This is another photo taken while we were living in China. But, don’t let that fool you into thinking these biscuits aren’t important. For one reason or another the photos were buried in my computer but I never stopped making this recipe. We have these several times a month, in fact we just had them last night! These are my absolute, last minute, what to have with dinner, go-tos.
Of course, I don’t always make the jalapeno variation of this recipe. The versatility of this recipe is one of the things I love. Sometimes I use white cheddar, sometimes I use chives instead of jalapenos, sometimes I skip the chives and jalapenos, I’ve even swapped a quarter cup of flour for corn meal and made a sort of corn biscuit. No matter how I prepare them, these biscuits always turn out flavorful, light, fluffy, and delicious. Oh, and they’re easy!
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes*
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2-3 Tbsp jarred jalapenos, finely diced**
1 1/3 cups buttermilk, well shaken
*I actually like to use a cheese grater and shred the butter. It makes it super easy to incorporate into the flour. Just make sure you’re using very cold butter!
**Alternatively, you can use freshly chopped chives or omit entirely!
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper (or preheat baking stone).
In a glass mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add the cold butter and use pastry blender or a fork and knife to cut the butter into the flour, until flour and butter make pea size clumps. Mix in the cheddar. Stir in the buttermilk and jalapenos and mix just until incorporated.
Using an ice cream scoop (or 2 forks, making 1/4 cup portions), drop dough 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating baking sheets as needed.
Adapted from Martha Stewart
