buttermilk & tarragon biscuits

Homemade morning biscuits. Ahhh, nothing quite like it right? I mean the smell alone drifting through the house, mixing with the smell of brewing coffee. Those smells are so comforting to me. This past weekend was all about comfort to me. I had a crappy week. The house hunting, the process of the down payment, price of houses not coming down as I thought they would like the rest of the country, higher than normal property taxes over here, these are all things that we are getting our way through as we try and finalize which house or houses to start the bidding on. So nothing is more soothing, comforting rather, than baking some comfort food that smell so good. Plus, I also curled with with one of my favorite feel-good movies: Sex & The City. Watching that movie always makes me feel so relaxed; those girls are in a way my feel-good friends, they lift me up, they get to play dress up, they get to be spoiled if only for an hour and a half and they have fun. (I know it's a bit of a fairy tale, but it makes me feel good and reminds me there is good in the world and all will be ok). I love how Carrie finally gets treated right. After all those years of bad dating, bad men, bad relationships she finally gets a good relationship (or rather Big finallys shapes up!). Best part of the movie? The part where Carrie & Big are apartment hunting and they see the perfect place with views of Central Park. Carrie freaks, and falls in love with the place, the views, the layout and says to Big "can we afford this?" and Big leans in, winks, and says "I got it." Love that--what girl wouldn't?

This original recipe is from CI, but I've made a few adjustments, don't I always? Feel free to do whatever you want with this recipe; it's just so versatile, you can add almost anything or nothing at all. My adjustments are in parenthesis. And yes, I added in fresh tarragon, cheese and ham and still put my jam on top--will you trust me on that one? Heavenly!

Cheddar Biscuits
Slightly adapted from CI

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used 1 TB)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used 1 cup buttermilk)
(I added in 2 TB fresh, chopped fresh tarragon)
(I added in a large handful of chopped sweet ham)

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Add 1 1/4 cups cream and stir with wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer dough from bowl to countertop, leaving dry, floury bits in bowl. In 1-tablespoon increments, add up to 1/4 cup cream to dry bits in bowl, mixing with wooden spoon after each addition, until moistened. Add moistened bits to rest of dough and knead by hand just until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Pat dough into 8-inch circle, cut into wedges, and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake until just beginning to brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven, sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons remaining cheese on each biscuit, and return to oven, rotating baking sheet from front to back. Bake until golden brown and cheese topping has melted, 7 to 9 minutes. Serve warm. Should make about 8.