See, in case you don't know, I have a go to recipe for biscuits, and I think I make damn good ones. These...were...better. I kid you not, I never thought I'd say it, but these were more moist and the sweet potato was not overwhelming. Not to mention I found a new technique for making the actual biscuits that seemed so simple, but it blew my mind. You'll have to read to find out what it is. I will also post a rough recipe below this for my maple and black pepper gravy, but I didn't measure that, so it's more a description of how to eyeball it. Everybody raved about these biscuits, couldn't believe how good they turned out. One person told me they grew up eating gravy their whole life, and that was the best they ever had. For people who love their families, and love to cook, those are the things we live for. Food love <3
Sweet Potato Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 stick butter, frozen
1 cup mashed sweet potato
3/4 cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 425. Okay, this is a simple one if you know how to make biscuits. The easiest way to get a cup of mashed sweet potato is to roast a whole one (a little on the bigger side) at 425 for about an hour. Then you let it cool, split it open, scoop the flesh in a bowl and use a potato masher or hand mixer and measure out a cup. For the dry ingredients, mix everything up until the butter in a big bowl. Take your stick of butter out and grate six tablespoons (3/4 of the stick) into the bowl with a box grater. THIS is the BREAKTHROUGH!! It makes incorporating the cold butter foolproof a) because its frozen, and b) it breaks it up into the perfect size. After the butter is mixed in (I find it easiest to make biscuits with a wooden spoon), mix together your milk and mashed sweet potato in a separate bowl, then add the wet mixture to your dry. Mix with your spoon. This should be slightly tacky, but not wet. Add flour to your work surface and knead about three or four times until theres not many cracks and roll it out to your preferred thickness. I did about half an inch (I didn't measure mind you). Use a biscuit cutter, or a mason jar if you don't have any, and pop them onto a baking tray. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how crispy you like the outside, I like a little bit of crunch here and there, so I went for 20. Remember that last quarter stick of butter? Brush it on at some point doing during the cooking for extra deliciousness (obviously you need to microwave it, lol). For SUPER flavor points, just add some garlic powder, parsley, and a little salt to the butter, but its up to you ;). You won't regret making these, and your family won't mind eating them!
Maple Black Pepper Gravy
These measurements are approximate:
1lb spicy sausage
1/4 cup flour
2 to 3 cups milk
1/4 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
These gravy is easy, just depends how thick you like it. Brown your sausage over medium high heat. Turn it to medium and add your flour and cook for a minute or two until its not raw anymore. Slowly add milk at first so it doesn't clump. Start with two cups. As it cooks and thickens (and you keep stirring darnit), add your maple syrup and some salt and a decent amount of pepper. I must insist on fresh cracked in this case, and REAL maple syrup, they're the star of the gravy. From here on out, it's your judgement what you want to adjust. You like extra salt, add more. My only suggestion is this, it shouldn't taste like candy, but you should know theres something sweet in there, followed by a pleasant nip of black pepper so they kind of cancel each other out. If this is too thick, add a little more milk. It shouldn't take more than 7 or 8 minutes from the time you add t he milk to the time you've adjust everything and its thickened (if milk is room temperature). These are all approximate, if it tastes like it needs more of something, then ADD IT! That's the fun of cooking...jeez
