Sweet Potato Biscuits

Name: Sweet Potato Biscuits
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h 6 min
Total time: 1 h 51 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 10 oz (1 medium) (300 g) sweet potato, scrubbed and pierced several times with a fork; roasted, peeled, mashed smooth and cooled completely to give ¾ cup (185 g) puree; 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled, plus extra for dusting; ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed, lumps broken up; 1 tbsp (14 g) baking powder; ½ tsp (2½ g) baking soda; 1 tsp (6 g) fine sea salt; ½ tsp (1 g) ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp (½ g) ground nutmeg (optional); 8 tbsp (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled in the freezer 15 minutes; ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk, cold; 1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tall, tender Southern-style biscuits made with roasted sweet potato, tangy buttermilk and a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon. They have flaky buttery layers, a soft golden crumb and a gently sweet flavor that works with breakfast ham or a Thanksgiving table.

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 1 hr 6 min
Wait: 50 min
Total: 2 hr 41 min
Makes: 10 biscuits (2½-inch / 6 cm)

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Ingredients

10 servings

For the biscuits
10 oz (1 medium) (300 g) sweet potato, scrubbed and pierced several times with a fork; roasted, peeled, mashed smooth and cooled completely to give ¾ cup (185 g) puree
2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled, plus extra for dusting
¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed, lumps broken up
1 tbsp (14 g) baking powder
½ tsp (2.5 g) baking soda
1 tsp (6 g) fine sea salt
½ tsp (1 g) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (0.5 g) ground nutmeg (optional)
8 tbsp (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled in the freezer 15 minutes
⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk, cold
For the finish
1 tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted

Equipment (10)

Rimmed baking sheet (half sheet, 18×13 inch / 46×33 cm)
Parchment paper
Large mixing bowl
Medium bowl
Fork or potato masher
Whisk
Bench scraper or box grater (optional)
2½-inch (6 cm) round biscuit cutter
Pastry brush
Wire rack

Steps

Before you start

Plan on about 2 hours 40 minutes overall, most of it hands-off. The sweet potato must be roasted and fully cooled before it goes into the dough. You can do this a day ahead.
Cut the butter into cubes and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Cold butter makes flaky layers.
Measure the buttermilk and refrigerate it until you need it. Everything wet should be cold.
Use roasted sweet potato, not boiled. Boiling adds water and makes a gummy dough. Canned plain sweet potato puree (not pie filling) also works. Use 185 g (¾ cup) and skip the first two steps.

1
Roast the sweet potatoOven 400°F / 205°C
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the middle.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment.
- Pierce the scrubbed sweet potato 6–8 times with a fork, set it on the sheet and roast for 45–50 minutes.
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Ready when: A knife slides into the center with no resistance and the skin is wrinkled with some sugary syrup leaking out.
Tip: Roasting concentrates the flavor and drives off moisture. Wet puree makes heavy biscuits.
2
Mash and cool
- Peel the sweet potato while it is warm.
- Mash the flesh in a medium bowl with a fork until completely smooth with no strings.
- Measure out ¾ cup (185 g) and discard any extra.
- Refrigerate the puree for at least 30 minutes until fully cold.
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Ready when: Puree is smooth and cold to the touch, not warm.
Tip: Leave the oven off for now. You will reheat it to 425°F (220°C) later.
3
Whisk dry ingredients
- Line the baking sheet with fresh parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using) for 30 seconds.
- Press out any brown sugar lumps with your fingers.
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Ready when: Mixture is evenly tan with no streaks of spice or pockets of sugar.
4
Cut in the butter
- Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture.
- Toss to coat, then press each cube flat between your thumb and fingers.
- Continue until the largest pieces are the size of peas and flat flakes, working quickly.
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Ready when: Mixture looks like coarse crumbs with visible butter flakes the size of peas and lima beans.
Tip: If the butter feels soft or greasy, freeze the bowl for 10 minutes before continuing.
5
Add wet ingredients
- In the bowl with the cold puree, stir in the cold buttermilk until smooth.
- Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in the sweet potato mixture and stir with a fork about 15 strokes, just until a shaggy, sticky dough forms with a few dry spots.
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Ready when: Dough clumps together but still has a few floury streaks. It will be soft and a little tacky.
Tip: Do not overmix. Overworked dough bakes up tough and short.
6
Fold for layers
- Turn the dough onto a well-floured counter and dust the top with flour.
- With floured hands, pat it into a rectangle about 8×6 inches (20×15 cm).
- Fold it in thirds like a letter, rotate 90 degrees and pat out again.
- Repeat the fold 2 more times, flouring as needed, for 3 folds total.
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Ready when: Dough holds together in a smooth, cohesive mass and shows streaks of butter at the edges.
Tip: The dough is soft. Use just enough flour to keep it from sticking, since too much makes dry biscuits.
7
Pat out and cut
- Pat the dough into a rectangle about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick.
- Dip the 2½-inch (6 cm) cutter in flour and press straight down without twisting.
- Lift out each biscuit and place on the lined sheet, touching sides.
- Gather the scraps, pat together gently and cut again to make 10 biscuits total.
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Ready when: You have 10 biscuits of even height, sitting close together.
Tip: Twisting the cutter seals the cut edges and keeps the biscuits from rising tall.
8
Chill and preheatOven 425°F / 220°C
- Refrigerate the sheet of cut biscuits for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with the rack in the middle.
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Ready when: Biscuits feel firm to the touch and the oven has reached temperature.
Tip: An oven thermometer helps. A hot oven is key for a tall rise.
9
Bake the biscuitsOven 425°F / 220°C
- Bake the chilled biscuits at 425°F (220°C) for 16–18 minutes, rotating the sheet front to back after 10 minutes.
- Remove when they have risen about double in height.
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Ready when: Tops and bottoms are deep golden brown and the sides feel set when gently pressed.
Tip: Sweet potato browns quickly because of its sugars. If the bottoms darken before 14 minutes, slide a second sheet under the pan.
10
Brush and rest
- As soon as the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the tops with the melted butter.
- Let them rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack.
- Serve warm.
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Ready when: Tops are glossy and the biscuits are warm, not steaming hot.

Good to know

Tips

Keep everything cold: butter, buttermilk and puree. Cold butter melts in the oven and makes steam, which creates flaky layers.
Press the cutter straight down and lift it straight up. Twisting seals the edges and stops the rise.
Place the biscuits touching on the pan so they support each other and rise upward. Space them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart for crustier sides.
Weigh the puree. Sweet potatoes vary in moisture and a heaped cup can add 40 g or more, which makes dough too wet.

Make ahead

Roast and mash the sweet potato up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container. You can also cut the biscuits, freeze them on the sheet until solid (about 1 hour), then bag them for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 425°F (220°C), adding 4–6 minutes.

Storage & reheating

Room temperature: airtight container up to 2 days. Refrigerator: up to 5 days. Freezer: baked biscuits, wrapped well, up to 3 months. To reheat, warm on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes (15 minutes from frozen, loosely covered with foil).

Substitutions

buttermilk → Whole milk plus lemon juice. Stir 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar into ⅓ cup (80 ml) milk and let it stand 5 minutes before using.
sweet potato → Canned plain sweet potato puree. Use 185 g (¾ cup) of unsweetened puree, not pie filling. Blot with a paper towel if it looks watery.
light brown sugar → Maple syrup. Use 3 tbsp (45 ml) and reduce the buttermilk by 1 tbsp (15 ml). The biscuits will be slightly softer.
all-purpose flour → White whole wheat flour. Replace up to 75 g (⅔ cup) of the flour. The biscuits will be denser and nuttier.