Sweet Potato Biscuits

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm off to enjoy some crab cakes, won't be back until late in the week. I wanted to get this post up first, though. I've been eye-balling many recipes for sweet potato biscuits, not sure why. Maybe that pretty bright-orange color, or the fact thatI had some sweet potatoes that weren't getting any younger...


At any rate, I'm glad I gave these suckers a shot. They were soft and buttery, with a faint hint of heat from the cayenne. I was dying to make little biscuit and ham sandwiches with them the next day (with a nice spicy tangy mustard as Orangette suggests? Mmmmm) but alas, that didn't ever happen as I forgot to buy ham. Oopie. Ah well, that's a good excuse to make them again ;) They were quite good as a side to a regular weekday meal that's for sure!


Sweet Potato Biscuits
(from Food & Wine magazine, Nov. 2005)




Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet potatoes, scrubbed
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
1/3 c. whole milk
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon heavy cream
30 small sturdy herb sprigs, such as sage, thyme and rosemary


Preheat the oven to 400°. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Set the potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until tender. Let cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop the potato flesh from the skins into a bowl and mash with a fork; you should have 1 1/2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes. Refrigerate until chilled.

In a large bowl, mix the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. In a small bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with the milk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated; the dough will be quite sticky. Refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. On a well-floured work surface, pat out the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick. Using a floured 2-inch round or fluted cutter, stamp out as many biscuits as you can and transfer them to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps and stamp out more biscuits. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the egg wash and press a small herb sprig into each one. Bake the biscuits for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.