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Maryland Beaten Biscuits

An Eastern Shore Tradition

Author: Matt Skinner

Memories of a Simpler Time…

June 18, 2022 by

In addition to selling beaten biscuits, Ruth Orrell was also a teacher for over 30 years. She spent most of that time, from 1944 to 1967, as the teacher of the one-room Longwoods Schoolhouse in Talbot County, Maryland. One room schoolhouses, like Longwoods, were staples of rural communities across America. They combined primary grades in […]

A Big Announcement

September 27, 2020 by

It has been 7 years since we closed Orrell’s Maryland Beaten Biscuits and we have had a lot of time to think about what the biscuits mean to our family and the community at large. That is why we have decided to embark on a project to tell the story of the biscuits, and the […]

Beaten Biscuits: A History

June 11, 2018 by

The history of the Maryland beaten biscuit has largely been lost to time.  No information on their origins exists and what little is known is based on colloquial accounts passed down through local families.

The Evolution of Beating Biscuits

June 6, 2018 by

If you don’t know by now, the “beaten” in beaten biscuits is literal. You can read our FAQ page for more details, but the short explanation is that the biscuit dough must be beaten with some sort of blunt instrument for 30 minutes (for family) to 45 minutes (for company) to incorporate air into the […]

Breakfast Anyone?

June 2, 2018 by

Have you ever reached into a bag of biscuits, mouth watering, ready for a flaky chewy biscuit only to find they have become irreversably hard? What do you do now? You can’t just toss them out; there has to be something you can do? Pancakes!!! Yes, it’s true. Biscuits make some of the best pancakes […]

Women of Talbot County Presentation

May 19, 2018 by

A special thanks to the Talbot County Historical Society for recognizing Ruth Orrell as one of 14 influential women of Talbot County, MD.

The Individual Touch

May 19, 2018 by

Each part of the country has its own take on the beaten biscuit with a slightly different way of beating the dough or a tweak to the recipe. But the characteristic that makes the Maryland beaten biscuit unique is its shape. Maryland beaten biscuits have a small spherical shape that has led more than one […]

Maryland Traditions – Orrell’s Maryland Beaten Biscuits

October 22, 2016 by

The Maryland State Arts Council produced this video in 2011 to record the history of this Eastern Shore tradition.  The video features Dick Orrell, son of the founder of Orrell’s Maryland Beaten Biscuits, Ruth Orrell.  He explains the history of the business and how they are made.