A cup of mashed sweet potato adds bright color, moisture, and earthy sweetness to buttery biscuit dough. You begin by grating a stick of frozen butter, then tossing the shreds in a mixture of flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and a bit of salt. Moisten this with the sweet potato mash diluted with milk. Form the dough, knead it slightly (for tender, fluffy biscuits, less handling is the golden rule), and roll out. Cut out the biscuits, then bake in a hot oven.

This recipe makes large biscuits; feel free to cut them smaller.

  • Yield: 8 (3-inch) biscuits
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Total: 45 mins 
  • Active: 20 mins 

Ingredients (9)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup baked, mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium potato)
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), frozen
  • Heavy cream, for brushing the tops

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl, mix together milk and mashed sweet potato until evenly combined.
  2. Grate frozen butter through the large holes of a box grater and toss with dry ingredients until butter is coated. Add milk mixture and mix lightly until dough forms a shaggy mass.
  3. Turn out mixture onto a floured surface and knead just until it comes together, about 30 seconds (the dough will not be smooth). Use the same minimal touch you reserve for pie pastry.
  4. Pat into a circle and use a floured rolling pin to roll dough to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or glass, cut the dough into rounds. Gather leftover dough into a circle, reroll, and cut until you have 8 large biscuits.
  5. Place biscuits on a baking sheet, brush tops with heavy cream, and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.