Sweet Potato Biscuits

Regular biscuits were white and plain. Sweet potato biscuits were orange, faintly sweet, and somehow more satisfying. Made from boiled and mashed sweet potatoes worked into biscuit dough — softer, denser, and more flavorful than plain biscuits. Mountain families grew sweet potatoes by the cellar-full, and these biscuits made use of any that were going soft. Excellent with country ham.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold mashed sweet potato (boil, peel, mash — about 2 medium potatoes)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

• 4 tbsp cold lard or butter
• ½ cup cold buttermilk (may need a bit more depending on potato moisture)

Directions

1. Boil sweet potatoes until very tender. Peel and mash completely smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together.

Cut in cold lard with a fork until pea-sized.

1. Mix cold mashed sweet potato into the flour mixture.
2. Add buttermilk gradually until dough just comes together. Sweet potato adds moisture, so start with less buttermilk.
3. On a floured surface, pat dough to ¾ inch thickness. Fold 3 times, then pat again.
4. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cast iron skillet.
5. Bake at 425°F for 14–16 minutes until lightly golden.
6. The biscuits will be denser and more orange than plain biscuits — that’s correct.

Notes

Sweet potatoes stored in the root cellar all winter provided important vitamins when the garden was bare. These biscuits were naturally sweeter than plain biscuits, making them good for lunch without any topping. With country ham, they’re extraordinary. Sweet potato also extends expensive flour further.