GEORGE KILLGORE (Nashville, Tennessee) remembers his grandmother, RADA DRAIN (Chattanooga, Tennessee), as an honest, simple, country woman who taught him that he’s only as good as his word, so it had better be honorable. While she did not have a college education, she always told her grandkids to stay in school, and they all did. (Partly, George thinks, out of fear that she would jerk a knot in their tails if they didn’t!) “Every summer she spent what seemed like weeks canning fresh peaches,” says George. “The kitchen would be hot, and we knew to stay out of her way. Then, weeks later, when the peaches had time to ‘cure,’ we would reap the reward of her hard work. I could have eaten the entire jar if she would’ve let me. Biscuit making was her specialty. We always had hot biscuits on the table, and they were perfect every time,” George adds.
Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
⅔ cup whole milk
½ cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
⅓ cup sour cream
1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet.
2 In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. With a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
3 In a separate bowl combine the milk, sweet potatoes, and sour cream, blending well. Stir into the flour mixture just until moistened.
4 Drop the dough by ¼ cupfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the remaining brown sugar.
5 Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove immediately from the cookie sheet and serve warm.
MAKES 6 BISCUITS.