The vintage Joy of Cooking book I have had always held the answers to almost any question in the kitchen - the last stop before a call to Mom, basically. I've always found its biscuit recipe lacking, though. So when I stumbled across this one when trying to make a biscuit-topped cobbler, I wanted to keep it for posterity:

Biscuit Dough

1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients; cut shortening in with pastry blender or knives. Add milk gradually to make a soft dough. If too soft, add a little more flour.

This recipe does not rise a ton, so is better for spoon biscuits rather than rolled-out biscuits.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 375°F 20 minutes or until browning on top.

Future note: try this recipe (requires self-rising flour) https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/17455b54c552ed79087a7bbfd9eadcbc