Black Pepper Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

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For the most part, we all tend to like the foods with which we became familiar in our youth. Generally, if our parents didn’t like certain foods, they never became a part of our culinary experience. I was thinking about this the other day, puzzled by the fact that my grandmother made chicken and dumplings, and yet my mother didn’t like them. Ergo, I had never eaten chicken and dumplings in my life. The more I thought about this, the more I knew I had to have them. I mean, what’s not to like about a creamy chicken soup full of fluffy biscuits?

I started doing some research into a variety of ways to fix chicken and dumplings, and found a recipe that looked appealing. Dumplings, I learned, are essentially biscuits. So why, I asked myself, not look for an incredibly delicious biscuit recipe to use for dumplings. How could I go wrong?

I know that this is a long introduction for this biscuit recipe. The reason I wanted to tell you all this is that not only did I make these biscuits as is, but I also made dumplings out of the remaining part of the biscuit dough for a big pot of magnificent chicken and dumplings, the recipe of which I will share on Monday.

Now, I’m not going to lie, these biscuits are work. The worst part, in my opinion, is grating frozen butter on a box grater. I did not enjoy that at all. Plus, there is the dicing of the bacon (I froze my bacon first to make it easier), and then the hand mixing. On the plus side, I thought they rolled out like a dream. I do have a marble rolling pin that made this easy; if you don’t, you need one. It makes a world of difference any time you need to roll out a biscuit, cookie, piecrust, or any type of pastry.

As soon as I made these biscuits, I drove half of them, hot from the oven, to number one son’s house for his family to try. They were happy to be guinea pigs, and thoroughly enjoyed these biscuits. You will too. It’s not my recipe; it comes from the Damn Delicious blog. So good!

 Black Pepper Cheddar Bacon Biscuits

From Damn Delicious

 6 slices bacon, diced

4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

¼ c. chopped fresh parsley leaves

4 t. baking powder

2 t. freshly ground black pepper

1½ t. kosher salt

1 t. baking soda

1 t. garlic powder

¾ c. unsalted butter, frozen

1¾ c. buttermilk

 Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

In a large bowl, combine bacon, flour, cheese, parsley, baking powder, pepper, salt, baking soda and garlic powder.

 Grate butter using the large holes of a box grater. Stir into the flour mixture.

 Add buttermilk and stir using a rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.

 Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1¼" thick rectangle. Cut out 14-16 rounds using a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter. Place biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet; place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove biscuits from freezer. Place into oven and bake for 14-17 minutes, or until golden brown.

 Serve warm.