Food I Can't Stop Making: Homemade Flour Tortillas

A Pioneer Woman recipe
Makes 8-10 tortillas

1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
5 Tbsp. lard or shortening
1/4-1/2 c. hot water

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large wooden bowl.
Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening, then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together.  (rhymeswithsmile note here: start with just 1/4 cup of water, then add more a little at a time.  I found that the first batch I made was too sticky with the entire half cup  You want a soft dough, but not a sticky mess of goo).  Lightly knead dough 30-40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky.  Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.
Roll into 8-10 ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20-30 minutes.
When you're ready to make the tortillas, heat a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin (rhymeswithsmile note here: roll as thin as you can, then keep rolling.  Seriously ... think thin.  The thinner the better).
Throw tortillas, one by one, onto the griddle.  Cook on each side for 20-30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots.  (You want the to be pliable, not crisp.  You'll notice a slight color change as they are cooking.)  Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm.  Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing in a container.  Tortillas can be re-warmed in the microwave or wrapped in foil and placed in the oven.

I know what you're thinking, because it's exactly what I thought about people who made their own tortillas ... until I had made some myself.  Sure, it's a little extra work.  Sure, there are a lot of other things going on.  Sure, lard is one of those things that I hope other people don't find out I cook with.  But really, these are incredibly worth it!

And if you make them, maybe your friends will forgive you for having lard in your kitchen.

(We had these for dinner last night with some Oven-Baked Fajitas)