Sweet Potato Biscuit Recipe

Each week this fall we’ll revisit a recipe from last year’s Joy the Baker Magazine with new tips, tricks and insights.  The latest issue of my holiday magazine will hit grocery store shelves nationwide (and in Canada!) November 1st!  This week, let’s make a Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe which will serve us well on nights when we have a pot of soup on the stove or a Thanksgiving dinner to serve.  

I’ve always appreciated a sweet potato. I’ve been loyal to my dad’s Sweet Potato Pie for as long as I can remember.  But I never appreciated a sweet as much as when I moved to New Orleans and bought them straight from the folks who grown then at the farmer’s market every fall and winter.

Sweet potatoes are my comfort starch, especially in these early days of autumn. The sweet starch makes these biscuits a carb on carb celebration.  These biscuits are admittedly more bready than layered and flaky but they’re surprisingly light (read: it’s easy to eat three of them without batting an eyelid).

I love this sweet potato biscuit recipe with a bowl of Weeknight Chicken Chili or this simple Beef and Bean Chili minus the french fries (unless you’re really going for it).

To make biscuits ahead of time, shape the dough into rounds and freeze the biscuits on a baking sheet until frozen through.  Place frozen biscuits in a large zip lock bag and return to the freezer.  Bake the biscuits from frozen allowing them to bake an additional 5 minutes or so.

Bake with a light sprinkle of smoky paprika. It adds a hint of spice that’s nice.  Serve warm with salty butter.

For more biscuit making technique see: Layered Buttermilk Biscuits.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Sweet autumn biscuits made with butter, sweet potatoes, and buttermilk. Classic southern biscuits perfect for fall and  Thanksgiving.

• Author: Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 33 minutes
• Yield: Makes 10 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup (about 300 grams) mashed, roasted sweet potatoes, cold or room temperature
• 1/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing
• Sea salt and smoky paprika, optional

Instructions

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the cold butter cubes to the dry ingredients and use your fingers to work the butter down into the flour. Some butter bits will be the size of peas, others the size of oat flakes. Work quickly as to not warm the butter too much. This could also be done with a pastry blender tool or in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.
4. In a small bowl whisk together mashed sweet potato and buttermilk. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold the ingredients together into a soft but shaggy dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1-inch thick disk.
6. Use a 2 or 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut rounds. Gently re-roll scraps and create more rounds .
7. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with buttermilk. Sprinkle with sea salt and smoky paprika.
8. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Keywords: sweet potato, biscuits, joy the baker, thanksgiving,