On this week when I have no idea what day it is or what time it is...but I have every idea why my pants won't button, I ask you, is there anything better than a warm out-of-the-oven buttermilk biscuit? Actually there is, bacon cheddar chive biscuits. Light, buttery and flaky just like a traditional biscuit, but loaded with extra awesomeness.
What do I need to make these?
Not a lot really. These come together with minimal ingredients, that you likely have on hand.
- flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- sugar
- butter
- buttermilk
- bacon
- chives
- cheddar cheese
Are they hard to make? Biscuits from scratch seems like it would be a pain...
I am right there with you, I have long though buttermilk biscuits were hard, and so I always bought the ones in the exploding can. I could not have been more wrong. Making these bacon cheddar chive biscuits is actually very simple. I have simplified it even further, thanks to a trick I found here. No food processor required, no cutting butter into the flour. So, you melt the butter and extra chill the buttermilk. Then pour the melted butter into the extra chilled buttermilk, and it forms tiny little butter gems (that's my fancy term for it). Butter gems being small little pearls of butter - EXACTLY what you are trying to achieve when cutting butter into the flour. I promise this works. I have done this not only with these, but with plain biscuits as well and it works every time. And I was super skeptical at first, but after about 10x making biscuits successfully this way, I can confidently say this is a good method...and a simple one.
Where does the bacon cheddar chive part come in?
Throw your cooked bacon, shredded cheddar and chopped chives right in with the other dry ingredients before mixing in the buttermilk/butter mixture. Easy as can be.
Tip for the very best texture
I have a few:
- Don't overmix the ingredients. Mix just until the buttermilk/butter is incorporated
- Don't use a whisk to mix, use a spatula or wooden spoon. A whisk will create a sticky mess and risk overmixing.
- Don't use a mixer - you will def overmix these.
- When laying the dough out to cut, don't knead it too much, Basically just dump it out onto a floured counter and gently form into a disk.
- Don't flatten too much, you want a tall biscuit! Keep about ½-3/4 inch tall
Last thing - if you don't have chives handy use whatever your fave herb is that you do have handy. Thyme and rosemary are always awesome in any biscuit, and green onions, finely chopped pretty much taste the same.
Bacon cheddar chive biscuits
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- ½ tablespoon of sugar this helps balance all the saltiness from the bacon and cheese
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 3 teaspoons of baking powder
- pinch of salt just a teeny bit
- 1 ½ cups of buttermilk chilled in the freezer for about 15 minutes
- 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted
- 4 slices of cooked bacon chopped,
- ½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese plus a little to sprinkle on top of the biscuits
- ¼ cup finely chopped chives or herb of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and have a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a bowl mix together the four, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, pinch of salt, bacon, cheese and chives. Pour your melted butter into the buttermilk and stir together with a fork. You will see tiny bits of butter chunk up in there. It will look gross, but this is exactly what you want, so just squeeze your eyes shut - lol.
- Add the buttermilk/butter to the dry ingredients and combine with a spatula until incorporated. Not too much though, you don't want a tough dough.
- Lay out on a floured counter and knead into a disk of dough that is about ½-3/4 inch thick. Cut your biscuits, using a biscuit cutter or round glass. Or if you want, use a pizza cutter and cut into squares. You just want all the same size so they bake evenly at the same time.
- Put them on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Open oven and sprinkle with extra shredded cheese, if you want and continue baking another five to eight minutes. Let cool a little it before enjoying.
In need of bacon and cheese without the carbs? I gotcha covered here.
