Ode to Thanksgiving – Sweet Potato Biscuits

I feel eternally sorry for people who aren’t from the South. Biscuits just aren’t biscuits unless they’re southern-style. This year at Thanksgiving I think I’ll say “I am thankful for biscuits. Amen.” Ya know, biscuits aren’t a traditional bread for a Thanksgiving table. But why not mix it up a little this year? These Sweet Potato Biscuits are so moist and delicious, you’ll be eternally sorry if you don’t make them. I’m eternally sorry that we ate them all already. If you’re not from the South, follow these directions and you can pretend that you’re visiting. Now, practice saying “Please pass the butta y’all.”

Biscuits are so nice – they just take normal ingredients. There’s nothing fancy or weird going on here…..except for the sweet potato you see. I just grabbed a sweet potato, microwaved it, and then mashed it. You could also mash some canned sweet potatoes from the store if that’s what you have. You’ll need flour, baking powder, salt, milk, butter, cornmeal, sweet potato and maple syrup. The original recipe called for honey, but I substituted maple syrup….man, that was a good choice!

Get a large mixing bowl and put your flour, salt, and baking powder in there. Give it a little stir. Now, cut your COLD butter up into pieces and drop it in there. Make sure the butter is cold. If it’s warm, it will just make mush instead of the coarse consistency we want.

Use a pastry blender and work the butter into the flour mixture. It should look something like this – mixed up and a little lumpy. Wow! Just like me!

Now it’s time to add our wet ingredients. Throw in the sweet potato, milk, and syrup.  Mix it up until everything is combined. Do not overmix…..it will give you tough biscuits. Nooooooo! Don’t mess up Thanksgiving!

Plop your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. If you’re lucky and have awesome countertops, like marble, you can just work this out on them……one day I’ll have awesome countertops. For now, I’ll just use my new Ikea cutting board. Knead it a few times, but not many. Remember we don’t want tough biscuits.

Roll the dough out until it is ½ inch thick. That’s important. If you get it too thin, your biscuits will get hard while they’re cooking. Trust me on this one. My first batch of biscuits after getting married were like hockey pucks…..and Barry ate them without complaining. I’m pretty sure he has a special seat in heaven. The recipe said to use a 2 inch cutter, but I like big biscuits so I used a 3 inch cutter. Hope I like big butts too because that’s where this is going.

Everyone knows my fear of food sticking to pans…..it’s very real. It gives me shudders and nightmares. Literally – I’ve had dreams about cakes sticking to pans. However, with biscuits you don’t grease the pans. Think of all that butter in there helping it not stick. Actually, don’t think about that. Forget the butter. It will be a happier Thanksgiving.

Bake them until they’re golden and a tad bit brown on the bottom. They will smell divine….and taste even better! They’re great with butter, or with jelly. They’re also great with sausage. Heck, they’d be great with dirt. They are so moist and re-heat very well. Good luck and tell your butt I said hello.