Soft, pillowy biscuits are touched with a slight sweetness from syrupy honey and the distinct orange of sweet potatoes baked in.
In that waking moment between the dream world behind your eyelids and reentering consciousness, your body becomes aware. Slowly, the darkness fades as your mind crawls across your body, searching, and you start to feel again. A small electrical current reaches your limbs, exploring where they are at present, noticing the small pain on your toe from where you stubbed it the day before, readjusting your arms to support your neck.
This waking is not all pleasant, though, as there is an all-consuming pit at the top of your stomach. It’s pushing its way towards your throat, making it difficult to swallow down the lump of nothing that resides there at the back. The more you lie there, waiting, the larger the ache becomes until it feels as though it could consume you. The hollow emptiness seems to be sucking in on itself, causing you to curl further into yourself until numbness sets in, dulling the ache and clouding your vision.
There are some things I hope my children never experience. True hunger is one of them, the kind of hunger that is all-encompassing, that becomes a part of your very being it is so interwoven with the simplest moments. They don’t know what it is to not have enough, nor have they experienced what it means to have a lack of options, the dinner menu rotating weekly, the lunch box items changed at a whim, nutrition planned out through variety.
In 2010 there were 925 million people in the world who could be classified as hungry or malnourished, whether from lack of food and calories altogether or from deficiencies in nutrients. That is over 13% of the world’s population who are fighting daily just to survive due to lack of food. Here in the United States, we could feed all 50 million Americans who don’t have enough food simply by reducing food waste by one third. That means throwing away a third less than we do currently.
Today is Sweet Potato Day. ONE has chosen this seemingly simple root vegetable because it is packed with important nutrition and is easy to grow in several places around the world. One cup of sweet potatoes provides 769% of the daily value of vitamin A, which helps the body when fighting disease.Vitamin A deficiencies can cause loss of sight and growth retardation, and according to the World Health Organization vitamin A deficiency affects between an estimated 100 to 140 million children. Clearly, the sweet potato seems to be an appropriate choice in the fight against world hunger. Here’s how you can help: Read and learn more about food, nutrition, and world hunger, and then sign the petition asking for world leaders to make it a priority.
If you’ve never had sweet potato biscuits before, consider a potato loaf. You know, that pale-looking white bread with the flour dusted across the top, the insides seemingly softer than bread should naturally be. We’re doing that to our biscuits, only with sweet potatoes. The result is an excessively fluffy biscuit, a perfect pillow to place a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.
NOTES:
- You can make your purée ahead and store in the freezer. I made a good 3 cups just with two large sweet potatoes, and then I simply froze what I wasn’t using in smaller, measured amounts. That way it’ll be on hand for future biscuit sessions.
- These are baking powder biscuits, so aside from having sweet potato purée ready, you don’t need a lot of prep time. They come together easily, and they bake up in just a few minutes. For the non-potato variety, you can check out the biscuits and gravy post. The cream biscuits recipe is at the end.
- Buttermilk is one of those ingredients you might not have on hand. No need to fret. To get 1/3 cup of buttermilk as needed for this recipe, you can simply put 1 teaspoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice in your measuring cup and then add enough milk to bring the measurement to 1/3 cup. Let it sit on the counter for five minutes, give it a stir, and add it in as buttermilk in your recipe.
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon melted butter
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1″ pieces. Place the sweet potato in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and continue to boil until potatoes are soft, approximately 25 minutes. Drain the water and purée the potato either by mashing, ricing, or placing in a food processor and pulsing until smooth.
Measure out 3/4 cup of sweet potato purée and chill in the refrigerator. The remaining sweet potato mash can be saved for alternate uses or frozen for biscuits at a later date.
Preheat oven to 425º F. Mix the 3/4 cup sweet potato purée with the buttermilk and honey. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and the salt, stirring to mix. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until crumbly. Incorporate the sweet potato mixture until a soft dough is formed.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it lightly. Roll the dough 1″ thick. Using a 2″ biscuit cutter, cut out rounds, as close together as possible. Place the rounds on a baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with the melted butter.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until tops are just turning a golden brown along the edges. Remove from oven. Serve warm with extra butter and honey, if desired.
Makes 12-14 biscuits.
Please take a moment to visit my other friends in the online community writing today about world hunger and Sweet Potato Day:
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos | This Week for Dinner
Truffle Sweet Potato Frites | Savory Sweet Life
Sweet Potato & Chicken Sausage Stew | Chefdruck
Sweet Potato Burgers | Cutie Booty Cakes
Sweet Potato Day | What’s Gaby Cooking
Sweet Potato Day | The Mission List
Sweet Potato Day | World Moms Blog
Sweet Potato Day | Go Graham Go
Cranberry Sweet Potato Crumb Cake | Barbara Bakes
Bourbon and Marshmallow Sweet Potatoes | Boston Mamas
Sweet Potato Day | Documama
Sweet Potato Bread Pudding | Eat the Love
Lamb Shanks with Sweet Potatoes and Sausage | Kitchen Gadget Girl
Sweet Potato Love To Help End World Hunger | Love That Max
Celebrating Sweet Potato Day | Mom Trends
Sweet Potato Chili | Righteous Bacon
Cooking Sweet Potatoes for Picky Eaters | Rookie Moms
Sweet Potatoes and Global Health | Third Eye Mom
Indian Spiced Sweet Potato Kielbasa ONE Skillet Bake | Tickled Red
Sweet, Dude, Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash | Helen Jane
Oh My Sweet Potato Apple Bake | Bowl Licker
Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin | Non-Reactive Pan
Sweet Potato Fries | When You Wake Up a Mother (also found on Million Moms Challenge)
That picture of the mashed sweet potatoes? I want to dive into it. These sweet potato rolls? I am making them tonight. You were better than a cup of hot coffee this morning at waking me up and making me happy for the day. Thank you!
You’re so kind, Vanessa. Thank you!
What Vanessa said. Never thought to put sweet potatoes into rolls. Fantastic!
And let’s help end hunger!
Jen 🙂
This post choked me up. Thank you for spreading the word on this noble cause.
Please send a basket of these biscuits my way. They look too good to be true.
You have to make them yourself because they’re best straight out of the oven. I would be willing to send myself there to make them for you, though. Road trip?
How about yend the both of you out my way instead. 😉
shaina, your post is beautiful. thank you so much! and those biscuits look amazing! THANK YOU!!!
Thank you, Jane, and thank you and Alice both for organizing all of us to support such a worthy cause.
I love biscuits. And I love sweet potatoes. Never have I thought about the two together. This changes everything for me. Thank you for posting this recipe and a sincere thank you for being part of this effort. I am very excited to try this recipe at home this weekend. Thank you.
these look and sound amazing Shaina! we love biscuits and sweet potatoes – so I need to make these!
These look so soft and lovely! And the color is gorgeous…
I can’t believe I missed Sweet Potato Day. What turnip truck did I fall off of anyway? We have been roasting the heck out of them–with a spicy sweet blend of spice and brown sugar. And my son loves them mashed with butter for breakfast. But those rolls look delectable.
These are just so lovely, Shaina! That last picture has me wishing I could dip my finger in the honey 🙂
I love these, Shaina. I love that you are bringing attention to such a worthy organization!
Your blog reads like an enticing novel that I dont want to put down! 🙂 Oh, and great recipe too. 🙂
I’ll take a dozen, please!
Only recently have I begun to love sweet potatoes and I know I would love these biscuits.
These look amazing Shaina. I made some with butternut squash, but these look wayyyyyy better. I drooled on that honey drizzling photo. Yum!!!
I think it’s official. I love sweet potatoes in everything – these biscuits just confirmed it!
These look simply lovely!
These look delightful! Love the sweetness from the honey!
oh I just just imagine how wonderful these are, they looks so great and sound delicious.
Oh girl, these are stunning. And I LOVE the masher picture!
That’s a touching (and logical) sentiment Shaina. The biscuits also seem simple, yet different from the usual (the honey I think!)
I love the idea of sweet potatoes in biscuits – I don’t make biscuits typically, but if I do, I’m going to try yours.
Sweet potatoes in biscuits is such a great idea! I bet it adds such a nice sweet flavor!
Oh my gosh Shaina. These looks SO good!! Want!
Great and worthy cause. Beautiful biscuits. WANT.
I would love these! Delicious!
My mom makes sweet potato biscuits every Thanksgiving and these look delicious. Thanks for spreading the word about a wonderful cause!
What a great message 🙂 And what great rolls!
ooo they look great! Perfect for Sunday brunch!
Great post and great to spread such an important message. Love the recipe too, what a great use for sweet potatoes.