Because sweet potatoes are good for you.
Because in a few days people will be making a bunch of crazy biscuit-free resolutions and you need these before that happens!
Because these biscuits are ahhhhmayzing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Other things that are amazing: the red velvet waffle my brother served us as an appetizer at Terrace Cafe this afternoon, the Draw Something game I can’t stop playing on my phone, and a non-fat Toffee Nut Latte from Broad River Coffee Company. I mean… this is a pretty good day.
You might remember that I am not really great at making biscuits. Several of my biscuit-making attempts have ended in disaster. But this recipe is fool-proof. And Heather-proof. I got it exactly right on the first try. Talk about stuff that’s amazing.
Oh! I just thought of another thing that’s amazing: the amount of cardboard stacked up outside my kitchen door waiting to be recycled right now.
Best of all, though: I got a present in the mail from my friend Rachael. Sparkly English Trifle ornaments handmade and mailed from Spain! I am a lucky girl to have such awesomely thoughtful friends.
Make these biscuits. Good things will happen.
Really.
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, baked and cooled (you’ll need 2 cups of the sweet potato mash)
- 1 cup shortening
- 5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon allspice (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Scrape the flesh out of the baked cooled sweet potatoes and mash it with a fork. Measure 2 cups of the mashed sweet potato and place in a medium bowl.
- Put the 1 cup of shortening in the freezer.
- Pre-heat the oven to 450.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.
- Whisk the heavy cream with the mashed sweet potato and set aside for a minute.
- Cut the frozen shortening into the flour/spice mixture until coarse crumbs are formed. Make a well in the center.
- Add the sweet potato cream to the flour well and stir until just combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat out to about 2 inches thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch circles (I used a floured juice glass but a biscuit cutter would probably be sufficient) and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve warm! (But they are actually still moist & delicious days later if you wrap them carefully)
Sweet Potato Biscuits are from THIS recipe posted by my friend Deanna at A Year of Healthier Living. If you are interested in local sustainable living Deanna’s blog is a must-read. There are budgets, recipes, shopping lists, farmer’s market finds– it’s awesome. Also, if you live in North Carolina, she has some really great resources for all kinds of local products; everything from fresh seafood to cheese and BACON.
Thanks so much for the plug! I have learned a lot from your blog this year! Also, you can freeze the unbaked biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and then store them in freezer bags for later yumminess! How did I forget that???
Ooooooohh that IS important!! Because this recipe makes quite a bit! Thank you so much for sharing these biscuits, Deanna! I love them. Chad loves them, too.
mmmmm…. I tried sweet potato biscuits for the first time this year and they are so good! As a southern gal, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of them before. But I’m glad I have now. Thanks for the recipe!
I have never had sweet potato biscuits before either! They were waaaay easier than regular biscuits (because I didn’t destroy them) and they were delicious!
Heather-proof means nothing. Ameena-proof? Now that has some meaning.
These look delicious Heather…so tasty. Glad to know they can be frozen too! Now if I could just get my act together and try to make these….
Hahaha– I should make little disaster-proof recipe labels. You can totally make these. I’d like to try to substitute the cream for something a little lighter… almond milk maybe? Is that weird? Should I just go with fat-free buttermilk like usual? Anyway, if you try them let me know how it goes! I love Deanna’s recipes… they always turn out.
Your past biscuit failure is definitely my fault I effed up the recipe lol That still makes me chuckle though…not gonna lie hahahahaha These look SO good!!! God you know me and biscuits I am a sucker for them!!!!!!! I plan on sucking down a few more biscuits before my biscuit free resolution (how’d you know? haha) I gotta lay off the white flour…flour in general really. I needed it to get through the holidays without sweets but now I’m just getting fat haha But yes, I’d like a dozen biscuits please!!! lol