Hot buns: Treat guests to these tasty biscuits

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Put the flour, homemade baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk well to blend thoroughly. Add the lard, and working quickly, coat it in flour and rub between your fingertips until approximately half the lard is finely blended and the other half remains in large pieces, about 1/2 inch in size. Pour in the buttermilk, and stir quickly just until the dough is blended and begins to mass.

Turn the dough immediately out onto a floured surface, and with floured hands knead briskly eight to ten times, until it becomes cohesive.

Gently flatten the dough with your hands into a disk of even thinness; then, using a floured rolling pin, roll it out to a uniform thickness of 1/2 inch. With a dinner fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough completely through at 1/2 inch intervals. Lightly flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds, without twisting the cutter in the dough. Cut the biscuits from the dough as close together as you can, for maximum yield. Transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing them so that they just barely kiss. Don't reroll the scraps. Just arrange them around the edge of the sheet, and bake them — cook's treat.

Put the baking sheet immediately on the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake 10-12 minutes, checking after 6 minutes or so, and turning the pan if needed for even baking. When biscuits are golden brown, remove from the oven and brush the tops with the melted butter.

Makes about fifteen 2 1/2-inch biscuits.

Homemade Baking Powder
Sift all of the ingredients together three times, and transfer to a clean, tight-sealing jar. Store at room temperature, away from sunlight, for up to six weeks.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

Gently wash the berries and drain well. Remove the caps and cut the berries into quarters. Put into a large nonreactive pot, and pour the sugar and salt over them.

Set the pot over medium heat and watch carefully, gently shaking the pot as needed rather than stirring, until the berries come to a simmer. Cook at a lively simmer, skimming carefully any scum that is released, for 12-15 minutes, just until the fruit is tender and the syrup clear. Spoon the hot preserves into sterilized jars, or cool and store in the refrigerator.

Carefully pick over the berries, removing any leaves, foreign objects, or spoiled berries. Put the berries in a mixing bowl, and pour the sugar over them. Use two large forks or a potato masher to mash the sugar into the raspberries until they are liquefied and there is no trace of whole berries left. (A blender is not good for this, because it will pulverize some of the raspberry seeds, which should remain intact.)

Transfer to jars and refrigerate for two days before using. Sugared raspberries will keep for one year or longer under refrigeration.

To make the sauce:
Put the blackberries and water in a nonreactive saucepan. Crush the berries gently with the back of a wooden spoon and bring to a low simmer. Cook partially covered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the berries through a fine mesh sieve, pressing gently on the solids until all the juice is extracted. Discard the solids, and add the salt to the juice along with ¾ cup of the sugar. Taste for sweetness. The juice should be rather sweet. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 425F.

To make the dumplings:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Using your fingers, quickly work the chilled butter into the flour mixture, until it is the texture of oatmeal. Pour the half and half over and stir just until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead six to eight turns, with floured hands. Pat or roll the dough into a disc ½ " thick. With a biscuit or cookie cutter, stamp out 8 rounds 2 1/2" to 3" in diameter. Arrange the cut dumplings in a buttered 2 quart baking dish and pour the cooled blackberry sauce over them. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully baste the dumplings. Then dot the tops with small pieces of butter and sprinkle the crushed sugar cubes over. Return to the oven and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes until the dumplings are golden brown. Serve the dumplings warm with some of the blackberry sauce spooned over and a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.