The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

I have tried many different recipes of buttermilk biscuits over the last year.  I have finally came up with this recipe which I think you will find is easy to make and very good.  The combination of butter and shortening in this recipe gives just the right amount of butter flavor while still giving you a nice fluffy texture. My family and friends love these biscuits! Slather butter and honey on them....oh my, oh my so good!

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 cup shortening or lard
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375.  First sift your flour, baking powder and salt together in bowl.  Cut up butter into pieces and cut into flour with a pastry blender, add your half cup of shortening and cut into flour with pastry cutter.  Flour should have little pea looking consistency.  Make a well in the middle of your flour mixture and add buttermilk.  Now take your spoon and begin to build flour into the buttermilk until it looks somewhat combined.  The most important part of making good buttermilk biscuits is not to over work your mixture.  You want it to come together, but if you over handle it the biscuits will become tough. Once it looks combined take your hands and combine until you can make into a ball.  Flour your work surface and turn dough on to work surface.  I just used my hands to pat dough down to about 1 1/2 inches thick and use a biscuit cutter or juice glass to cut your biscuits out.  Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet, I like to use a baking stone, and place them where the sides of the biscuits are barely touching.  Brush the tops of biscuits with butter and bake for about 8-10 minutes until tops of biscuits are slightly browned and the middle is not doughy.