Sweet Potato Biscuits Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Are homemade biscuits better with butter or shortening? ›

The butter version rises the highest — look at those flaky layers! The shortening biscuit is slightly shorter and a bit drier, too. Butter contains a bit of water, which helps create steam and gives baked goods a boost.

And baking powder is typically made of 2 parts baking soda to 1 part cream of tartar. In the presence of a liquid, the acidity of the cream of tartar activates the baking soda, causing it to start bubbling away, and that, in turn, is what makes the biscuits rise.

Do You Have to Peel Sweet Potatoes Before Roasting Them? Not at all! However, if you'd prefer to do so you certainly can! The skin of the sweet potato is thicker and tougher than the rest of your sweet potato, so if that's undesirable to you feel free to remove the skin.

Overworking the dough will not only create a tough biscuit instead of a tender biscuit, but can also result in a flatter biscuit. The more you play with the dough, the warmer the dough becomes. If the fat becomes too warm it will melt into the flour and they won't rise as tall.

Buttermilk can produce better results when baking biscuits than using regular milk or cream. Buttermilk is acidic and when it is combined with baking soda, it creates a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the dough to rise and gives the biscuits a light and flaky texture.

Buttermilk Biscuits vs. Cream Biscuits

Buttermilk is used in biscuit-making for its acid and fat content. Its acidity works with the leaveners to help the dough rise, producing a taller and fluffier biscuit. Buttermilk also adds a subtle tang. Cream biscuits are made with heavy cream.

Egg white has the capability to gel and is frequently used as a binding agent in many different prepared foods. Using more whites in a cake mixture will help create a fluffy, light baked product with good volume and texture; while using more yolks will create a denser baked good with a deeper, richer flavour.

The cornstarch lowers the protein of the flour, which produces a more tender biscuit. The heavy cream provides the fat that helps create the flaky layers in great biscuits.

A good replacement for cream of tartar in baking is 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice for every 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar.

How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. If your sweet potato is soft in spots, smells rotten, or oozes a mysterious liquid, that potato should be discarded. Another sign that sweet potatoes have taken a turn for the worse is if they start growing stalky purplish sprouts.

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? ›

Are Yams and Sweet Potatoes the Same? No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

If it still feels firm, I'd put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Expert tip! Drop your baked sweet potato from about 10 inches above onto a cutting board or the baking pan.

There is some actual science behind why White Lily flour is lighter than others and, thus, better suited for items like biscuits and cakes.

Use very cold butter.

When the biscuits go in the oven, the butter will melt and cause steam. This buttery steam, in turn, helps produce flaky layers and a higher lift to the biscuits.

So what's the final verdict? Butter is the winner here. The butter biscuits were moister with that wonderful butter taste and melt-in-your mouth texture. I'd be curious to test out substituting half or just two tablespoons of the butter with shortening to see if you get the best of both.

Shortening is more effective at reducing gluten formation in doughs. Indeed, this is where the name comes from — it “shortens” gluten strands. It also has a higher melting point than butter, making it less likely to smear into biscuit dough, even if you use your hands to mix it.

Brush the biscuits with butter after baking

“If you want the most luscious biscuits ever, brush the tops with melted butter after they come out of the oven,” says James. Brushing the butter on after baking ensures that the butter soaks into the baked biscuit so you get that great buttery flavor in every bite.

In terms of flakiness, the best fat for making biscuits is probably lard, and vegetable shortening is the next best. In terms of flavor, however, butter is undoubtedly the best, with lard a close second.