In a large pot, melt butter and saute onion. Add a pinch of sugar and cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic and stir for another 1-2 minutes until onions and garlic begin to brown. Add salt and pepper. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium heat for 5 minutes.

While stock cooks, make dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add butter, using fingers to work shortening into flour until it is in tiny pieces. Pour buttermilk into flour-butter mixture and stir until a crumbly dough forms. Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 15 times, until a ball forms.Using a rolling pin, roll dough until it is ¼” thick, then cut into roughly 2” squares (don’t worry about sides that aren’t perfectly square, use these too!). Dust surface of cut dumplings lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon flour.

Increase heat on stock to high and bring broth to a boil. Add dumplings one at a time, and let boil for 5 minutes. Stir, separating any dumplings stuck together with a spoon. Reduce heat so liquid simmers and partially cover pot leaving a small crack open on one side. Cook, stirring occasionally, until dumplings are tender and cooked through and broth is thickened to gravy consistency, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, use two forks to shred cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. When dumplings are cooked, stir chicken into pot and cook until chicken is heated through, about 1 minute more. Season with more salt, if desired, sprinkle with black pepper, and serve.