sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

Posted: May 10th, 2011 | Author: allison | Filed under: photo, recipe | Tags: american food, biscuits, home cooking, lunch, southern food, sweet potato | 1 Comment »

i think in another life i had a southern grandmother. the intensity with which i love home-cooked southern comfort food (and the idea of it) is really unwarranted, being that i have no nostalgic ties to anywhere that could even be classified as “almost the south,” and i didn’t ever have anyone cooking me memorable southern meals as a child.

however, when i think of things like  biscuits (especially sweet potato ones like these), i just picture myself sitting on a worn-in chair on a grandmother’s porch in a house in charleston, sipping sweet tea and laughing with her, as we munch on warm sweet potato, ham and honey biscuits.

these biscuits, although delicious, were consumed in new jersey, not charleston, and i ate them with my parents with our easter ham. maybe when i look back, i’ll embellish the story and say that we at least ate them on a porch while drinking sweet tea. the recipe is below.

mixing the sweet potato mixture in with all of the other ingredients

 

the dough, flattened and rolled out

 

 

the biscuits as they enter the oven…

 

the finished product, topped with a thin slice of ham and a teaspoon of honey, just like my fake southern grandmother used to make!

 

recipe: sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

makes 12

 

1 large sweet potato, baked until inside is soft

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of cayenne pepper

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/3 cup whole milk

6 ounces thinly sliced country ham (optional)

honey (optional)

roast sweet potato until inside is tender. scoop out flesh.

preheat oven to 400°F. butter bottom of a baking sheet.

mix all of the dry ingredients together. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. whisk mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to dry ingredients; toss with fork. gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. roll dough to 1 1/2 inch circle. using 11/2-inch round biscuit cutter or the top of a glass, cut out biscuits.

arrange biscuits side by side in on baking sheet. bake until slightly golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 15 minutes. cool and remove from baking sheet. slice in half if you like, and spread honey and ham on top.

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