17 March 2008

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.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those sounds incredible...but the fresh herbs on top...that brings them over the top!! I need to get my sweet potato fix now!!

Gretchen Noelle said...

I must say, the idea of biscuit sandwiches sounds terrific. It makes me hungry just thinking about them! Lovely biscuits!

Catherine Wilkinson said...

Crazy! I was just at the market, eyeing the sweet potatoes, wondering what wonderful thing I could do with them! These look terrific! Lovely pics, too..

Deborah said...

These sound wonderful. I just might have to make these for Easter, or maybe for the Easter leftovers!

Anonymous said...

Have a safe trim Nemmie! These biscuits remind me of my grandma. She used to make them for my Dad every time he'd come visit. They are his favorite. I personally don't like sweet potato anything but they do make me miss Grandma.

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Those look delicious!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Hmm, I've got some aging sweet potatoes, too. These lovely biscuits would be a perfect way to use them up.