Goat Cheese Beer Biscuits

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F and place a 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up.
2. While your oven and skillet heat up, prepare your biscuit dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.
3. In the pitcher of your blender or food processor, add 6 tablespoons of the sliced butter. Add the flour mixture on top. Cover with the lid and pulse 8–10 times until coarse crumbles have formed. (If you don’t have a blender or food processor, just use your hands and crumble until coarse crumbles form. This will take a couple of minutes.) Transfer the dough back into the mixing bowl and crumble in the goat cheese and black pepper. Mix to combine.
4. Create a well in the middle of your flour mixture, and add the beer and buttermilk. Fold the ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Do not over-mix.
5. Remove the skillet from the oven, and add the remaining two tablespoons of sliced butter to the pan. Swirl the butter around in the pan until melted. Spoon 1/4–1/3 cup scoops of the biscuit dough straight onto the skillet, until you have used up the dough (I had 10 biscuits total but this will vary). Brush the biscuits with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter and transfer back to the oven.
6. Bake for 15–17 minutes or until the biscuits just begin to brown on top.
7. Remove from the oven, set the skillet on a rack and let the biscuits rest for a couple of minutes before serving. Best served warm out of the oven, but will keep for 2–3 days in an airtight container.

Recommended toppings: arugula, fried egg, butter, jam, or sausage gravy.