Fluffy Sweet Potato Biscuits

A stack of three sweet potato biscuits with honey and butter on a metal tray.

5 from 4 votes

Slightly sweet, buttery, and perfectly spiced, these fluffy sweet potato biscuits are simply irresistible! These biscuits have roasted and mashed sweet potato baked right in and are flavored with brown sugar, honey, and warm spices. Serve them warm with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: biscuits

Calories: 258kcal

Author: Ashley Boyd

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups pastry flour or all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, see note
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon light brown sugar or dark brown or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup roasted and mashed sweet potato about 1 large sweet potato, see note
½ - ¾ cup buttermilk cold
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter very cold, cubed

Instructions

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat it to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside. In a separate medium mixing bowl, mix the mashed sweet potato with ½ cup buttermilk, honey, and vanilla with a fork until well combined. Set the bowl aside.
Add the cubed butter to the flour, toss it to coat the butter in flour, and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. You may also use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour. Some remaining larger chunks of butter are totally fine!
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and scoop the sweet potato mixture into the well. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough until all of the flour is moistened and the dough starts to clump together. Use your hands to continue mixing the dough, working it around the bowl to scrape up all the dry flour from the bottom. If the dough is very crumbly and will not hold together add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of buttermilk. The dough should not be sticky but should hold together.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle. Fold the top third of the dough over itself, then the bottom third. Rotate the dough 90 degrees, pat it back out into a rectangle, and repeat the process two more times. This gives you those lovely flaky layers and is gentler than kneading the dough.
Gently pat the dough into a ½-inch thick disc and use a 2 ½ to 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out 8 biscuits. Gently rework the scraps as needed, folding and patting them back into a disc, until you have 8 biscuits.
Place the biscuits closely together on the lined baking sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk. Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 18-23 minutes until golden brown. Allow the biscuits to cool slightly and enjoy!

Notes

Soft wheat pastry or all-purpose flour is best for biscuits due to its low protein content. Lower protein means less gluten formation, which results in soft, fluffy biscuits.
To prepare the sweet potato, scrub it clean, prick it all over with a fork, and bake it at 400°F for about one hour until it can be easily pierced with a fork. Allow the sweet potato to cool completely and remove the skin before adding it to the dough. You can also bake the sweet potato the night before and chill it in the refrigerator.
Leftover sweet potato biscuits can be stored at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Nutrition