Cheddar cheese biscuits with bacon jam

Cheddar cheese biscuits

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 stick butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar, or cheese(s) of your choice
• 1 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 375. Sift all dry ingredients together. Cut one stick butter into tablespoon-sized pats, and cut into dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until it looks like coarse crumbs.
2. Toss with grated cheese (I often use a combo of whatever kinds of firm cheeses I have in my fridge).
3. Add milk, and stir just enough for dry ingredients to all come together. If dough is too dry and crumbly add a little more milk.
4. Turn out onto a floured board and knead only two or three times -- enough to incorporate everything. Form into a ball and pat or roll out to about 1 inch thick.
5. Use a small biscuit cutter -- I find a small tomato paste can, both ends cut out, makes a great cutter for cocktail sized biscuits -- to cut out biscuits. Place on ungreased baking sheet. At this point, if you're making in advance, you can freeze the biscuits on the baking sheet, then remove to a plastic bag. Allow to thaw before baking.
6. Melt remaining half-stick of butter and brush tops of biscuits. Bake until golden brown, and cool on a rack.

Bacon jam

• 1 pound good smoked bacon
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup strong black coffee
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

1. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces and toss into heavy Dutch oven. Cook over medium high heat, stirring periodically, until starting to crisp.
2. Dice onion and mince garlic, and add to bacon. If you're concerned about the fat content (It IS bacon, after all), drain off some of the fat first, leaving 3 tablespoons or so. Lower heat to medium and cook until onion starts to brown, about 8 minutes or so.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for an hour or two. Stir occasionally, and add water if it gets too thick.
4. When bacon is very tender, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes or so. Transfer to food processor -- you may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your processor -- and pulse until mixture is the consistency you want.