Ann Birney travels the globe portraying renowned aviator Amelia Earhart. Hailing from Kansas, she gets to see unique parts of the world because of her work.

In fact, she will be appearing as the aviator July 15-16 at the 20th annual Amelia Earhart Festival in Atchison, Kansas.

She gets great enjoyment out of this endeavor, but she also has a side hobby that she loves to share with others: baking. Her homemade biscuit recipe is famous. Birney first learned to appreciate baking through her mother and grandmother, who also informed her life philosophies.

In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Ann Birney stated how she developed her biscuit-making talents:

“The first time I made biscuits they were pitiful and hard as rocks. It is amazing I ever made them again. I don’t remember why I felt I needed to be successful at this one skill or how long it was before my second attempt, but my motivation to most things culinary is that I like to eat and I like to nurture people. Because we live off the beaten path, when people visit they often stay over. If they make that commitment to come, I promise them homemade biscuits for breakfast.

The secret to good biscuits is to handle them very little, and I am a minimalist when it comes to cooking tools. I have had a pastry cutter and biscuit cutters, but gave them up for a fork and drinking glass that is 2  1/4 inches in diameter.

My granddaughter, Alicea Wisneski, has portrayed Amelia’s sister, Muriel Morrissey, and she keeps saying she is going to learn to make my biscuits when she moves back from Albuquerque. Cooking and baking together can also be a way to hand down recipes, and most importantly the stories that go with them.”

You can find her biscuit recipe, learn more about the Amelia Earhart Festival, and see the rest of the interview at the Kansas City Star.