Maple Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

My friends who know me know I have been trying to find a biscuit recipe.  That and that I have a thing for biscuits.  There is just something about a warm biscuit in the morning.  

All the biscuit recipes I have come across call for a food processor.  If you know me and my husband you know he rolls his eyes at another kitchen gadget ... that according to him I will not use after one use.  

But I think I have figured out the secret to biscuits without a food processor.  FREEZE THE BUTTER and then GRATE THE FROZEN BUTTER.  Sounds a little crazy.  BUT if you don't have a food processor this totally does the trick.  The secret to fluffy light biscuits is cold butter.  If you have warm hands you want to touch the dough as little as possible.  

Maple Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bacon, diced
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, unsalted frozen (stick 1.5 sticks of butter in the freezer)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  
2. In a large bowl, combine bacon, flour cheese baking powder, salt and baking soda.  
3. Grate butter using the large holes of a box grater.  Stir into flour mixture.  
4. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and maple syrup.  Add slowly to flour mixture while folding with a spatula until a soft dough forms.  
5. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1 1/4 inch thick rectangle.  Cut out using a biscuit or cookie cutter.  Or with a knife.  Place biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.  
6. Remove the biscuits from freezer.  Place into the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  

My biscuits probably could have come out the oven a minute earlier.  Next time.  Next time.  These biscuits came out so yummy.  If you have extra bacon laying around throw some butter in the freezer and make these biscuits.  Now I need to figure out how I can freeze the dough so that I can biscuits all the time.  

Keep cooking Friends!

XOXO

Maple Oat Buttermilk Bread

My mother in law loves bread. She is the person who will eat or try all the bread in the bread basket at a restaurant. Oh and she will take any leftover bread home too. So for Mother's Day brunch I made sure there was enough carbohydrate items for her.

This maple oat buttermilk bread is so yummy you would never know there were oats inside or whole wheat flour.


Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup quick oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.

2. Whisk together the white flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another bowl, whisk the egg with the oil until smooth. Whisk in the maple syrup, brown sugar, and buttermilk. Stir in the oats.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until the bread is a golden brown. About 1 hour. The edges should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. A tester inserted in the center should come out clean.

5. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then cool on a rack before slicing.

The bread turned out nicely. I think next time I might bake for a little less time. But with so many dishes going on for Mother's Day kinda got side tracked. Either way it was still yummy with butter or dipped in maple syrup.

Enjoy!

XOXO