Biscuits can seem tricky, if you’ve never made them before. You have to cut butter into small pieces, you have to be careful not to put too much liquid into the dough and you don’t want to over-stir or over-knead it.

But it really isn’t as hard as it looks. You don’t have to have a Southern drawl or memories of baking with your grandmother to do it. And making your own means you can put fun things like bacon and maple syrup in them.

These particular biscuits come from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Smitten Kitchen was actually the first food blog I ever read, and it’s still my favorite.  I love Deb’s photography, and I don’t think I’ve ever made a recipe that was posted there that I didn’t like.

These biscuits weren’t totally perfect — I was expecting them to rise a bit more — but I suspect that is mainly my fault. Even in not-perfect form, they are flaky, tender and have just the right amount of bacon and maple flavor. They’re even better with a bit of melted butter.

If you’d rather have biscuits with tons of layers — like the kind from the can, only homemade — try these. But if you’re looking for something a little more bacon-y, these are a good call.

That wasn’t so tricky, was it?

Maple-bacon biscuits (Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, makes about 10 biscuits with a 2 1/2 inch cutter)
3 slices bacon
1/4 cup maple syrup (make sure you use maple syrup, not pancake syrup)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter (amount necessary will vary based on amount of bacon grease you have)
1/4 cup cold buttermilk

Cook the bacon in a skillet or frying pan until the bacon is crispy. Take the bacon out of the pan and set it on some paper towels to drain, then pour the bacon fat into a glass measuring cup (if you have less than 2 tablespoons, you’ll need to use more butter). Put the bacon fat into the freezer until the fat solidifies.

Cut or break the bacon into small pieces and put it in a little bowl, then pour the maple syrup over it and stir. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Take the bacon fat out of the freezer.

Stir the flour, baking bowser, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl, then use your fingers (or a pastry blender) to incorporate the bacon fat and butter. If you’re using your fingers, just sort of rub the fat into the flour using your fingertips. The mixture is ready for the next step when it looks like corse cornmeal with a few small pieces of butter.

Pour the buttermilk into the dry mixture and add in all the bacon and maple syrup. Fold the mixture with a rubber spatula until the flour is all moistened, then stick your hands in the bowl and knead the dough a few times until it forms a dough.

On a floured surface, pat out the dough to about 1 inch thick, then use a biscuit cutter or mouth of a glass to cut out biscuits. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until they’re puffed and golden — about 12 to 14 minutes. Enjoy warm.