PJ, thanks so much for this post. My grandmother taught me (over the phone) to make pie crusts when I was 18. That was more than 50 years ago, so, like you, my hands rebelled a while back, and I had to resort to pre-made crusts. I feel guilty, and feel her shaking her head over my shoulders, every time! She was considered the best baker, and cook, in 3 counties in S.C. (back in the days of fresh churned butter and buttermilk!) and I feel fortunate to have inherited some of her skill in the kitchen. However, although I mastered her pie crusts, I could never make the buttermilk biscuits she taught my mother to make, that were a part of every meal growing up - a travesty for a true Southern cook! They were not rolled out, but pinched up, gently rolled in the hand, patted twice to flatten, and baked to perfectly melt in your mouth. My mother kept saying "you're working them too much." They always came out like crackers! Do you think I could use the same pie crust technique with a stand mixer to try the biscuits - minus the fresh churned butter and buttermilk, of course?

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