Weekly Recipe #51: Sweet Potato Biscuits

By Jeanne Foels, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator

Happy National Sweet Potato Month! We're celebrating all month with recipes that highlight this healthy tuber.

The honeyed nature of the sweet potato lends itself perfectly to baked goods, making it a prime candidate for pies, breads and pancakes. This week's recipe for sweet potato biscuits will fill your kitchen with the caramel-y smell of baked sweet potato and a delicious bouquet of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.


Sweet Potato Biscuits
Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen

(Makes 12 to 14 2-inch biscuits)

1 lb. red-skinned sweet potatoes
1/3 cup (79 ml) buttermilk
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. (15 grams) baking powder
3 tbsp. (38 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground (2 grams) cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. (2 grams) table salt
5 tbsp. (71 grams) unsalted butter, cold

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potato on a tray and roast until soft all the way through, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely in skin (the fridge can speed this up) then peel. Run potato flesh through a potato ricer or mash it until very smooth. Reserve 3/4 cup (191 grams) of this sweet potato puree (You can add a little melted butter to the rest and eat it for lunch!).
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees again. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk 3/4 cup reserved sweet potato puree with buttermilk until smoothly combined. Keep nearby.
3. In the bottom of a large, wide bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, spices and salt together. If you have a pastry blender, add the butter and use the blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. If you don’t have a pastry blender, cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
4. Add the sweet potato mixture and stir, breaking up the mixture until it's in big, soft chunks. Get your hands in the bowl and gently knead the dough into an even mass, using as few motions as possible — you want to warm the dough as little as possible.
5. Roll or pat dough out on a floured surface to a 1-inch thickness. Dip a 2-inch biscuit cutter in flour then form biscuits by cutting straight down and not twisting — this will help your biscuits rise. Bake biscuits on prepared sheet for 13 to 15 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top. Cool on rack and enjoy as soon as possible.