon grease, haha.. my granny and grandpa raised hogs so everything they had…was fried in bacon grease.. or cooked with it, or ham… and the diet people are right it did kill them….they were in their 90’s but it did kill them for sure, haha..
Thanks for the memories Christy.
love ya girl
jo in Sapulpa
My Mom only knew how to make apple pie when she got married. Her mother was a fabulous cook but never taught her children how to cook. Mom learned cooking basics from Grandma-her mother in law. Then she watched cooking shows like The French Chef and Galloping Gourmet and became an excellent cook. Oh her pork roasts were magnificent. Now she is more interested in baking. I had to tell her not to give me any of her homemade banana or zucchini bread. She asked if there was something wrong with it. I had to tell her the truth….it is so delicious that I eat too much and then don’t feel good!
How I miss my Mamma…she passed away almost 8 years ago. As far as I was concerned, she was a Saint. There were 5 kids to feed and she knew how to stretch a dollar till it hurt – plus we had a huge garden and raised chickens, etc. Every morning Mamma would make homemade biscuits – as light as a feather and huge – she would take any small scrapes of leftover dough and make “tiny” biscuits tucked into the larger biscuits – each day a different child was the honoree of those mini biscuits.
She also made a mean pot of lima beans – thank goodness I can duplicate her recipe – even though she never wrote the ingredients down – just by watching her prepare them for so many years, I just have the amounts down pat. Not a day went by without having cornbread for supper – my Daddy was from East Texas and it was a given that one had biscuits in the morning and cornbread at supper.
Thank you Christy for keeping the southern recipes coming. Cherish every moment with your Mom. I’ve so grateful I have beautiful memories of my Mamma. Blessings to you….. Judy
My mother was a wonderful cook and baker. She passed away in 1997 at 81 years old. Everything was homemade from scratch. Many dishes were made with no measuring. Some of her best were chicken and dumplings, dried apple custard pie, caramel icing on plain cake, dressing, new potatoes, and the list goes on.
This morning I chatted online with my son in Afghanistan. He is coming home for R&R in early September. I asked him what he wanted to eat. He replied – chicken and dumplings!! I said “and where is grandma?”.
God bless my mom and God bless my son.
My mother was a good cook and always loved to cook for her family, especially after I was married,it was a treat for a holiday meal. She has gone to heaven,but all her love and good advice will remain. The older I get,,I realize how important life really is and memories gets me through the tough days.
She made those drop biscuits,eggs and gravy. How good that was!!
Thanks for your site,, I read it everytime it is sent to me. Enjoy it so much!!!
Heard about some lady wanted to use the bathroom at your brother’s business after hours. HA. Loved the story in the paper,,but now he has another memory piece to display at the store.( a part from her car).
Keep up the great news and recipes!!!!!!!!
Hi Christy,
My mom was wonderful at everything. She didn’t make biscuits often but she did make hoe cake in her cast iron skillet. She would top it with butter and we would eat it with Steens Cane Syrup. Another thing and my favorite was her red beand and rice. I am from south Louisiana and everyone has red beans on Mondays. My moms are still the best though.
She is 74 and I am 43 and my two sisters and our children have to eat at our moms house at least once a week.
I love your site. Keep doing what your doing.
Kennie.
By the way my most favorite doll was named Christy.
Christy-
Your website SO reminds me of my granny’s cooking! I lost my granny when I was 13, and I lost my mom just 5 years ago. They were both VERY important women in my life & both had a love for southern cooking ! Alot of things you talk about, I have heard or seen them do! I always used to hear about hoe cakes when I was little! It was always so good with a pot full of pinto beans!! Your recipes bring back memories & give me the chance to try to make these wonderful recipes on my own ( i never got the recipes from granny before she passed away, and some of them mom didn’t have written). For example, my granny used to make an awesome cake with peanut butter icing- and for years I have searched for someone that can make it like she did. Amazingly, I am that person now- thanks to your recipe- it tastes just like it !!!
Thanks Christy & keep those awesome recipes comin’ !!!
Tracy
I lost my mama when I was in my early 20’s. What I learned from her about home cookin’ would fill a large cookbook. I have many fond memories of our old Roper stove with the side oven. I have had a passion for cooking ever since. She could cook ANYTHING. My dad always said that she could cook dog mess and make it delicious. I have spent the last 50 years doing what she loved and hopefully pleasing my family and grandchildren as much as she did me. Nobody made it like mama, but Southern Plate comes very close. Thank you for a wonderful website and congratulations on your TV appearance. Awesome!!
The one thing I have never mastered is biscuits. Rolled and cut or dropped. I am going to the kitchen now to try your simple recipe. I can’t believe it is just 3 ingredients. Wish me luck. I’ll get back to you when I have my family give them a taste test. LOL
TOTAL SUCCESS !!! Light as a feather and crispy on the bottom, moist in the middle biscuits for the 1st time in my life! Best sunday morning treat in a long time. I will be forever grateful for your recipe. I have always tried to make it difficult with too many ingredients, I guess. You’re the best.
I just love this site because it reminds me so much of the good food my Granny, Aunts, and Mom made the recipes are very similar to the ones they used and your stories are so precious. Of course they never used recipes they just did all from memory and I didn’t pay close attention so I am glad I found you so I can relive all those wonderful tastes from my childhood.
My Mama would tell you she’s not the best cook and never had been and that cooking was a chore to her. I’m here to tell you and anyone that ever crossed her path in her 81 years that she is waaaaaay too modest for her own good. My parents moved me from Missouri to California when I was 6 weeks old. I grew up on her beans and cornbread, green beans with bacon grease, boilin’ beef with potatoes, biscuits (my God they were the best), white gravy and sliced white bread and she made the absolute best Cornbread dressing I will ever taste in my life. She has a collection of recipes she’s collected over the years that I would give my eye teeth to have .. if she could only remember where they’re located. I must make it a point to go on a hunt and try to retrieve them! She doesn’t cook very much now that she isn’t able to see as good as she used to and is petrified of burning my sister’s house down in an attempt to cook. Even though she thought it a chore ..
I miss my Mama’s cookin’ ..
My Mamaw raised us. So, everything I know I learned from Mamaw. Remember that in the Bible Paul called us to be always in prayer. Well she was the only one I have ever know who was. She never wore jewelry (I have my belly pierced), cut her hair (mine is short) or wore pants (I loved short shorts – before I gave birth!). But she was the most fun person in the world. I patted biscuits before I knew patty-cake. I learned how to fry potatoes and mercy…no one fries okra like she did. But, I learned that no matter what I cook for my family, I have to put some of her love in it. She loved Jesus and her family in that order. She died when I was 18…but she had Alzheimer’s…so she left us about 4 years before that…I miss her every day. The other day my daughter told me she didn’t mean to do something, and I swear I channeled Mamaw when I said, “but did you mean not to?”
All your recipes remind me of my mother’s food! When I was around 5, I told my mother I wanted to make a cake, so she set everything out on the counter and told me to go ahead! If I had dropped that cake, it woulda bounced sky high! But she made everybody eat a slice. I’m a little better now, thanks to her gentle guidance. She made the best Chicken and Dumplings, and cakes and pies of all types, and I’ve never had sweet tea that tasted as good as hers.
She’s still with us, but she doesn’t cook as often as she used to. But she made sure we all knew how to feed ourselves and our families!
Hi again Christy,
All our mothers are treasured in so many unique and individual memories regardless of whether they were a southerner, northerner, westerner, easterner, or midwesterner; they are all special in their own way! Mother, Ma, Mom, Mommy, Mamma, and Nanny are only a few of my own mother’s names and she was a saint among women! I have 39 cousins, all of whom think I had the best mother in the world, and they are all right! My mother passed away just this February at age 89 (how she wanted to reach 90) and her birthday is tomorrow, August 17th. My mother was so special in so many ways, I couldn’t even begin to describe them all, but will tell you just a little about her expertise in the kitchen! Everything she baked and cooked was entirely “from scratch” and was absolutely scrumptous! All her wonderful recipes came from her mother and grandmothers and her mother-in-law…raised biscuits, raised donuts, breads, soups, stews, pies, cakes, roasts, absolutely the best bread dressing with sausage and celery stuffed into a huge turkey dripping with juice, puddings, cookies, and fudge…the best potato salad in the world…She never measured things out, just knew how much of an ingredient to use, just as her mom and grandmothers did. About 10 years ago she tested all our favorite receipes out, jotted down how much of each ingredient she used, and then hand wrote all our favorite recipes down on index cards and included them all in a beautiful binder, one each for myself and my sister. It was accompanied by a matching “Grateful Journal” for us to write down and remember all the things we were grateful for rather than dwell on the things we didn’t have…The absolute very best gift I have ever received. My mother saved every gift, letter, card, or momento that was ever given to her by anyone…treasuring them all! Everything she did, sewing, crocheting, needlepoint, cooking, baking, painting, wallpapering, cleaning, and especially doting on her daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and my dad, she did with a heart full of love! She was a very, very special person, a truly unique and wonderful mother. The thing I am truly grateful for today, is that she was MY mother and that I have so many special memories of her graciousness and goodness! Thanks for letting me share, Christy.
Growing up my mama made drop biscuits when she didn’t feel like rolling them out in her hands. I still do the same with my family. The only difference is my daughter (5 yrs. old) calls them mountain biscuits because she thought they looked like mountain peaks when she was younger. It stuck and now nobody calls them drop biscuits anymore.
Hey, Christy! You know we love to talk about our mamas! Mine was THE BEST COOK EVER! Who knew yours was, too?! We can’t help but love our mamas when they have spent so much time loving us. Mine was promoted to heaven in ‘98, and I’m hoping someone is cooking for her, for a change. She had a quiet and humble spirit, a true servant’s heart and I look for the day when we can be together again. But about this cooking thing, whenever I am all out of sorts and just need some REAL food, I long for Mama’s roast beef, mashed potatoes, butter beans or peas and biscuits. Just doesn’t get any better than that. And there is absolutely no way I could ever cook the way she did. Thanks, Christy, for sharing your family with all of us. God bless you all! Have a great day!
MaryC
Christy,
I’ve not posted before, but felt I had to after reading your post. The last year my mother was here for Christmas (1988), she leaned on the cabinet & made biscuits with one hand. She knew it would be her last Christmas celebration with us & wanted to make us biscuits one last time. Those were the best biscuits she EVER made!
Now I’m the mom making memories for my family – AWESOME!
I enjoy your recipes. Thank you!
How about a cooking story about my grandmother who passed just a few months ago at age 88?
My mama was a working mama, and I stayed with a sitter up until I went to school (and they were a second family to me). Anyway, the sitter usually made me breakfast in the mornings after I got there and for her own school age girls and her husband who worked nights and got home in time for breakfast. Anyway. All’s she (and my mama) had ever made, to my recollection, had been canned biscuits. (I know – I was SO deprived right? LOL)
Well, I always stayed the night with Mammy (my dad’s mom) on Saturday nights, and she offered to make biscuits for me one Sunday morning. I was all excited (I LIKED canned biscuits). I went off and did whatever 3 or 4 year olds do while she made them, and finally she called me in to eat.
I got up to the kitchen table, and my little face fell. THESE weren’t biscuits. I’d never seen homemade biscuits before. And I refused to eat them. They were larger than canned and they were sort of flat looking and browned. They weren’t small, fluffy, and doughy looking! I didn’t realize until many many years later that I probably hurt her feelings at first. But she “got” little kids, always had, and I’m sure she figured out what the problem was. Knowing her, she probably retold that story over and over through the years!
The one thing I think of, when speaking of my mom cooking, is peach cobbler. What most people call peach cobbler, I would call a deep dish pie. My mom’s cobbler was made more like a VERY moist cake with peach slices scattered throughout the cake. She made it in a blue bowl. I’m not sure what that bowl was made out of. I’ve never seen another one like it. But alas, the old blue bowl is still around, but with a crack in it now. My mom is still around too. She was 91 last January. Unfortunately she is cracked too. She fell and broke her neck. I told her that at her age, people fell and broke their hip, NOT their neck. She said she thought people always died when they broke their neck. But she is still going! And I swear by my mama’s peach cobbler. The best there is. If only she could remember her recipe.
You absolutely MUST get the book “Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal” by Barbara Park and read it with your daughter. It’s all about how everything is better at your own grandma’s house. My daughter (now a teenager) loved it and we mailed it to her grandma after we read it. Grandma and Granddaddy both loved it too.
I’m gonna have to make these. Biscuits are a treat around here because my little one can’t have milk. I’ll bet I could do these with his soy milk, though.
I have many fond memories of growing up with my momma. My momma was a single mother for most of her life. Even when my stepdaddy came into the picture when I was 8 years old, he never had much to do with me. He’s only recently started really taking an interest in my life and I’m fairly certain that it’s because I have a five year old son (his only grandbaby, who he brags about constantly) and he’s realized what he’s missed in recent years.
My momma was an awesome cook. She’s had to slow down due to her arthritis. She made awesome homemade cinnamon rolls that make me drool just thinking about them. She also used to make homemade noodles for her chicken and noodle dumpling soup. Oh, my word. She is awesome. I have a few of my momma’s recipes and I use them often. Momma said I’m not allowed to have the rest of her “secrets” till she’s gone. She thinks that if she gives me her recipes now that I won’t need her anymore. No matter what your age, you always need your momma!
My husband doesn’t have a relationship with his mom. She basically threw him to the curb when he was 11 years old and she’s never looked back. It’s sad, but I guess that’s the way life goes sometimes.
Mama made biscuits everyday for years. She would add everything together including the milk and work it all together with her hands. Mama fixed enough in the mornings for all three meals, covered the pans for later and put them in the frigerator. I liked the biscuits that set in the frig all day the best. My daddy liked biscuits with his meals better than cornbread, of course, Mama would fix both.
We ate the biscuits instead of loaf bread (I called it Daddy’s work bread). Everyday when we got home from school, we would have a biscuit and jelly to tie us over until supper. For a special treat, when Mama had left over biscuits, she opened them up, put butter and sprinkled sugar over them and put in the oven to heat.
Hi again Christy. Thank you again for this website. I have sent you a couple of emails but I haven’t heard back from you. They would show as being from L & B Smith. I also subscribed to your newsletter Friday night but haven’t received a newsletter. Have you sent any out since then? I tried to subscribe again but it says something like I am already subscribed. Anyhoo, I hope you get my emails.
My best food memory of my mama is her slow-cooked ham and I just read your recipe for that. I am so leery of cooking with aluminum anymore because of the link to alzheimer’s and gulf war syndrome. I am also afraid of the plastic cooking bags because of all the news lately about plastic. But maybe that is just microwaving plastic? I am going to get a stainless steel roasting pan with lid to try to make the ham like mama did, using your recipe – minus the aluminum foil. I will let you know how it turns out. Hers would just fall apart and it was so moist. It was so not good manners but whenever she’d take it out of the oven and it would cool down a bit, we’d just pull it apart with forks, standing at the stove. It eventually looked like a dog or two got ahold of it. *blushes profusely*
I have too many food memories of my grandmothers to even try to write about. Those women lived in a teeny tiny little town in middle Georgia and used such different ingredients. One never ever cooked with tomatoes or cabbage and the other did frequently. One hardly ever made cakes or pies and the other did frequently. Both lived on farms with cows, pigs, and lots of vegetables. One churned her own butter and the other didn’t. But we dined like southern royalty every Sunday, no matter which dining room table we were seated at. I always fretted about it when I spent the night with one of them and they let me sleep until I woke up on my own. By that time, there were already a couple of cakes or pies that were done, or dinner (the noon-time meal) well on its way to being done. Now that I am a mom, I understand why they let me sleep, preparing such a big meal like that.
I have a couple of really special recipes I would love to share with you, if we can just get our Es together.
You are a joy, I can tell! What a blessing you must be to those who are in your everyday life.
Thank you.
My mother has five of us kids, and she’d make a pan of biscuits and a pan of gravy every morning for us to eat for breakfast before we left for school. We’d have a variety of gravy (tomato is my favorite)- that would change depending on what was on hand – but always homemade biscuits! Sometimes, we’d just dunk our biscuits in coffee! That is so much better than it sounds! Kathy
First, I’d like to say these were the perfect compliment to the apple butter! And, so quick & easy! I am sure these will be made in my home time & again! I also liked the suggestion for tossing in shredded cheese & herbs. The biscuits are basic enough that I’m sure there are lots of variations one could come up with.
. She had a knack for making spaghetti taste like it was boiled in water from a rusty pipe – a sort of aluminum aftertaste! LOL. So, I did not learn any great culinary skills growing up! However, she was amazing with a sewing machine! She would make make my clothes and then even use the scraps to make matching outfits for my Barbie dolls! I’m 31 now and just had my own baby girl so while I’m still trying to learn the art of cooking (& am thankful to Christy for helping with that!), I’ve also been inspired by my mother to learn how to make clothes for my baby girl 
I say “one” not “that I could come up with” because I’m one who won’t make a recipe unless I have EXACTLY what the recipe calls for! I’m not brave enough to try my own substitutions! LOL. BUT!! I have come a long way… When I was first married 5 years ago, I could make grilled cheese & hamburger helper! Now I’ve been making quite a few meals from scratch (following recipes exactly, however! hehe).
I say all that just to get to “my mama” – I love her dearly but a good cook, she is not!
Hey! I made these but didn’t have shortening and my husband said just use stick butter. So I did and they turned out great. Just wondering what the difference would be in using shortening? I haven’t tried it yet but wondering if you ever used stick butter in these?
My response perhaps won’t be like the others you have received. My mother was not much of a cook, nor was she affectionate and loving. She had a hard life, and did the best she could with what she had at the time, which was not a lot. She didn’t have the ability to “see” anything good in her circumstances. But I have to tell you, that finding your site is like finding a MOM, and I know I am much older than you, but it is such a blessing to read about your life, and get to “share” your recipes and insights. It is like having a loving Mom wrap her arms around me and say, “Come on in, and sit a spell. Have a glass of tea. Now, what are you fixin’ for dinner tonight?” I’m really glad you are here. Kathleen