Sweet-potato biscuits and a side of chili
What I love about the beginning of fall are the crisp mornings and lower angle of the sun, the sound of football on TV and the permission to bake! While tailgate food is on somewhat of a hiatus this year, the annual assault of pumpkin spice is in full force nudging bakers everywhere. In a stubborn attempt to hang on to summer as long as possible, I refuse to have a pumpkin latte until October. But I may have already snuck a pumpkin donut from the bakery and I’ll admit to planning meals of pumpkin and squash, sweet potatoes, soups and stews, apples, and scents of maple, ginger and cinnamon. The first official day of autumn inspired me to cook up a cozy dinner of warm sweet potato biscuits with honey butter and a quick pot of chili.
I love all biscuits but sweet potato biscuits are even more comforting. The butter and honey are pretty much my favorite part aka the main reason to eat biscuits. I actually keep a bag of frozen Pillsbury biscuits in the freezer as a back up, but when I want something special I make sweet potato biscuits. Plus, I had this cute little jug of buttermilk in the fridge. Typically, I never use an entire carton of buttermilk and go back and forth for a week over whether it’s still good. So I was pleased with myself for having a reason to use the rest of my buttermilk. It was also the perfect time to crack open a jar of honey from Keepers Collective, a local company owned by a female beekeeper out to spread awareness about the essential work of little pollinators.
These sweet potato biscuits are even easier if you have the sweet potato puree on hand. I usually keep some in my freezer during fall and winter months for baking and quick side dishes. The biscuits call for 3/4 cup of puree. I boiled one quite large red garnet sweet potato (not yam) which yielded about 1 1/2 cups, so popped the rest in the freezer.
Sweet Potato Puree
Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 2-inch chunks
In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil; use a fork to check if tender (about 15 min)
Drain and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and no lumps
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 tablespoon melted butter and more for pan
¾ cup sweet potato puree, chilled
1/3 cup buttermilk
Step 1: Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining. In a small bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree and buttermilk; stir quickly into flour mixture until combined (do not overmix).
Step 2: Shape the biscuits: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy, five or six times. (If dough is too sticky, work in up to 1/4 cup additional flour.) Shape into a disk, and pat to an even 1-inch thickness. With a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible. Gather together scraps and repeat to cut out more biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once).
Step 3: Bake the biscuits: Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack on lower shelf. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. Arrange biscuits snugly in pan (to help them stay upright). Brush with melted butter. Bake until golden, rotating once, 20 to 24 minutes.
While the biscuits were baking, I whipped up some honey butter. The sugar is optional, but it does add a nice spreadable texture.
Whipped Honey Butter
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup honey
½ to 1 Tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
Because one cannot live on biscuits alone, I made a pot of chili. I call it Angie’s Easy Chili because this recipe uses canned beans, hence is quick and easy. This is one of those recipes that doesn’t require following closely and can be adapted to your taste for spiciness.
Angie’s Easy Chili
1 lb lean beef
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies drained, or 2 (4 oz) cans)
1 (14-oz) can of chopped tomatoes
3 cans of beans* (mix of black beans and red kidney beans,; I usually drain one can)
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
3 heaping Tbsp medium salsa
½ of 2 big spoonfuls of tomato paste (about half a 6 oz can)
1 Tbsp diced jalapeños (adjust to your taste; I prefer fresh jalapeños for their spiciness)
Directions:
Brown ground beef in large frying pan over medium-high heat until crumbly. Add onion and green chilies and cook 5 minutes. Drain fat if any.
Add tomatoes with liquid, beans with liquid, chili powder, oregano, salt and cumin.
Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Stir in salsa, tomato paste and jalapeños. Simmer for another 15-30 minutes.
Serve with your choice of toppings (chopped cilantro, tortilla chips, grated cheese, avocado); those are pepitas in the photo below
Makes about 6 servings.
Options/notes:
Add a pinch of cayenne or red chili flakes for a little more zing
I find that adding salsa (canned or fresh) gives it more flavor
I didn’t have a fresh jalapeño this time, so I used canned and added Hungarian wax peppers
Sweet Potato Biscuits — Round 2
The added bonus to this dinner was that the next morning we warmed up sweet potato biscuits in foil in our toaster oven, slathered them with honey butter and topped with a fried egg. A favorite of my family’s is sausage & egg breakfast sandwiches made with these biscuits.
Enjoy!
More personally tested and recommended sweet potato recipes:
