Brunchy Biscuit Sandwiches with Espresso-Glazed Bacon
These sandwiches are all the good things about brunch held between two biscuits. I took a little inspiration from all over your typical brunch spread. The biscuits are full of chives and have a little everything-bagel seasoning happening and along with the juicy tomato slices, create a bagel and lox type situation. Melty cheese and a runny yolk are pretty much obligatory so there's no gettin' around those. And the tangy lemony aioli has serious hollandaise vibes but without all that stress and whisking! But the crowning jewel of this whole thing: ESPRESSO. GLAZED. BACON. YES. It's unexpected and completely addictive. The espresso adds a really interesting, deeply roasty and slightly bitter flavor that is perfectly rounded out by the sweet maple. Seriously, these are so good! I dare ya to try it at your next brunch.
Brunchy Biscuit Sandwiches with Espresso-Glazed Bacon
For the Biscuits *
1 c all purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
1 c cake flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cane sugar
1/2 t salt
1 stick (4 oz) butter, cold and cubed
3/4 c buttermilk, cold, plus more for brushing tops
2 T chives, finely chopped
everything bagel seasoning, for topping (blend of sesame seeds, dried onion, dried garlic, and salt)
For the Lemon Aioli
1/4 c organic mayonnaise
1/2 t dijon mustard
zest of half a lemon
juice of half a lemon
For the Sandwiches
4 biscuits, sliced in half horizontally (recipe above)
8 slices thick-cut bacon
2 T maple syrup, room temperature
1 t instant espresso powder (Italian VIA is my favorite)
4 fried eggs, preferably pasture-raised (Vital Farms are my favorite!)
4 slices sharp cheddar
1 large heirloom or beefsteak tomato, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
lemon aioli (recipe above)
Make the Bacon
Preheat oven to 375 °F. Whisk together the maple syrup and instant espresso powder. Line a baking tray with foil and top with a wire cooling rack. Lay the bacon out on the cooling rack about an inch apart. Brush tos with the maple espresso mixture and bake for 10 minutes then flip, brush other side and bake an additional 10 minutes or so, until crisp. Set aside to cool.
Make the Biscuits
After you take the bacon out of the oven, turn the temperature up to 450 °F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (you could also do this in a food processor). Mix in the chives. Stir the buttermilk in with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. Turn out on a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough out gently with your hands until the dough is about 2 inches in thickness. Divide the dough evenly in quarters and gently shape each piece into a rough circle. Lay each biscuit on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush lightly with a little buttermilk. Sprinkle tops with everything bagel topping and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
Assemble the Sandwiches
Make the aioli by whisking all the ingredients together. Smear each half of the biscuits with the aioli. On the bottom biscuit half layer a fried egg, slice of cheddar (you can pop it in the broiler now if you want to melt the cheese a little), tomato slice, 2 slices of bacon, and top biscuit half.
*Biscuit recipe slightly adapted from The New Best Recipe: Cook's Illustrated
