Flaky Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Hello tender, buttery, flaky bacon cheddar chive biscuits that have layers for daysssss. Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits ain’t got nothing on these babies! If you know me, then you know I have a thing for biscuits. And you know I make them on the regs. I personally love savory biscuits because they’re easy to make, they’re super versatile, and they’re great to make ahead and freeze. They can also be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner and can be the main dish or make the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I mean. What’s not to like?

These flaky bacon cheddar chive biscuits literally have it all. They make a killer breakfast egg sammy and make the perfect bed for a sausage gravy. But, they’re not just reserved for breakfast. You could also make a fried chicken biscuit sammy or ham biscuit sammy. Or perhaps you could use them to top a chicken pot pie. They’re also great at soaking up any sauces, soups, or stews. Or just serve them on the side to complete the meal. Although, these definitely ain’t no side piece. With the bacon, cheddar, parmesan, and chives, these flaky biscuits are guaranteed to steal the show.

Temperature is the key to making homemade biscuits

When it comes to flaky pastry dough of any kind (i.e. pies, puff pastry, biscuits, scones), temperature is our best friend. In order to create a tender and flaky biscuit, we want to ensure the butter and buttermilk are cold throughout the entire process. We will achieve this by using cold butter and buttermilk and freezing the biscuits prior to baking. 

But, why is it so important? Good question. While baking, the chunks of butter will create pockets of steam and thus create the flaky layers we’re after.

Tips for making flaky biscuits with lots of layers

• Prepare your ingredients beforehand—Since the process of making biscuits goes quickly, it’s important to prep the diced bacon, chopped chives, and shredded cheese prior so you can just add as you go. 
• Use cold butter and cold buttermilk—As I mentioned before, temperature is very important in creating a flaky biscuit or scone. Similar to pie dough, you want to use cold butter and cold buttermilk to prevent the fats from melting. 
• Use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients—You want to handle the dough as little as possible since your hands are warm. Using a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients will ensure the butter and buttermilk remain cold. 
• Leave the butter in walnut and pea-sized pieces—When rolling the dough, you should be able to see big chunks of butter throughout. 
• Laminate the dough to create flaky layers—Folding the dough onto itself will help give us a jumpstart in creating layers of butter and dough. 
• Shred your own cheese if you can—Pre-shredded cheese contains fillers and doesn’t melt as well as cheese that comes in blocks.
• Freeze your biscuits before baking—Before baking, I like to put the biscuits into the freezer for 15 minutes to ensure the dough and butter are cold. This also lets the gluten relax before baking.

How to laminate biscuits to achieve buttery layers

In order to achieve those mile high layers, the trick is to laminate your biscuits. Which is the process of repeatedly folding and rolling the dough to create multiple layers of butter and dough and butter and dough. Then, when baked, the butter will steam and create those layers. 

Lamination is the same method used to make croissants or puff pastry. But, don’t worry. When it comes to biscuits, I like to use a simple and easy “shortcut” lamination. You don’t need to be super precise like you would for croissants and it doesn’t require any fancy tools. All you need is the palm of your hand!

To do this, simply pat the biscuit dough out into a long rectangle that is about ½-inch thick using the palm of your hand. Then fold the dough over itself into thirds like you would fold a letter. With the long edge facing you, take the right end and fold it up and over about ⅓ of the length and then take the left end and overlap it over the first piece. Each section should be equal in width and length and it should look like a folded letter.

To get a better visual of the process, you can watch me make these bacon cheddar chive biscuits on my Instagram stories here.

Why are your biscuits square shaped?

I’ve gotten this question a few times before: “Why are your biscuits square? I’ve never seen biscuits that shape before.” Well, here’s why. When you use a round biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, there inevitably will be scraps and then you will need to re-roll the scraps to use up all of the dough. 

But, when you cut the biscuits into squares, there are no scraps. Which means you don’t need to re-roll scraps. Which also means that there’s one less step. And I’m all about simplicity. However, if you prefer a round biscuit, then by all means feel free to use a biscuit cutter. No judgment here. Do you!

Happy baking! I hope you enjoy these flaky bacon cheddar chive biscuits as much as I do.