Never Fail Flour Tortillas

Time marches on through August, my self-appointed "Southwestern" month of recipes and I feel I haven't given this delicous trove of recipe inspiration enough attention. I'll be doing my best to post this last week and a half of August and inundate my lovely readers with the best of the best from my hometown and its culture.

On to the post, eh?

Tortillas.

I never ever, ever, eeevvveeer buy flour tortillas. I would rather eat the box from the Chinese takeout joint than stuff one of those tasteless blobs of flour down my gullet.

I will buy corn tortillas, no problem. You can always give them a dip in the ol' hot oil hot tub and beat them back to life from their stale, dried out states. But not flour tortillas. There's no substitute for the real, handmade thing.

I should say upfront that I am not the greatest at making these. I don't pay attention or give due process to the rolling out stage and I tend to get really thick (though delicious) hunks of tortilla tasting bread-stuff that crack in half if you try to fold them for taco-related purposes.

But I had a neighbor once who made the BEST tortillas I've ever eaten in my LIFE. And this is her recipe.

Never Fail Tortillas

2 - cups all purpose flour
1 - teaspoon baking powder
1/2 - teaspoon salt
5 - tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard
3/4 - cup hot water

In a large bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder and shortening. Cut in the shortening until the mixture constitutes marble-sized pieces. Add hot water and mix using your hands or a wooden spoon until the dough starts to form. Knead on a floured surface for 5 - 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Form dough into a ball. Place the dough into a covered bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Pinch 12 equal sized balls (golf ball sized)  and heat your skillet (or comal) to medium, medium high. Roll out the individual balls into flat discs. Place on skillet. Cook until bubbly...flip and repeat.