Sweet Potato Biscuits with Cinnamon Honey Butter

Photo updated November 2012

This post is really late -- I meant to have it up before Thanksgiving!  But then I went to New York and taught Mom how to make the Sweet Potato Biscuits in a recipe swap, and she taught me to make Chinese Shrimp-Stuffed Eggplant.  And right after that was the baby shower for my sis.  Then Thanksgiving happened, and I cooked for two days.  So I'm finally taking a breather to tell you about what are now my most favorite biscuits I've ever made.  And don't skimp on that Cinnamon Honey Butter!  It didn't sound like my thing, but it's dangerously good.  They made another appearance on Thanksgiving morning, and again at the dinner table.

But before that I was exhausted with making these shower lollipops and pink velvet cupcakes.  From top left: The cupcakes are easy enough, if *ahem* your sister would only stock her kitchen with a mixer, whisk, or dry measuring cups; my twin sis with another prego friend; everyone loved the "Bun in the Oven" candles, which came in a box that looked like a stove/oven and smelled good enough to eat; and making these chocolate and pink white chocolate lollipops were easy enough, except making dozens will keep you up til 3 a.m., as we discovered.

Back to the biscuits.  I was getting obsessive about finding the right recipe.  I didn't want a fussy recipe that called for yeast and required waiting for rises.  Drop biscuits would give me misshapen lumps.  I wanted biscuits -- really tall, crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside.  I was drawn to this recipe because the sweet potatoes are flecked throughout the dough, rather than being one dark shade of orangey-brown.  And they smell really darn good.

I didn't have any self-rising flour, so I used a substitution (see the recipe), and it worked perfectly.  The dough will be sticky and have the texture of cottage cheese, but don't overwork it.

I did have reservations about using melted butter when you always hear that the secret to flaky biscuits is cold ingredients.  So I made the recipe as directed, but stashed the cut-out biscuits in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking, for some insurance.  They came out nice and tall.  No flat hockey pucks here.

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Cinnamon Honey Butter
From Mama Dip's Kitchen via Like Mother, Like Daughters

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
  (My note: I baked 2 medium potatoes in a 350° oven for an hour. When cool, peel off the skins and mash lightly with a fork. To maintain flecks in the dough, do not puree.)
1 stick butter, melted
1¼ cups milk
4 cups self-rising flour
  (My substitution:  4 cups cake flour, 6 tbs baking powder, and 2 tsp salt)
Pinch baking soda
3 tbs sugar

Mix together the sweet potatoes, butter, and milk until well-blended. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and sugar.

Shape the dough into a ball and knead about 10 times on a well-floured surface.

Roll the dough out about ¾-inch thick and cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. (Makes about 18 biscuits.)

Bake on a greased pan in a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes, until just turning golden brown.

Serve warm with the butter.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 stick butter, room temperature

3 tbs honey

¼ tsp cinnamon

Pinch kosher salt

Whip all the ingredients together in a small bowl.