Add flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and salt into a food processor
2 ½ cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
Pulse until butter is well incorporated into flour
Place flour mixture into a large bowl
Mix in jalapenos and shredded cheese
½ cup jalapenos, 4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Add buttermilk and mix lightly just until buttermilk is mixed in. Mixture will still appear dry.
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
Knead by hand 5-6 times until mixture begins to form a ball and most of the flour is mixed in
Pour onto a lightly floured board or counter and begin shaping into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Shape with lightly floured hands.
Fold into a letter shape by folding the top third of the dough down towards the center. Then fold the bottom over the folded piece making a nice letter shape.
Rotate the dough and repeat the shaping and folding steps. You will do this 5-6 times, each time adding just a bit of flour if the dough is sticking to the surface or your hands.
Form dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle again and then cut with a biscuit cutter to form biscuits. You can usually cut 6 biscuits from the rectangle. Gather the scraps and reshape and cut an additional 2 biscuits.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Brush tops with buttermilk
2 tablespoons buttermilk
sprinkle with a touch of salt and add a jalapeno slice to the biscuit (optional)
½ jalapeno, ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
Bake in a preheated 415°F oven for 15-17 minutes until golden brown and cooked through
Place biscuits on a cooling rack to cool
Serve warm or at room temperature
Video
Notes
If you don't have a food processor, the flour and butter can be mixed together by hand or with a pastry blender. Mix until the flour resembles coarse crumbs.
After you add the buttermilk, the mixture will still appear very dry. After you knead the dough, it will come together.
Don't skip the folding steps. This helps create the layers in the biscuits.
Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter
Biscuits can be baked on a baking sheet with space between each biscuit or in a cast iron skillet with the biscuits touching.
Make certain oven is fully preheated to 415°F before baking
Recipe Variations
Reduce the amount of jalapenos by half to make the biscuits a bit milder
Use roasted chiles in place of the jalapenos. Be certain to dry off the chiles with a paper towel to remove excess moisture
Use your favorite cheese - any type of cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, mozzarella or colby cheese.