Reduced-Fat Biscuit Mix

        * 6 cups unbleached white flour

        * 1-1/2 teasspoons salt

        * 2-1/2 tablespoons baking powder

        * 1/3 or 1/2 cup shortening (see Note)          

Begin by getting out a very large bowl.  Measure the flour into the bowl.  Add the salt and baking powder.  Stir the dry ingredients together so that the salt and baking powder are evenly distributed throughout the flour.  Measure in the shortening.  Use a standard 1/3 or 1/2-cup measure and pack it all the way full with shortening.  Level off the top with a knife.  Now scrape the fat into the bowl of flour.  Your fingers will get greasy.  That's all right, you can wash them in a few minutes.  Using your hands, mash the shortening into the flour.  Continue mixing and mashing until the mixture has a consistency similar to store-bought biscuit mix.  Transfer the mixture to a clean coffee can.  This recipe makes 7 cups of mix.  Each serving is 1/3-cup.

NOTE: This biscuit mix can be made with either 1/3-cup or 1/2-cup of shortening.  When made with 1/3-cup shortening it's nutritional information is almost identical to Reduced-Fat Bisquick®.  The quality of the mix made with 1/3-cup shortening is not quite as good as when it is made with 1/2-cup shortening.  It is still very good though, and I heartily recommend it to anyone watching both their budget and wasitline.  Average consumers don't have access to the same fat replacers and other chemicals that food manufacturers do.  For this reason the lower fat version of this recipe gives slightly different results than Reduced-Fat Bisquick®.   The biscuits and muffins made with the 1/3-cup shortening-version of this mix are a tiny bit tougher than those made with Reduced-Fat Bisquick®.  It is an extremely close copy though, and most people won't notice any difference in their cooking results.

For those willing to add a few more calories to their biscuit mix, the version using 1/2-cup of shortening gives superior results.  The biscuits made with this variation are much better those made with the name brand mix.  The final decision is yours.  Reduced-Fat Baking Mix saves at least $2 per batch over the name-brand mix.