sweet potato biscuits

I don't make biscuits often because they're just a bunch of flour and butter, but when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them. Sweet potatoes are packed full of nutrients so in addition to making these biscuits taste fantastic, they also successfully reduced my guilt while I indulged. And, if you're already starting to plan your Thanksgiving menu, sweet potato biscuits would make a very unique addition!

Chow.com suggests using these incredible biscuits to make ham sandwiches and I must say, I'm really bummed that I didn't try this. Oh well, I guess I'll have to make more. Poor me.

Using the microwave to quickly cook the sweet potato makes these biscuits come together very quickly. Also, I have a hunch (it's just a hunch, mind you) that you could replace the one cup of mashed sweet potato with a cup of canned pumpkin puree. If anyone is brave enough to try it out, let me know how it works!

Recipe reprinted from Chow.com - Sweet Potato Biscuits

Total Recipe cost: $2.44
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Cost per serving: $0.31
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 20 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 medium (1 lb.)	sweet potato	$0.68
3/4 cup	whole milk	$0.29
2-2.5 cups	all-purpose flour	$0.36
1 Tbsp	baking powder	$0.09
1/4 tsp	baking soda	$0.02
1 Tbsp	sugar	$0.03
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.02
8 Tbsp (1 stick)	butter, frozen	$0.95
TOTAL		$2.44

STEP 1: Wash the outside of the sweet potato, dry with a towel, and prick the skin with a fork. Wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes. If the potato is still hard in the center, turn the sweet potato over and microwave for an additional 3-5 minutes. Let the potato sit at room temperature until cool enough to handle.

STEP 2: While the sweet potato is cooking, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt). Grate the frozen butter into the bowl and stir until it is coated with the flour mixture. (Place the butter in the freezer about an hour ahead of time)

STEP 3: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scoop the soft inside of the sweet potato into a bowl and mash until smooth. You want about 1 cup of mashed sweet potato. Add the milk and whisk until relatively smooth.

STEP 4: Add the sweet potato and milk mixture to the bowl with the flour and butter. Stir just until everything is mixed and no dry flour is left at the bottom of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and work in just enough flour so that it doesn't stick to your hands. Try not to over work the dough.

STEP 5: Roll the dough out to about 3/4 inches thick. Using a wide-mouthed cup or a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into eight rounds. When necessary, pile the scraps up and re-roll out the dough to cut more biscuits. You should have about 8 total.

STEP 6: Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Enjoy with a pat of melted butter on top!

Step By Step Photos

First wash then poke the sweet potato with a fork. This allows steam to escape while it cooks so that you don't have an exploding hot potato in your microwave.


Wrap the sweet potato in a paper towel and microwave on high for five minutes. You might want to also put it on a plate because the bottom might get a little wet. If it's not completely soft - like, very VERY soft - all the way through, flip the potato over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. When it's done, let it sit for a minute until it's cool enough to handle.


While the sweet potato is cooking, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda).


Next, grate in the frozen butter. Stir the grated butter until it is coated in the flour mixture. I put my stick of butter in the freezer about an hour ahead of time. That way it was hard enough to handle and grate without melting, but it wasn't rock solid.


Slice the sweet potato open and scoop out the flesh.


Mash up the sweet potato as much as possible. This is why you want the potato cooked to the point of extreme softness. You'll want to use about one cup of mashed sweet potato. If you have any extra, just eat it because it's DELICIOUS. Right?


Add the milk and whisk it together.


Whisk until it's fairly smooth like this. You'll probably have a few small chunks, but that's okay.


Add the sweet potato mixture to the butter and flour mixture. Stir just until there isn't any dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl.


At that point, you'll have a fairly soft and slightly sticky dough. Turn this out onto a floured surface and work in just enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Try to knead as little as possible. If you can roll it out without kneading anymore flour in, do so.


Roll out the dough until it is about 3/4 inches thick, or half as thick as you want the finished biscuit to be.


Use something round to cut the biscuits out of the dough. I rolled mine way too thin and ended up getting 12 biscuits, but you should probably yield about 8. Pile up the scraps, re-roll it out and cut more biscuits as needed. Again, try to work the dough as little as possible. The more it is manipulated, the more chewy and the less flakey the biscuits will be.


Place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Again, I rolled these way too thin. Try to make yours about twice as thick as this.


And when they're finished, you and your family will be very very happy.


Oh, yes.