Bacon makes everything better, especially these soft and buttery biscuits.  Enough said.

Maple Bacon Biscuits                     Printer-Friendly Recipe

From: Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Makes: About 6 biscuits

Ingredients

3 slices (about 3 ounces) bacon
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Approximately 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, chopped into small chunks (plus 2 tablespoons of chilled bacon fat)
1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Fry the bacon in a pan until it is crisp.  Place bacon on a paper towel lined plate.  Pour off the bacon fat into a measuring cup and place in the freezer until the fat is solid.  When the bacon has cooled a bit, chop it into small pieces.  Place the bacon in a small bowl and add the maple syrup, stir together and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.  Remove the bacon fat from the freezer.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Rub the bacon fat and butter into the flour mixture.  Use a pastry cutter and blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add in the maple syrup coated bacon and the buttermilk.  Blend with a rubber spatula and knead (if necessary) to evenly moisten the dough.

Place the dough on a well-floured surface and pat down the dough until it is 1-inch in thickness.  Cut the biscuits with a 2-inch cutter.  Place the biscuits on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the biscuits have puffed and are golden brown.  Best served warm the day they are baked.  Enjoy!

Makin’ bacon.

Place crispy bacon on a paper towel lined plate and pour the excess fat from the pan into a measuring cup.

Chopped.

Add maple syrup to the chopped bacon and stir.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Frozen bacon fat, not the most appealing thing, but necessary.

Add in 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and 4 tablespoons of butter.

Use a pastry cutter to combine until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add the maple covered bacon and the buttermilk.

Stir together until combined. Knead a few times if the mixture needs to come together more.

Pat out the dough into 1-inch thickness on a well-floured surface or silicone mat. You could use a rolling-pin, I used my hands for a more rustic look.

Cut out circles using a biscuit cutter or a glass.

Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes.  As you can see, I only got 5 biscuits out of the recipe because my cutter was a little bigger than 2-inches.

Bake until puffed and golden brown.

Good day to you!