Recipe: Kabocha Squash Wheat Biscuits

One of the local stores in my area had kabocha squash on sale for $0.49 per pound, so I immediately thought about making some sort of bread product with it.  My son is absolutely obsessed with anything that even resembles bread, so I like to incorporate various fruits and veggies to my homemade breads to give him a little health boost. 

Biscuits probably rank in my top 5 of all time favorite foods.  There's something about a warm buttery biscuit that brings comfort to my stomach.  However, biscuits aren't really the healthiest food on the block.  This is my attempt at a semi-healthy biscuit.  I call it semi-healthy, because I've incorporated squash and wheat into a biscuit.  However, this is not what I would call a low calorie or fat biscuit.....just more nutrient dense than your average white flour biscuit.

Kabocha Squash Wheat Biscuits Recipe

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 of cold butter or cold Smart Balance or canola oil
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup of cooked and pureed kabocha squash (I like to roast the squash for maximum flavor)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a cast iron skillet with non-stick cooking/baking spray.

Combine all of the dry ingredients (both types of flour, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl.
If using butter or Smart Balance, cut the butter/Smart Balance into small pieces.  Add it to the dry ingredients.  Using your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture.  You should have what looks like a coarse meal.  Do not overwork the butter.  This process should only take a couple of minutes.  Add the heavy cream to this mixture, but do not mix yet.
If using oil, add the oil to the chilled heavy cream and add that mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently combine so it looks like a coarse meal.

Mix the kabocha squash, buttermilk, and honey in a small bowl.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the rest of the ingredients.  Gently mix/fold all the ingredients together.  Do not over mix or you will get a tough biscuit.  This biscuit dough will appear extremely moist.
Generously flour a large pan or cutting board.  Using a large ice cream scooper, scoop out the biscuit dough and place onto the floured surface.  Roll the biscuit around to cover with flour.  Lightly, tap the excess flour off of the biscuit.  Place the rounded dough into the cast iron skillet.  Repeat this process until you have filled the entire skillet with biscuits.  The biscuits should be touching and the skillet will look filled to the brim.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Serve with honey or eat alone.

The entire family went crazy for these biscuits.  They were so delicious straight out of the skillet!  Personally, I think that this biscuit is equally delicious with and without honey.