Bacon and Cheddar Biscuits with Maple Chipotle Butter

I wanted to replicate an incredibly delicious biscuit that I tasted at a local restaurant– and I think I did it! To the biscuits, I added cooked bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. A slathering of Maple Chipotle Butter is the perfect finish to this “gourmet” biscuit. One bite is a tender, buttery biscuit with the salt of the bacon, a tang of cheese, the sweet of maple syrup and the subtle heat of the Chipotle Chili butter. It went perfectly with fried chicken!

 

About every other month, my husband and I make a point of dining at a more expensive “upscale” restaurant that is new to us. I usually check reviews on both Yelp and Trip Advisor to get a feel for what people rave about.  I made reservations and we got dressed up for Date Night on the town.
 

I think that I’ve had a lackluster love for biscuits, because I was raised with canned biscuits.  Bleccch. The only other  biscuit recipe I’ve made, from scratch,  are Cathead Biscuits, which have become one of my most popular blog recipes. My men love them, and I think they’re okay.  I got to thinking that I might adapt that recipe. Then again, I thought, I’d see what kind of recipes my trusty King Arthur Flour website would have for biscuits.  I have a bag of their new unbleached self-rising flour (and I love it) and there it was– Easy Self-Rising Biscuits.  I was ready for the challenge!

 

First, I wanted to replicate the butter. Pure Maple Syrup is a staple at home. Yes, I do keep Chipotle Chili Powder on hand. It was 1-2-3 easy to do. One stick of butter, softened. I settled on 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon of Chipotle Chili Powder.

I rolled half of the butter in plastic wrap and into a log, and stuck it in the freezer for another use. The other half was kept soft for the biscuits.

I keep strips of bacon in the freezer, so I can easily cut it into lardon (strips).  I used about 6 strips of bacon, cooked till almost crispy and then drained on a paper towel.

I used Sharp Cheddar Cheese, but you can use whatever you like. I used butter for the biscuits, instead of shortening. TIP:  I use frozen butter and grate it into the flour.  I think this is much easier than using a pastry cutter. 

The grated butter helps me to easily work the butter into the self-rising flour with my hands, without warming it too much.  Cold butter = tender biscuits. I then added the cheese and bacon.

I am convinced that using buttermilk makes for a very tender biscuit. Once the dough comes together as “shaggy”, I dump it onto a floured surface.  We’re not going to be kneading the dough, or I’ll get some tough biscuits. Instead, with floured hands, we’ll fold press the dough together and then fold it over itself a few times. 

We’re building some layers of dough, for a tender biscuit. I chose to pat and shape the dough into a large rectangle, using a bench scraper.

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Bacon and Cheddar Biscuits with Maple Chipotle Butter

I wanted to replicate an incredibly delicious biscuit that I tasted at a local restaurant– and I think I did it! To the biscuits, I added cooked bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. A slathering of Maple Chipotle Butter is the perfect finish to this "gourmet" biscuit. One bite is a tender, buttery biscuit with the salt of the bacon, a tang of cheese, the sweet of maple syrup and the subtle heat of the Chipotle Chili butter. It went perfectly with fried chicken!

Prep Time27 minutes mins

Cook Time14 minutes mins

Total Time41 minutes mins

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bacon and Cheddar Biscuits with Maple Chipotle Butter, Biscuits, Gourmet Biscuits

Servings: 12 biscuits

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

For the butter:

• 1 stick butter softened
• 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (about 1/4 cup) NOTE: Do not use pancake syrup!
• 1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder increase if you like more spice

For the biscuits:

• 2 cups Unbleached Self-Rising Flour I used King Arthur brand
• 1/4 cup cold butter cut into pats, or shortening (I used all butter)
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cold milk or buttermilk I recommend buttermilk
• 6 strips of bacon sliced into thin strips (lardons)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or cheddar of your choice

Instructions

To make the butter:

• With a mixer, whip the butter until creamy.
• Add the maple syrup and chipotle chili and whip until blended.
• Taste, and adjust the maple syrup to chili ratio to your liking. We like just enough chipotle powder where you taste a subtle heat in the back of your throat, but we don’t want to breathe fire!
• TIP: You can spread the butter into a strip of plastic write then roll into a log, then chill. You can slice what you want, or even freeze it for later.

For the biscuits:

• Preheat the oven to 425°.
• Slice the bacon into thin “lardons” and cook until just crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel and cool. Once cool, chop into small pieces.
• Shred the cheese and set aside.
• Place the flour in a bowl. Work in the butter or shortening just until crumbs are the size of large peas.
• TIP: I prefer to use frozen butter (or chilled) and to grate the butter. This make blending the butter into the flour, very easy to do.
• Add 2/3 cup of the milk or buttermilk, and gently stir until the mixture holds together and leaves the sides of the bowl, adding more milk or buttermilk if needed.
• Scoop the dough onto a well-floured surface, and fold it over on itself several times, using more flour as needed to prevent sticking.
• NOTE: Don't knead the dough, just fold it over on itself to create tender layers.
• Roll or pat the dough into a 5″ x 8 1/2″ rectangle about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick.
• Cut biscuits with a sharp, round 2" cutter; dipping the cutter into flour between cuts to reduce sticking. Or cut the rectangle into 12 small rectangular biscuits, with a sharp knife, which will allow you to skip the step of re-rolling and cutting scraps.
• If you’ve used a round cutter, pat the scraps together, and cut additional biscuits.
• Place the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet (I place mine on parchment paper), leaving about 1" between them for crisp biscuits. Arrange biscuits so they're barely touching for soft-side biscuits.

  For higher-rising soft-side biscuits, place biscuits in an 8" round pan.
• Bake the biscuits for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown.
• Remove them from the oven, and serve hot.
• Cool leftovers completely, wrap airtight, and store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage. To refresh room-temperature biscuits, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 13 minutes, until heated through.
• Yield: about 1 dozen 2″ biscuits.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.com

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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