Maple Bacon Biscuits. Yup….probably don’t need to say anything else. I could just leave it right there, because I know I’ve already got the attention of all the biscuit lovers out there. (These are American biscuits…not the cookie variety but the big old buttery layered bready type). The husband loves biscuits, especially breakfast biscuits piled high with eggs, sausage and hash browns.
The puppy is a biscuit fan as well!
I tell you if someone whispers the word biscuit within a five-mile radius, his ears will perk up. I’m pretty sure that’s how it is with all the biscuit-y type folks out there. And then to stick the word bacon in front of it? I’ve likely got the attention of 99% of the population at this point. Bacon makes everything taste better. Must be why nearly everyone loves it. And those folks who don’t…you might want to keep an eye on them. Definitely find them a bit suspect. And then to bring maple flavour into the mix too….What you end up with is sweet/savoury flaky perfection!
I found the recipe for these Maple Bacon Biscuits in Deb Perlman’s Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, which I absolutely love. They were very easy to make. Sometimes recipes for biscuits can get a bit fussy and obsessive, trying to get just one more micro-fraction of an inch more rise. No worries here, easy recipe with great results, which comes together quickly. The thing that takes the longest is waiting for that grease to set up I would imagine. You see, this biscuit recipe calls for a mixture of butter and cold bacon grease and instructs folks to put the grease from the bacon they just fried in the freezer to quickly solidify that fat. I just had to laugh. I have a ready supply of bacon grease in my fridge at all times. (Hey! Don’t make that face! At least I keep it in the fridge. My grandma always had it just sitting out on the ledge behind the stove.) I always save the grease when I fry up a batch of bacon. We fry all sorts of things in it later. Gives it a great salty, bacony flavour. Ever had an egg fried in bacon grease? YUM! I’ve included the instructions for readying the grease for these biscuits, but you might want to keep the bit you don’t use in the fridge for later. Don’t say no one ever told you… But back to these biscuits. They are amazing, all tender and flaky, slightly sweet and salty and peppered with bits of bacon. Eat one hot right out of the oven, slathered with butter and your weekend will be off to a grand start indeed!
Maple Bacon Biscuits
recipe slightly adapted from: Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 4 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 1 1/2 Cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, chilled, chopped into small chunks
- 2 Tablespoons cold bacon grease
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) buttermilk
Directions:
Fry bacon until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain it on a few stacked paper towels. Pour the bacon fat into a glass measuring cup so that you can see how much you have. Place your measuring cup in the freezer and freeze until fat is solid.
Chop the bacon into small bits, and place it in a small dish. Pour the maple syrup over the bacon and stir; then set the mixture aside.
Remove the solidified bacon fat from the freezer. Preheat your oven to 450 º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the four, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter the butter and bacon fat over the top of flour mixture. Pulse until flour takes on a coarse meal appearance.
Place flour/butter mixture in bowl. Add the bacon/maple syrup mixture as well as the buttermilk. Blend together with a rubber spatula until dough forms. Knead just a couple of times, taking care to handle the dough as little as necessary. Pat the dough out to a 1″ thickness on a well floured surface. Using a 2″ cutter, cut biscuits, taking care not to twist cutter, but pushing straight down and then lifting. Arrange the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven and immediately turn heat down to 425º F. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until they are puffed and golden.
Serve warm slathered in butter and jam. Or maybe with something else terribly naughty and delish! Stay tuned to next posting to find out what it is!
Enjoy!
Maple Bacon Biscuits brought to you by: Runcible Eats (http://www.leaandjay.com )
Posted by liadh1 
Lea & Jay 