Does anyone not like biscuits? If so, I don’t know them.

The word biscuit evokes a warm, flaky, somewhat decadent indulgence. There are lots of different types of biscuits, but the basic one, warm from the oven, with butter melting on it, is hard to top.

Growing up, my mother made Bisquick biscuits. They were simple — a mixture of Bisquick baking mix and milk — and really, not too bad.

But for a good homemade biscuit you need only a few ingredients — flour, a leavening agent, a liquid —milk or buttermilk, a fat like butter, lard or shortening — and a light touch.

Bakers and cooks may disagree on particular ingredients, but most agree on the mixing and handling method — don't overwork. Too much handling of biscuit dough will make them tough and flat. And all ingredients should be cold. Even the flour and leavening agent. It's not a bad idea to put the milk or buttermilk, and the butter or shortening in the freezer for a half hour before starting.

Once the biscuits are made, there are lots of options for how to enjoy them. As stated above, there's nothing better than a simple, flaky biscuit right out of the oven.

Add butter. Eat. And as my cousin Janet would say, “Enjoy!”

But think about it. A biscuit is a simple thing, with not a lot of flavor. The flaky buttery crumbly little mounds of golden brown on the outside tender on the inside goodness are a perfect base for all manner of sauces, gravies, fruits, jams, jellies, compotes and preserves.

A menu item that is starting to show up in more and more northern restaurants is one that has been a regular in the south for many years: Sausage gravy and biscuits.

Miss Wiscasset Diner owner Mark Suarez, originally from Pensacola, Florida, said he grew up with the decadent Southern dish. “My grandma made it, my mother made it, and you could get it in pretty much every restaurant around.” He didn't share his recipe for his sausage gravy, but said it's basically a white gravy, or roux, with spicy sausage. Cook James Murray talked about the buttermilk biscuits that accompany the gravy.

“It's really just a basic biscuit recipe, with buttermilk instead of plain,” he said. “Cold, cold butter is the trick. And I use Bakewell Cream, a substitute for cream of tartar. Blend the dry ingredients with the cold butter until it is a fine crumble, then add the buttermilk and add two tablespoons of icy cold water. That's what gives them the fluff. Then knead the dough, barely. Don't overwork it.” For the recipe for Bakewell Cream biscuits click here, or buy a can in the grocery store.

Bakewell Cream is produced in Hampden, Maine. It was developed in the 1940s by chemist Byron H. Smith, in Bangor, when cream of tartar was in short supply. 

Another simple recipe I use for biscuits is from the New York Times cooking website. 

Deb Thibault of Deb's Diner in Waldoboro and Deb's Bristol Diner in Bristol also offers sausage gravy and biscuits every weekend. Her gravy is a little different from that at the Miss Wiscasset Diner. “I don't make mine the traditional way. I played around it with for six months until I got what I wanted. Most sausage gravies are white. Mine is more of a cream color, because mine is seasoned.” She said she had a customer from the South who refused to eat it because it wasn't white. She said she starts with a roux, made with garlic butter and flour, and fresh ground sausage. “I get it from Yellowfront or Curtis Meats, and all the grease from the sausage goes into the gravy.”

The Hallett sisters, Susan Hallett Witt and Jennifer Hallett Chipman, said their favorite way to eat biscuits was passed down from their grandmother, through their mother: Split open and broiled with butter and honey. Jeanne Casey grills them with butter and adds blueberry jam. Kathleen Duffy likes them with eggs and “nutritional gravy.”

Jane Dennison likes her biscuits with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Though I prefer a shortcake, which is essentially just a biscuit with sugar added, and a little more shortening, a biscuit with some strawberries or raspberries, topped with lemon yogurt (have you tried noosa?) makes a dreamy breakfast.

Whether you choose to eat them plain, hot from the oven with butter, sweetened with honey or jam, or smothered in gravy, nutritional or otherwise, biscuits are a delectable treat.

Look for Suzi Thayer’s column, On Eating and Loving Food, every week.

For more stories about food click here.