buttermilk biscuits: cheddar chive & sun-dried tomato roasted garlic

recipe adapted from here

this is the second bread recipe from kelsey i've made, and both have turned out delicious. i'll definitely be trying more from her! i loved her on next food network star and i wanted her to win; i was very disappointed when she didn't, and i hope the judges are kicking themselves now!

i took the recipe as listed and divided it in half. the first half was cheddar and chive (i omitted her bacon).

cheddar chive biscuits

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 stick of butter, or 6 tbsp, diced - COLD
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar
1/4 cups chopped fresh chives

combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (i sifted them together.) place chopped butter and dry ingredients in food processor and pulse until you can see tiny bits of butter all through the flour. add buttermilk and process until it forms a ball. transfer to a bowl and add in cheddar and chives, mix together and form small biscuits approximately 1/2 cup in size. bake at 425 for 15 minutes, or until golden. (side note: her recipe says the full thing should make 18 biscuits, which means mine should have made 9, but i only got 6 out of it. i probably made them a little bigger than they were supposed to be.)

sun-dried tomato & roasted garlic biscuits with rosemary

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 stick of butter, or 6 tbsp, diced- COLD
1/2 cup buttermilk
about 6 sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil (about 1/3 of a small jar)
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 whole head of roasted garlic
small handful of parsley (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
* i chopped the tomatoes, garlic and herbs in the food processor until they were almost a paste

combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (i sifted them together.) place chopped butter and dry ingredients in food processor and pulse until you can see tiny bits of butter all through the flour. add buttermilk and process until it forms a ball. transfer to a bowl and add in tomatoes, garlic, herbs and cheese, mix together and form small biscuits approximately 1/2 cup in size. bake at 425 for 15 minutes, or until golden.

i mixed the add-ins into the dough with my hands. i found that was easiest. i made sure to only mix until everything was just combined so i didn't melt the butter, and then formed the biscuits with my hands too.