Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of fast food, but I do remember a few occasions when my dad would pick up KFC on his way home from work.  The thing is, I don’t remember anything about those meals except for the biscuits.  Buttery, flakey and light… they were so good.

It has been a long time since I had one of those biscuits.  I only eat fast food in acts of road-trip desperation, and even then my selections are limited to the standard but gross grilled chicken sandwich/salad options.  Blech.

And beyond that, biscuits have made very few appearances in my life.  Usually I save my butter-laden indulgences for cookies, cake, ice cream, etc.  Biscuits just take a backseat to my sweet tooth.  So when this week’s recipe selection for the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off included these whole wheat biscuits, I jumped at the chance to relive my childhood food memories in a slightly healthier and more grown-up way. Win.

Whole Wheat Honey & Goat Cheese Drop BiscuitsWhole Wheat Honey & Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook
Makes 8 to 12 biscuits depending on size

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes plus 2 tablespoons for pan
4 tablespoons soft crumbled goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk, cold
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:
Move rack into upper third of oven; place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet on rack and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees (you want the skillet to be hot)
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients
Use your fingers to incorporate butter and cheese into dry ingredients until most of the flour is in small chunks; form a well in center of ingredients and and set aside
Whisk together buttermilk and honey until somewhat combined; pour mixture into the well of the flour mixture and combine with a fork until all of the flour mixture is wet; set dough aside
Remove skillet from oven and coat with one tablespoon of butter
Drop 4-6 scoops of dough into batter using a large cookie dough scoop or ice cream scoop (about 1/4 cup each); make sure to leave a about an inch between each drop of dough
Place skillet back in oven and bake 14-16 minutes or until golden brown and lightly firm
Carefully remove cooked biscuits from skillet with tongs and set aside; repeat process with remaining butter and dough
Serve warm with honey; biscuits are best stored immediately but will last up to three days well-wrapped at room temperature

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.  I received a free copy of the Joy the Baker Cookbook but all opinions expressed are my own.