Bacon & Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
I know it has been roughly 2 weeks, 5 days and 3 hours since I last posted anything on my blog but I've been busy man! Lots to do around here in the canning department, not to mention work, lots of family birthday functions, chicken run construction and my honey bees got robbed!! Yep, robbed...those poor little souls almost had their honey ripped off by some other bandit bees and hornets, but luckily with just a minor incident of several bees getting inside my coveralls and James getting stung on the head a few times, we got the invasion stopped in time to save our girls!! (if you want to know more about bee hive "robbing" click on this link).
So, since things have calmed down a bit 'round here, I figured it was time to get back in the kitchen and bake up some of these country bacon & cheddar biscuits for breakfast!
To make these "fill yer belly" breakfast biscuits, you will need: all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, buttermilk, unsalted butter, sharp cheddar cheese, cooked bacon, cornmeal or flour for dusting the baking sheet and if you wish, a beaten egg white to brush on the tops of your biscuits before baking!
First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees (oven temperatures vary, so if your oven is "slow", crank the heat up to about 450 degrees) next, grate about 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese and cook about 4-5 strips of bacon, pat with paper towels to absorb any grease and crumble the bacon...set aside.
In a large bowl, add 2 cups of all purpose flour,
...a 1/2 tsp. of salt,
...4 tsp.'s of baking powder, then stir with a fork to combine.
Next, toss in a 1/2 cup of cold, unsalted cubed butter (I like to use unsalted butter for this recipe since there is salt and bacon in the recipe). Using a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse pea-sized crumbs.
Toss in the grated cheese and crumbled bacon, then stir until all is incorporated.
Pour in 1 cup of cold buttermilk...
...and stir with a fork until a sticky dough forms.
Form the dough into ball (taking care not to work the dough very much) and turn out onto a lightly floured surface...
Gently pat the dough out into a circle that is about 1 inch thick.
Use a circle cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out the dough.
(if you don't have a biscuit cutter, you can use a can opener to cut the ends out of an empty soup can and use that to cut out your biscuits. You can also use a small drinking glass but since the edges of a glass are rounded, it will pinch the dough down and possibly hinder the rise of your biscuits.)
Place biscuits on a flour or cornmeal dusted baking sheet...
...then, If you wish, brush tops with an egg white wash (1 beaten egg white with 2 tbsp's of cold water).
Bake in your preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.
Serve biscuits warm, fresh out of the oven with a cup of coffee...
...or add some fluffy scrambled eggs and fruit for a down home country breakfast!
Bacon & Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
4 tsp.'s of baking powder
1/2 cup of cold, cubed unsalted butter
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4-5 strips of cooked and crumbled bacon
1 cup of cold buttermilk
egg white wash optional (1 beaten egg white and 2 tbsp's of cold water)
cornmeal or flour for dusting the baking sheet
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees then sprinkle some cornmeal or flour on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese then cook and crumble about 4-5 strips of bacon...set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and mix with a fork until combined. Cut in the butter, toss in the cheese and bacon and stir until incorporated.
4. Add the buttermilk and stir until a sticky dough forms then lightly form dough into a ball.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat dough out into a 1 inch thick circle.
6. Cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter, place on baking sheet and brush with egg white wash if desired.
7. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown...enjoy!
* Makes approximately 8 biscuits