MARION CUNNINGHAM RECIPES

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.
• To turn your white sauce into cheese sauce, stir in ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Warm the milk on low heat just until little bubbles begin to form at the edges. Then remove from heat.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450.
• Grease on 8-inch square baking pan or small baking sheet.
• Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the vegetable shortening and toss it to coat with the flour. Break the chunk into 5 or 6 smaller chunks and start rubbing the flour and shortening together with your fingers and letting the mixture fall back into the bowl. This does not take long; when the mixture looks like irregular lumps you have mixed enough.
• Add the milk all at once and stir to moisten all the flour and shortening. Dust a surface with flour, turn the dough onto the surface and knead the dough ten times.
• Pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut the biscuits with a two-inch cookie cutter and place on the prepared pan with a little space between the biscuits.
• Bake 15-18 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.
• Serve hot with butter and honey.