Breakfast Biscuit Sammies

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© Paden Reich

Some tastes stay with you for your entire life, and for me, this dish is one of them. When I was a teenager, my mom taught me how to make sausage and cheese bites, and I have savored their rich, comforting taste since taking my first batch out of the oven. It’s one of those old recipes from the 1950s. She made them for my dad’s poker games, and always made sure there were leftovers that I ate for breakfast. Now, jump ahead 30-plus years after I last refreshed drinks for my dad’s poker buddies and I had those sausage and cheese bites on my mind. They were basically biscuits, as I recalled, and I thought they would make a delicious breakfast sandwich if I simply put an egg in the middle with a little bit of bacon and some more spicy cheese. I tried it, and they were super good. In my mind, I simply built on a classic. Friends say they’re perfect for a hearty breakfast or a hangover.

Instructions

Make Ahead: Make this the night before to grab on-the- go in the morning.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the baking mix, sausage, cheese, syrup, and hot sauce in a large bowl. Shape into 16 (11/4-inch) balls and, with wet hands, flatten each slightly into a disk. Place the disks about 1 inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the eggs, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the whites are set and the yolks are soft, about 2 minutes, or to the desired degree of doneness. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.

3. Place 1 slice of the cheese on the bottom half of each sausage biscuit. Top with the eggs and bacon. Top with the remaining sausage biscuit halves. Serve with more hot sauce or maple syrup, if desired.

Variation

You can use different cheeses. Instead of pepper Jack, for instance, try Cheddar or regular Jack cheese. And if you think the biscuit has enough flavor, you can skip the bacon and cheese and just top with an egg and not sacrifice any flavor. Whatever you desire.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 pound ground spicy pork sausage
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 16 ounces)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon hot sauce, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 pepper Jack cheese slices
8 bacon slices, cooked