by EMERSON SLOANE
Elevating a childhood favorite is tricky business. I've long resisted it when it comes to my favorite childhood comfort food and one deeply rooted in my family's recipe books, which, in itself, is deeply rooted in old Southern food tradition.
My grandmother and my mother used to make chocolate gravy and biscuits for me when I was a kid. It didn't happen on any regular basis or frequently, but when I knew it was coming for breakfast, especially on a winter Saturday or Sunday, I couldn't wait. Spooning the chocolate gravy made in a heavy cast iron skillet over fresh drop or rolled biscuits and topping it with delicious salted butter was a sweet breakfast treat--decadent in its own way.
As I've mentioned before, I set aside Saturdays as my kitchen experimenting days at home, but since yesterday was a holiday, I didn't get around to it until Sunday this week. So, I decided to update my favorite chocolate gravy and biscuits recipe--hoping that my grandmother would approve. I mean, it's got bacon in it and chocolate and cinnamon--who could object to any of that, right?
Biscuit dough is wonderful not just because it's delicious, but because it's so versatile. You can use it as a food palette and add savory or sweet ingredients to it. These biscuits contain bits of crisp bacon, cinnamon, and allspice. The chocolate gravy is where the heat comes in. The combination of peppers, spice, and chocolate is an irresistible one. When cooking food is about balancing textures, and tastes, the spice and sweetness of this gravy is a match made in culinary nirvana. Spoon it over ice cream as well, if there's any left for you to store in the fridge, after, that is. This recipe makes 12 biscuits--probably more than you need, but probably not, if you know what I'm getting at. Always make your own biscuit dough. It's not difficult and the taste is so much better than anything you can buy in a can. These drop biscuits don't have to be rolled out or cut. You just scoop out the batter and drop onto the baking sheet.
For the biscuits:
6 slices bacon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice
3⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
1 cup cold buttermilk or milk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons melted butter, for brushing tops of biscuits
Cut bacon in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces; fry in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes. Transfer pieces to a paper towel and cool.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease your baking sheet.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in bacon pieces.
In a medium bowl, combine cold buttermilk and 8 tablespoons melted butter, stirring until butter forms small clumps.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl.
Using a 1/4-cup dry measure, scoop level amounts of batter and drop onto baking sheet (biscuits should measure about 2 1/4-inches in diameter and 1 1/4-inch high). Space biscuits 1 1/2-inces apart.
Bake until the tops are golden brown and crisp, 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
For the spiced chocolate gravy:
1⁄3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (more or less)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2⁄3 cup powdered sugar(granulated also works just fine)
2 cups whole milk
2 1⁄2 tablespoons butter (or bacon fat)
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
cayenne pepper (2-3 generous dashes, depending on your spicy preference)
1 tablespoon pure Mexican vanilla (or vanilla extract if you don't have Mexican vanilla)
4 teaspoons powdered ancho chile
Heat skillet or sauce pan over medium-low heat, add butter or bacon fat until melted.
Sprinkle in flour slowly and whisk until smooth.
Add chocolate and sugar, whisk until fully blended; cook 1-2 minutes, careful to not burn.
Slowly add milk, whisk continuously to prevent lumps.
Add vanilla, salt, cayenne, and ancho chile and whisk.
Cook a few minutes until gravy thickens. Whisk in more milk for a thinner gravy.
Serve hot over fresh biscuits. Top with bits of your cooked bacon.
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