Oh, Sweet! Honey Butter Biscuits

I love bread of any sort. Sandwich breads, bagels, muffins and biscuits. (This is, of course, my downfall, diet-wise, because I eat way more bread than I should.) Eaten in moderation, though, bread is a fine addition to any meal.
Bread, it is said, “is the king of the table and all else is merely the court that surrounds the king” (Louis Bromfield, American novelist). It is also just a tasty addition to any meal.
Bread is one of the oldest foods known to man and baker is really one of the oldest professions. Loaves and rolls have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Further back, in the Stone Age, people made solid cakes from stone-crushed barley and wheat. The ability to sow and reap the wheat or other grains use to make bread may be one of the main reasons humans settled into communities, rather than living as herders and nomads.
Whether you love bread for its historical presence in our diets or because it tastes great, give these southern buttermilk biscuits with a sweet twist. Try them alone or with a bit of cheese or even some slices of fruit.
For now, I’m using store bought honey, but I’m looking forward to the first harvest from Keep Seminole Beautiful’s “Microbuzzery” which will be coming soon. (When they start selling their honey, I will certainly let everyone know so everyone can get some.)

Honey Butter Biscuits

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup cold buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice – let it sit for a few minutes until it begins to look like buttermilk)
Honey and a few pats of butter or margarine
· Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
· In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour the buttermilk into the well. Stir until the dough comes together. It should be very sticky.
· Turn the dough onto a floured surface and dust the top with flour, gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times.
· Roll it out into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Reuse the scraps to make more biscuits. You should be able to get 7-8 biscuits.
· Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch.
· Put a touch of honey and a small pat of butter on each biscuit.
· Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes