Makes: 8 to 10, depending on size
Time: About 30 minutes
There’s no combination more southern than sweet potatoes and biscuits. If you’re making purée from scratch, try incorporating fresh herbs, spices, or brown sugar for more interesting flavor. Eat the biscuits straight out of the oven with whipped butter and a drizzle of honey or Maple Glaze.
1. Heat the oven to 450°F and grease a baking sheet with some butter. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture, breaking it into tiny pieces with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Stir in the puréed sweet potato.
2. Add ½ cup of the buttermilk and stir just until the mixture comes together and forms a ball, adding more buttermilk as needed. Spread some flour (about ¼ cup) on a clean work surface and turn the dough out onto the flour. Knead the dough a few times, adding a little more flour to your hands only if the dough is very sticky.
3. Press the dough out ½ inch thick and cut out 1½- to 2½-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or sturdy drinking glass. Put the rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Press together the scraps, pat them out ½ inch thick, and cut out more biscuits. Repeat once more if possible.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on size, until the biscuits are golden brown. Transfer the biscuits to a rack and serve within 15 minutes or wrap in foil and keep in a 200°F oven for up to an hour.
HONEY-CINNAMON SWEET POTATO BISCUITS Mix 3 tablespoons honey into the sweet potato purée. Whisk 1 teaspoon cinnamon into the dry ingredients.
MAPLE SWEET POTATO BISCUITS Mix 3 tablespoons maple syrup into the sweet potato purée. Whisk ½ teaspoon cinnamon into the dry ingredients.
GINGER-PECAN BUTTERNUT BISCUITS Substitute butternut squash purée for the sweet potato purée. Whisk 1 teaspoon ginger into the dry ingredients. Before adding the buttermilk, stir ½ cup chopped pecans into the flour and butter mixture.
SPICED SWEET POTATO BISCUITS Whisk ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon allspice, and 3 tablespoons light brown sugar into the dry ingredients.
JALAPEÑO SWEET POTATO BISCUITS Before adding the buttermilk, stir 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeños into the flour and butter mixture.
SAGE AND ONION SWEET POTATO BISCUITS Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over low heat. Add 1 cup minced onion or shallots and cook until translucent and lightly brown; let cool. Stir the onion and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage into the flour mixture.