Flour Tortillas

I used to make flour tortillas all the time when I was first married, my husband comes from a Mexican background, and his Grandma Margie taught me how on one of her many visits with my mother-in-law when we lived in Bremerton, Washington. I remember going to about every yard sale we came across trying to find the perfect wooden rolling pin so she could show me how to make them. I haven't made them in a while I'll be honest, and when I did make them again this last winter they didn't turn out like they used to so I gave up and didn't try again. But last week I went to a kitchen meeting, (yes I get to be the kitchen specialist in my ward! ) and we had some Mexican ladies come and show us how to make different Mexican foods. They made flour tortilla's and I was amazed at the texture of the dough!! It wasn't at all what I remembered! So of course I had to give them a try, and my hubby LOVED them!! I think next time I make them I might add just a pinch more salt (like 1/4 teaspoon more maybe) but other than that they were perfect!! It was so fun to watch those ladies roll them out!! I thank towards the end of my batch I got the technique down! I made mine into chicken fajita's but they would make great burritos or just to eat along side some Chicken Enchilada soup! Remember, this Saturday is Cinco De Mayo, so try whipping up a batch! YUM!

Flour Tortillas
Makes about 18

Ingredients:
6 cups flour (just regular all purpose flour, or you could do half white and half wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
2 1/4 cups HOT water (as hot as you can get it from the tap or microwaved, doesn't need to boil)

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Then add the shortening and blend in with a pastry blender or your fingers.
Then add the water a little at a time, and mix well with your hands.... that's how they did it! I keep adding water until all the flour is incorporated and you have a slightly sticky dough. Knead in the bowl until the dough is more smooth than lumpy (about 3 minutes).
Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes at least or up to an hour.
Form into balls(about golf ball size or a little bigger), roll each ball out into the size tortilla you want. Cook on hot grill or skillet. Cook for a minute or 2 until  the tortilla is opaque on the bottom and starting to bubble, flip over and cook until it turns opaque and you may have a few slightly browned bubbles.
Enjoy!
I found a video that might help to watch... Her recipe is slightly different but the technique is about the same as the ladies I watched (except she seems quite picky about rolling her dough into balls...) Click here for video.