Sweet Potato Biscuits

Sweet. Potato. Biscuits.  I need them in my life way more often.  Growing up in Charleston, you would think that these were on the menu all the time.  But I honestly don’t ever recall my grandmother making sweet potato biscuits. Sweet Potato Pie- definitely!  Sweet Potato Biscuit- Nope. When my bestie got married in Charleston almost 9 years ago she served sweet potato biscuits at her reception.  I can’t remember anything else about the food at the wedding, but those Sweet Potato Biscuits were everything.

This post is like 5 years worth of work.  Clearly, I didn’t make biscuits every day for 5 years (if I did make them every day, I could only hope that I would have figured them out way sooner).     Every true southern baker should be able to make a) lemon pound cake b) biscuits and c) cornbread. That’s the trifecta. Everything else you can basically fake it til you make it.  

For a very long time, I was the southern girl who baked but could not make a biscuit.  Which is literally insane. I talk about it more on this post. But now here I am making damn good variations on the classic.  Is this what cool people call a “Glow up?” It feels like it. Look at that biscuit: 

Why Should You Try This Recipe?  

1. The salty/sweet balance.   The sweet potatoes will obviously bring a bit of sweetness to the biscuit, but adding in a healthy amount of kosher salt tips the biscuit over the line to savory.  
2. The pockets of butter.  This particular day I didn’t cut the butter into the perfect pea size that I normally do.  Instead, I left bigger chunks of frozen butter in the flour and was rewarded. That crumb structure is undeniable.
3. Heavy cream makes the softest biscuits of your life.  Basically, I didn’t have any buttermilk and in a last minute switch up decided to add some heavy cream with the staple skim milk to add a bit of richness.  Feel free to use whatever milk you have, but if you happen to have heavy cream you won’t be sorry.
4. That glorious orange color! (Go Tigers! #Clemson)

How much extra work is adding the sweet potato?

It's so easy.  Like stupid easy, but it does take planning.    First you need to bake the sweet potatoes.  15 minutes before your favorite hour long show all you have to do is:

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF
2. Prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, then prick the skins with a fork.
4. Put the potatoes on cookie sheet
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes.

To make the puree, let the sweet potatoes cool slightly then carefully remove the skins.  If you have a Vitamix, this will be the funnest 30 seconds of your life.   Pour the milk into the blender and then add the sweet potatoes.  Start the blender on the lowest setting and then slowly increase until you reach the highest setting, and blend for 20 seconds.

I never season the sweet potato puree at this stage-- I tend to add spices/salt according to the recipe that I am making.  Store puree in the refrigerator in an air tight container.   Here comes the planning part of this.  For sweet potato biscuits the puree MUST be cold.  Not close to cold.  COLD.  Do this step the day before and you won't have any problems.

Biscuits Tips (aka how I finally figured this out)

1. Temperature matters, but don’t get crazy obsessive here.  Just be aware of the temperature of your kitchen (turn on the air!) and keep a stick of butter in your freezer.
2. Keeping sticks of butter in your freezer is perfectly normal and will save you in a pinch when you decide at the last minute to whip up another batch of sweet potato biscuits.
3. You don’t need the rolling pin.  This one was huge for me. I always imagined rolling out the biscuit dough within an inch of its life, just like pie dough.  That is not what you want. The dough needs to be handled gently. Now I leave the rolling pin in the drawer and pat the dough.  It’s safer this way.
4. Soft or Crispy.  For soft biscuits place the cut out dough close together.  The dough will rise together and create a softer biscuit. If you prefer a crispier biscuit set the biscuits further apart to let air circulate.
5. Cake pan v. Cookie Sheet.  A 9-inch cake pan is perfect for softer biscuits, while a cookie sheet is versatile and you handle either approach.

This recipe is adapted from this recipe by Stella Parks aka my {non-creepy} pastry chef crush.

Recipe