Sweet Potato Biscuits

As if the OneandahalfSlices flaky biscuits weren’t delicious enough, this variation on the theme is the perfect spring, summer, or fall use for that extra large, earthy sweet potato you ‘ll get all season long. Just like the one I got in my first CSA pick-up of the season from Potomac Vegetable Farm last week! The sweetness in these beauties comes from the sweet potato itself which means that there is no sugar in this recipe. Surprisingly the pulp doesn’t make the biscuit dense at all. You may have to play with sweet potato-to-dough ratio a bit (I believe I ended up adding more flour as I folded the biscuits over on themselves), but in the end this recipe comes together pretty nicely. The flavor profile is unique but subtle – perfect for brunch or as a side dish to a roasted chicken or turkey dinner.

what you need

2 cups of flour

puree from 1 extra large sweet potato (about one heaping cup)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons cold butter cut into tiny pieces

a little more than 1/3 cup whole milk

how to make it

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the sweet potato for 60-90 minutes or until soft. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of the sweet potato and place on foil as it will leak.

Sift dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until only small, pea-sized pieces of butter remain.

Squeeze the sweet potato puree out of the sweet potato skin into a bowl. Add the milk to the sweet potato and combine until very, VERY smooth. Mix the sweet potato mixture into the dry mixture using a spatula to massage until the dough becomes less crumbly and begins to come together.

This might take a moment but DO NOT OVERMIX.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it out until it is about an inch thick, and fold it over on itself several times to create layers, careful not to mash the dough too much.

Use a glass to cut the biscuits into rounds. Do not twist the glass. Transfer the cut biscuits into a cast iron skillet. brush with melted butter, and bake ~25 minutes in the oven (still at 400).

You can easily freeze these biscuits and bake them as needed. Enjoy with butter, honey, or a deep berry jam.