Maple-Bacon Biscuit Bake

I've been a huge fan of King Arthur Flour ever since my mom attended a baking demo five years ago and brought me back all sorts of goodies and delicious-sounding recipes. I attended a baking demo myself a few years back and had a blast. If they ever have one in your area I highly recommend going. Even though I'm too cheap to buy their flour unless I have a great coupon and feel like splurging, I do subscribe to their email newsletter so I can score exciting new recipes.

One of the latest they shared was their Maple-Bacon Biscuit Bake, drop biscuits baked over a layer of chopped bacon in a maple butter sauce. The whole thing is inverted like an upside-down cake once done so you wind up with fluffy biscuits topped with a sugary glaze and bites of bacon. Mmmmmmmm. It is just as good as it sounds. I started drooling as soon as I read the recipe and have been waiting for a chance to make it since.

The recipe is astoundingly easy to follow. It's one of those recipes that will wow your guests and you never have to tell them what a piece of cake it was to make. I chose to bake my bacon since it calls for such a large quantity, so I laid it out on a baking rack over a baking sheet covered with parchment paper to catch the drippings. Baked at 375 F for about 20 minutes, which is less time than the recipe I followed indicated so you'll want to keep an eye on yours until it reaches the desired crispness. You won't want to overdo it as the bacon bakes a little more with the biscuits.

So, another winning recipe from King Arthur Flour! I almost feel guilty about snagging all of these great recipes from them without buying much from their shop but some fancy Vietnamese cinnamon once a year. Oh well, as long as they're willing to share I won't bring that to their attention.


Edited to add: When I went to write a review of the recipe today I discovered that they've tweaked the measurements for the syrup a bit. While the version I used was fine they've adjusted it to make a topping that's "over the top," which is always how I like my baked goods to be. If you want to try the newer version change the quantities in the syrup section to:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter

Maple-Bacon Biscuit Bake
Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Syrup
1/2 pound bacon, cooked until medium-brown
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter

Biscuits
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Bakewell Cream*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) cold butter
1 cup cold milk or cold buttermilk
*If you don't have Bakewell Cream, substitute 2 teaspoons baking powder and omit the baking soda.

1) Preheat the oven to 475°F. Lightly grease an 8" square or 9" round pan.

2) Syrup: Chop the cooked bacon into 1/2" pieces. Combine the bacon with the remaining syrup ingredients, stirring until well combined. Spread in the bottom of the prepared pan.

3) Biscuits: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

4) Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly; some larger, pea-sized pieces of butter may remain intact.

5) Add the milk or buttermilk, stirring to make a sticky dough.

6) Drop the dough in heaping tablespoonfuls atop the syrup in the pan. A tablespoon cookie scoop, slightly overfilled, works well here.

7) Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes. Turn the oven off, and leave them in the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until they're golden brown.

8) Remove the biscuits from the oven, and immediately turn the pan over onto a serving plate. Lift off the pan, and scrape any syrup left in the pan onto the biscuits. Pull biscuits apart to serve.

Yield: 16 small biscuits.