I never make biscuits and I really should because they are delicious and foolproof. Somehow I got it in my head that I needed biscuits immediately after we got home from our road trip. My go-to gal Joy is a biscuit expert so you know I consulted her cookbook first. Her recipe for Cheddar, Chive, and Jalapeno Biscuits (see below) was a good start but I had bacon in mind for my biscuits. I adapted the recipe a bit and came up with the following one of my own!
Domestocrat’s Cheddar, Chive, and Bacon Biscuits (adapted from Joy The Baker’s Cheddar, Chive, and Jalapeno Biscuits)
1.5 sticks butter, cut into cubes
3 cups AP flour
1 tbsp. sugar
4.5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (plus an additional tbsp. for the top)
1 egg
6 slices of bacon (I used applewood smoked)
1 tbsp. chives (you can use as much as you like though, this was how much I could cut from our garden that day)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Start by cooking up the bacon. Let it drain and cool on a paper towel lined plate.
When the bacon has cooled, chop it into rough pieces.
Combine the bacon, cheddar, and chives in a big bowl and set aside.
To make the dough base, combine all dry ingredients together in one bowl and all wet ingredients together in another bowl.
It’s time to make biscuits!
Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the Dry Team bowl.
Incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. You can do this with a fancy dough blender, two butter knives, a fork, or just your hands. I opt for my hands though a real baker would tell me that I’m compromising my butter by getting body heat anywhere near it. Ah well. You’ll know you’re done when the flour looks like course meal and not fine flour (like slightly wet sand rather than dry sand).
Next add the cheddar/chive/bacon mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together.
Lastly, create a little well in the dry ingredient bowl and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix together carefully until all the ingredients start to come together.
When the dough has started to come together, turn it out on to a floured surface and knead it together until it forms a full cohesive ball.
You’ll know your dough ball is done when you have no crumbs left; it will all be fully incorporated together.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
When it’s done chilling, roll out the dough and cut into circles. I have a whole round cutter set that I love but you can also do this with the top of a glass. Keep rolling and cutting circles until all of the dough is used up.
Lay your biscuits on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Lightly brush a layer of buttermilk over the top of each biscuit.
Sprinkle a little kosher salt on top of the buttermilk layer on each biscuit too.
Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Properly made biscuits will have buttery layers that literally melt in your mouth. These biscuits are even better because between the buttery layers are cheese, bacon, and chives. So good.
