1. They are all quick breads which require low-gluten flour/s and little mixing. They all depend on the fat to shorten the gluten strands. 2. Scones vary widely in texture, shape, size, and flavor. They can vary from (soft) cookielike to cakelike in texture and from savory to sweet in flavor. Making them is similar to making biscuits. Scones can be rolled, shaped, or dropped, but the mixing method is about the same. Scones contain eggs as well as milk or cream, which makes them richer than biscuits. They may also contain pieces of dried fruits, unlike biscuits. a. Mix the dry ingredients together. b. Cut the chilled butter into the dry ingredients - this is done to shorten the gluten in the flour. Everywhere the butter coats the flour, the liquid will not be able to be absorbed by the flour, thus making short, or shortening, the strands of gluten. If the fat is cold and the mixture resembles a coarse meal, this will contribute to a flaky texture. c. Mix the liquid ingredients together (beat the egg lightly and add the milk/cream) and any other liquid ingredients, and add all at once to the dry ingredients, then stir to combine. Some recipes call for a little kneading to help develop the gluten, but avoid overkneading the dough because this will produce a tough scone. d. Judge the recipe... A high butter or sugar content in the dough will help inhibit the formation of gluten and produce a more tender product. 3. BISCUITS also rely on the fat for shortening the gluten formation. The method of mixing is similar to scones. There is less liquid in biscuits than most scones and biscuit dough usually requires a little kneading to develop the gluten because of the lack of liquid. a. The dough is then rolled. A thickness of 1/4-inch for plain biscuits, 1/2 inch or less for tea biscuits, and 1 inch or more for shortcake. Then it is cut into rounds or squares. b. Drop biscuits have more liquid than cut biscuits. 4. MUFFINS - The ratio of liquid to flour is higher than either scones or biscuits. The batter needs to be placed in a pan that forms the muffin, unlike scones/biscuits which will hold their shape once free formed or cut to form. a. There are two types of mixing methods for muffins. b. Traditional muffin-making: all the steps are geared to minimize mixing, and therefore gluten formation in the flour. The fat is most often in liquid form, either melted shortening or an oil. It's usually mixed with eggs and the liquids, then added all at once to the dry ingredients. Since fat affects tenderness, muffins with a high fat content not only taste rich, they also have a soft crumb. c. Stir muffin batter only until the dry ingredients are lightly moistened (NO ELECTRIC MIXERS PLEASE, or you'll end up with tunnels inside from overmixing). The batter SHOULD be lumpy as it's spooned into the muffin pans - even to the point some bits of dry ingredients are still remaining in the batter. d. Muffins made by creaming fat and sugar will be more tender, but they are also more cakelike. This is the second mixing method. -Grainlady

Here you go, Rusty. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I learned how to do this....finally! If you try any of the recipes, please post how you like them, okay! jude Buttermilk-yogurt biscuits 2 cups all purpose flour, unsifted but loose 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into small pieces 4 tablespoons Crisco, solid, cold, divided into small pieces 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup yogurt, regular or lowfat Preheat oven to 425. Sift together the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter and Crisco into the flour mixture until the butter is reduced to pea-sized pieces and well distributed. Stir buttermilk and yogurt together and add, all at once, to the flour mixture. Toss gently only until all of the flour is moistened. Scrape the loose mass of dough onto a lightly floured board. With floured hands, using a light touch and handling the dough as little as possible, shape the dough into a large ball. Work quickly, gently smoothing the cracks from the surface. The dough should be soft and moist but not wet and hold together well with no stickiness. Do not overwork the dough. With gentle touch, pat the dough out to a one inch round of even thickness. Using a biscuit cutter of choice, cut to desired size, lightly flouring the board and cutter as needed. Place the biscuits, sides touching, into an ungreased baking pan with sides. Bake in the center of he oven for 14-17 minutes or until golden brown. Source: Doris Bolalek, Greensburtg, Pa., winner of the traditional biscuit category. Garlic cheddar biscuits 2 cups self-rising flour 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1/4 cup Crisco 1/4 cup buttermilk 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon parsley Preheat oven to 550 degrees. Sift flour, add garlic powder and sugar, cut in Crisco, stir in buttermilk, cut in cheddar cheese, knead dough, roll out dough, cut out biscuits and put in round, non-stick cake pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Melt butter, mix in garlic powder and brush over cooked biscuits. Sprinkle with parsley. Source: Parker Davis, Knoxville, winner of the kids biscuit category. Bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato biscuit with chipotle mayonnaise Biscuits: 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 4 tablespoons cold shortening 1 cup buttermilk Fried Green Tomatoes: 2 large or 3 medium green tomatoes 1/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil Chipotle Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1-2 chipotle peppers with adobe sauce 12 slices thick sliced bacon 4 ounces spring lettuce mix Combine dry ingredients. Cut in cold shortening. Make a well in the center and add enough buttermilk to make soft dough. Lightly mix; then place dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly to form ball and roll 1/2-inch thick. Cut with 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Arrange bacon slices on a cookie sheet and place in oven. Cook until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels. Break bacon slices in half. Set aside. Slice tomatoes into 12 slices. Sprinkle with flour, salt and sugar. Fry slices in hot oil until golden brown on each side. Remove to drain on paper towel. Blend together mayonnaise with chipotle peppers and adobe sauce. Set aside. Split open biscuits. Spread both halves with chipotle mayonnaise; on the bottom half, add a couple of pieces of lettuce mix, a fried green tomato, a few more pieces of lettuce, 2 half slices of bacon, and another piece or two of lettuce. Top with biscuit top. Source: Jackie Hardin, Sevierville, most creative biscuit category.

This is a new addition to my recipe file. Pumpkin Maple Bread Recipe #177225 (The recipe online describes this as making one loaf. The amount given make two. I have cut the ingredients in half and made one loaf.) by Pastryismybiz 1¾ hours : 20 min prep SERVES 6 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 2 eggs 1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/2 cup pecans, chopped Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Dust with flour. Set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in large bowl. Mix with whisk. Beat eggs with pumpkin, brown sugar, maple syrup, and oil in a medium bowl. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Gently fold in raisins and nuts. Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes,or until toothpick test indicates done. Author's note: my oven takes 1 hour and 30 minutes for this bread at 325°F using a stoneware bread pan. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and turn out on rack. © 2009 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com * My notes: I subbed nutmeg and ginger for the allspice. I like ginger with pumpkin. Allspice is nice, too, though. Here is a link that might be useful: Pumpkin-Maple Bread

Thanks Craftryn!!