Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Oh, my poor arteries. They're never recovering from this one.

Source

Adapted from SloeGinFizz


Yield

I doubled this recipe, which itself was only supposed to make 12, but it ended up making about 30 when doubled. So the recipe I include below makes about 15, depending on how big the biscuits are.


Equipment

• Large bowl for mixing
• Frying pan (optional)
• Baking sheet (preferably a thick one)
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 6 slices Bacon
• 3 3/4 cups Bread flour (I'd really like to know why bread flour is used instead of all-purpose - does anyone know?)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar
• 1/2 cup fresh Chives
• 1 3/4 cups Buttermilk, chilled

Directions

Prep

Cook bacon until very crispy, either in the frying pan or the oven,

let cool, and crumble into bits. 

Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes. You don't want them to melt too much, so refrigerate them until they're ready to go in.

Grate the cheese coarsely, and chop the chives. I like them chopped a little big so you can see them in the biscuit better.

Position the oven rack just above the middle, and preheat to 425F.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Add the butter cubes

and, with two knives or your fingertips, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a coarse, gritty texture. 

Add the cheese, chives and bacon,

and mix well. 

Slowly add the buttermilk,

mixing with your hands to maintain an even consistency. You want it to be a sticky, goopy batter, not a solid, uniform dough. 

Flour your hands lightly, and drop about 1/2 cup of the batter onto the parchment paper, leaving a good 2 inches between each biscuit (they will rise and spread). I learned this the hard way, as clearly I did not leave 2 inches between the biscuits, and they overlapped a bit in the oven. It wasn't really a big deal, but it looks nicer to have clean, separate biscuits. 

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until slightly golden. In my oven it took a bit longer than 20 minutes, so just keep an eye on them. 

The original recipe said to brush melted butter on the biscuits once they've cooled, but damn, there's so much butter in the batter already, there was really no need for that. But, if you hate your heart even more than I hate mine, go for it!

When toasted the next day, these were the perfect compliment to breakfast.