Biscuits

Cook of the Month, Jean Estes

Jean Estes is known throughout Chambers County for her homemade cakes, but don’t expect to see any of those recipes in the pages of Alabama Living. “I sell my cakes and don’t share those recipes,” says the Wadley resident who’s been cooking since childhood. “I cooked my first cake when I was 9 years old.” Her grandmother taught her how to make a white cake with chocolate icing and she hasn’t stopped cooking since. Her prize-winning biscuit recipe, which uses yeast, is one she is happy to share. “This is the recipe I use when I do catering,” she says. “That sugar activates the yeast.” She got the original recipe from a friend but adds, “I changed the ingredients around to suit me. I make up my own recipes.” And White Lily flour is a must for all her recipes, she adds. She calls this recipe “Jean-O’s Yeast Biscuits” because that’s the name her nieces gave her years ago. Retired from Russell Corp. in Lafayette, she also worked for the Chambers County Board of Education at Five Points Elementary School, where she baked cakes and cookies. Now she stays busy catering meals and weddings, and her kitchen is busiest during November and December when she bakes up to 60 cakes.