Little sweet potato biscuits with flavors ofย honey and coconut oil. These may be the softest biscuits you'll ever have.
Jump to Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox.ย Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
These might be the softest biscuits I've ever had.
I've had sweet potato biscuits on the brain for months now. I don't want to even admit how many sweet potatoes I bought last month alone with biscuits in mind. But one by one, we ate the potatoes as I continued to procrastinate researching and experimenting with biscuit recipes. I began to think I'd never get around to making them.
But they came to mind again this week after I agreed to go sugar-free with three other women I know through blogging and twitter. We've supported each other all week via tweets, while visions of honey sweetened sweet potato biscuits danced in my head. Our only rule was: No sugar except honey, Stevia, coconut / palm sugar, or coconut nectar.
If you're thinking, "that's not so bad", trust me, it's not as easy as it might sound. Sugar proliferates our food environment and it's hard to get away from. Sometimes it hides in the most innocuous places, and checking every label has slowed down my grocery shopping.
I must say I bought Stevia for the first time this week to replace Splenda in my tea, and love it. But there were so many Stevia options on the shelf, I wasn't sure which one to go for. So this will be another area of research for me.
Mostly, I'm using honey when I need something sweet; like in my plain, non-fat yogurt in the mornings. And in these biscuits.
Otherwise it's been bananas, strawberries, oranges, and apples when I need a hit something sweet.
A word about these biscuits: I looked at a lot of biscuit recipes, and ultimately modeled mine from one of Rose Levy Beranbaum's in her The Bread Bible cookbook. I made a few changes though, in case you're familiar with her version. Not that Ms. Beranbaum hasn't already figured it all out, but I reduced the butter by half, and replaced it with coconut oil since coconut and sweet potato flavors go so beautifully together. In fact, since I keep reading that coconut oil is much better for you, next time I might reduce the butter even further. I also replaced the cake flour with brown rice flour, swapped in honey for the sugar, and mixed in a raw egg instead of the hard-boiled ones the original recipe calls for.
Oh, and I added cardamom powder because I like it. Feel free to eliminate if you don't.
Cooking Notes:
- The coconut oil, sweet potatoes, egg, and honey all contribute to a very moist biscuit. The combination of both yeast and baking powder is absolutely critical to making these moist biscuits lighter and pillow-y soft. If you're looking for a flakey biscuit (I like those too), this isn't the biscuit you want to make. But if you're looking for a melt-in-your mouth soft biscuit, this is it.
- If you use the brown rice flour with the all-purpose standard (wheat) flour as I have, you can knead it a bit more to get it smooth without worrying about developing too much gluten for the biscuits. Some gluten development is fine though, since we're not going for a flakey biscuit.
- Only knead this dough when it's cold, fresh from the refrigerator, as it's a sticky dough.
- My favorite place to put dough to rise is in the microwave oven. I first heat up a small cup of water, move it to a back corner of the microwave, and slide in the dough ensconced in a covered bowl. I close the microwave door and wait for the yeast magic to start to work. The cup of hot water produces a warm environment, and the microwave oven protects the dough from drafts.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox.ย Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe
Equipment
- Medium bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Wax paper
Ingredients
- 6.5 ounces all-purpose flour (1 ยผ cups)
- 2.3 ounces brown rice flour (โ cups)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast (also called Rapid-Rise)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- โ cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
- 1 large egg
- โ cup low-fat buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons honey orange-flavored is my favorite
Instructions
- Place the flours, baking powder and instant yeast in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Pulse them a few times to evenly distribute the baking powder and yeast through the flours.NOTE: If you don't have a food processor, place these ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and thoroughly whisk them together. It's important to make sure the baking powder and yeast are evenly distributed into the flour.
- Slice the butter into ยฝ tablespoon slabs and add to the bowl, along with the coconut oil and salt. Pulse a few times until the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces. The best way to check this is by dipping a fork into the flour mixture a few times. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.NOTE: If you don't have a food processor, use either a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers to rub the butter and coconut oil into the flour.
- Bake the sweet potato until soft (I use the microwave). Spoon out โ cup of sweet potato. Sweet potato is dense and can be lumpy when mashed, so it's best to mash it using one of these two methods for a beautiful, smooth result: (1) Use a potato ricer or (2) Place the sweet potato in the bottom of a small, fine mesh strainer, and use the back of a large spoon to push the potato through the strainer. Transfer the potato to a medium mixing bowl, and finish mashing with a fork.
- Add the egg, buttermilk, and honey, and stir thoroughly using a whisk until you have a nice smooth batter to add to the flour mixture.
- Form a well in the middle of the flour with your hand, and pour half of the sweet potato batter into it. Using a spatula, combine the mixture by folding the flour into the batter. Add the remaining batter and continue to mix into the flour mixture.
- As soon as the flour and batter are fully integrated, it's time for the first rise. The dough will be very sticky, so don't knead it yet. Cover the bowl with plastic and allow the dough to rise until it's almost doubled (about 1 ยฝ hours). My favorite place to put dough for a rising is the microwave. I place a hot cup of water in the microwave with it so that it's nice and warm, and safe from drafts.
- Lightly oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to it. The process of doing this will deflate the dough. Cover the dough with plastic, fitting the plastic wrap loosely around the mound of dough, and slide the bowl into the refrigerator. I leave it there overnight, but if you're in a rush, leave it in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
- Lightly flour a work space and lay the dough on it. Knead it a few times (10 - 20 times at the most) to get a smooth dough, adding only a little flour as needed.
- Place the dough between two pieces of parchment or wax paper, and roll it out into a square or rectangular shape, about ยพ" thick.
- Line a baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchment paper. Remove the parchment or wax paper from the dough that's rolled out. Slice the dough into large squares, approximately 3" square. Cut each square diagonally in half to form two triangles per square. Arrange them on the parchment lined baking sheet, 1-inch distance from each other. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm area of your kitchen to rise for an hour. They should be 1 inch to 1 ยผ inches high.
- Preheat the oven to 375ห F. I always have a baking stone in my oven, but it's not critical. The benefit of a baking stone is that it can evenly heat the baking sheet and reduce problems with uneven heat in the oven. If you're using a baking stone, place it on the center rack, or one rack down from the center.
- Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes and increase the heat to 400ห F. Bake for another 5 - 10 minutes. The surfaces should be a little more than lightly browned. If you have a temperature probe, the internal temperature of the biscuits should reach 200 degrees F.
- These biscuits are best served warm with butter and honey.
Michele W
The dough in the microwave is a great idea!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Michele! It's been a lifesaver for me on cold winter days, and the cold foggy days we get in the summer here in the Bay Area. The microwave has been foolproof.
Erika
Susan! I have been loving your recipes lately. I've also been obsessed with sweet potatoes lately--sweet potato biscuits are actually on my list of to-make items! I am definitely adding these to the list, and THANK YOU so much for the microwave tip--between my roommate and I, we've managed to melt two of my bowls by putting the dough in the oven to rise and then accidentally turning on the oven before taking it out. Hah. Anyway, BEAUTIFUL photos, thanks for the delicious looking recipe, and great job keeping up your sugar-free streak!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks SOOO much Erika! You made my day. The microwave is the way to go - no preheating risk ๐ I can just imagine opening the oven to find a melting bowl!! I think you would love these little biscuits ๐ Oh, and going to a birthday party for a friend tomorrow, so that's my next sugar-free test. Sigh. I seriously love cake. Especially birthday cake...
Erika
Oh man, I do too...birthday cake is THE BEST. But stay strong!!! Or don't. I hear totally strict diets set some people up for failure so I vote for having a small slice!! ๐
Rita
Very clever. You're becoming a food scientist!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Not on your level, my dear! But those long weeks at Tante Marie definitely paid off. And all the experimenting in my own kitchen. Great to see you last night!
Sunithi
These sound and look awesome. I actually have sweet potatoes at home right now, so I can make these when I get back from my weekend getaway. Sweet potato does help a sweet tooth I think ! Lol I turned to it too when I was carving sugar this week. Been going god so far. Glad we could do this together. Much easier or I would have caved by now ๐
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so glad we're doing this together. There's no way, no way at all, I'd be able to do this on my own. I need to be accountable to someone besides myself for if and when I cheat. So glad to hear you're doing well too!!
Norma Chang
I like melt-in-your mouth soft biscuit so I know I will love yours. Your cooking notes are very helpful.
Do you keep your baking stone in the oven all the time regardless of what you are baking/cooking? Is there a particular size that is better? I am guessing you place it on the lowest oven rack.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Norma! I leave my baking stone in the oven 100% of the time. It's heavy, as you know, and it doesn't hurt it to my knowledge to do that. On the size, the closer it comes to the size of your baking sheet, the better, since you're looking for it to keep the entire tray at the same temperature. And I'm glad you mentioned the oven rack. For this recipe, it's actually in the middle. One down from the middle is fine too. But If it's any higher than the middle, it's going to brown too much on the top surface of the biscuits. I'll add this to the instructions! Thanks!!
Norma Chang
I meant if you place the baking stone on the lowest oven rack.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I place it on the rack I'll be baking on, in this case the middle rack, and the baking sheet goes directly on top of it.
apuginthekitchen
I am so making these, they look so light they could float. I love a soft biscuit, a soft and tender biscuit has eluded me all my life. I don't have brown rice flour, I have regular AP, cake or gluten free which would you recommend in place of the brown rice flour?
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Suzanne! I think you'd really like these little guys. If you don't have brown rice flour, use cake flour. No other adjustments should be needed for the cake flour. I'd love to hear how they turn out!
lizthechef
This really makes me wish I could bake even half decently - lovely.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz! I think you could totally make these. Not a lot of kneading - no window pane testing for elasticity. Not a lot of rolling dough out. You can do this. If you try it, let me know so I'll be around to answer any questions you may have. Seriously.
Mallory @ Total Noms
Well don't these sound FANTASTIC! I know what I'm making this weekend!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Mallory!! If you have any questions, just holler out at me - I'd be happy to help. They are really, really good ๐ I'd love to hear how they work for you !!
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
There is just not one word in the title of this recipe that I don't positively love. I feel quite certain I could inhale and entire recipe of these lovely pillows with zero difficulty at all!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
We had to stick some in the freezer to keep us from eating them all at once :-). Thanks so much, Stephie!!
Julie
I was just getting ready to ask if these could be frozen, and saw your response to Stephie (who happens to be my daughter--it's kind of scary at times). Did you freeze them after they were baked, or before? Assuming you popped them in the microwave if they were frozen after you baked them? I really, really need these in my life.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Julie! I froze them after I baked them and have been microwaving them for 30 seconds to thaw and warm up. You may be able to freeze them before baking, and just increase the baking time. I do that with scones with great success. But I would complete the final rising before freezing. But I should add the caveat that I haven't done this yet with a yeasted bread. Would love to hear how they worked for you if you make them!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
Wow! The softest biscuits you've ever had?! Wow, now I must try. . I've always wanted to try sweet potato biscuits! Thanks for the recipe and yours look fabulous!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
We're running low on them right now - and I'm considering making another batch :-). Thanks so much Alice!
Shelby | Diabetic Foodie
I must make these immediately! Yum!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Shelby!!
TasteFood
These have such a beautiful color. I am sure they are delicious with the cardamom - and orange is a nice touch.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Lynda! Have a great weekend!!
mjskit
These do look like little pillows! I love them! I happen to have a really nice sweet potato in the pantry looking for a purpose. The only thing I don't have is the coconut oil. Do you have a substitution suggestion? Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks MJ! Yes - just use all butter. Or you can replace the coconut oil with lard. Either will work just fine. Would love to hear how they turn out for you. Have a great weekend!
Lora @cakeduchess
Oh, Susan...I just love these melt in your mouth biscuits. A super idea to use sweet potatoes. I am making them this weekend:)
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Hey thanks Lora! If you try them I'd love to hear how it goes for you!!
Hannah
Oh Susan, I can imagine these are pillow-y soft! I adore sweet potatoes and what a wonderful way to enjoy them. I'm with you on the sugar...coconut palm sugar has become my go-to, followed by small amounts of honey or maple syrup. Mostly, I too try to eat more fruit (when spring and summer's bounty arrives this will be easy!) or some very dark chocolate for my sweets craving. And I do love cardamom!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Hannah. On the sugar, it's really a one day at a time kind of thing. I'm doing pretty well though - only having a dessert once a week now for two weeks straight. And no wine. What's really helped me is finding a tea that I really, really like. When I feel the need for a treat, it's my new go-to. Not that I'm completely giving up dessert; I just need to take a step back to get it out of my system for a few weeks :-).