Blast from the Past: Heart-Shaped Biscuits

One of my favorite cookbooks recently has to be my Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, First Edition, Fifth Printing c.1950. For February's Pantry Challenge I made two breakfast items from it - Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze and these heart-shaped biscuits.

Ingredients (makes 20 biscuits)

• 2 cups sifted Flour
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 6 Tablespoons Crisco Butter Flavored Shortening
• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Soy Milk
• 1/3 cup Earth Balance, melted

Instructions

1. Position cooking rack in the center of your oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt together.
3. With a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the flour mixture. 
4. Stir in almost all of the Soy Milk. If the dough does not seem pliable, abdd the rest. Use just enough to make a soft, puffy dough easy to roll out. Too much Soy Milk makes dough sticky, not enough makes biscuits dry.
5. Round up dough on lightly floured surface. Knead lightly.
6. Roll dough or pat out (with floured hand) 1/4" thick for thin, crusty biscuits or 1/2" thick for thick, soft biscuits.
7. Cut close together with a biscuit cutter or heart-shaped cookie cutter.
8. Fit leftover bits together - do not reknead - pat out, roll smooth, and cut.
9. Coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet with roughy half of the melted Earth Balance.
10. Add the cut biscuits to the skillet with edges touching; this gives your biscuits soft sides. Brush the remaining melted Earth Balance across the tops of the biscuits.
11. Put skillet into preheated oven and bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are golden brown.