My paternal grandmother, Mildred Edna Cotton Council, founded Mama Dip’s Kitchen restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1976. The daughter of a sharecropper and granddaughter of an enslaved person, she built a culinary empire. Her sweet potato biscuits were one of her most popular dishes, and they are still featured on the menu today. Sweet potatoes add an earthy, sweet flavor to more than just your favorite pie. They make for a tender and moist biscuit that is great as a substitute for dinner rolls. These biscuits are the soul sisters of the basic buttermilk biscuits and are inspired by my grandmother’s version. Make them whenever you have leftover sweet potatoes around.
Benne seeds, an heirloom seed derived from the same plant as modern-day sesame seeds, were brought from West Africa by enslaved Africans who cultivated the seed and used the ingredient in many ways, such as to thicken stews, adding fat and protein to their food. Benne seeds add a rich and nutty flavor, and a brush of milk before baking will help to add color to the crust. I like to brush the baked sweet potato biscuits with honey for extra sweetness, but you can opt for just butter or nothing at all.
This recipe was excerpted from 'Still We Rise' by Erika Council. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more biscuit recipes here →
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What you’ll need
Benne Seeds
Buy At Anson Mills
Baking Powder
$15 At Amazon
Fluted Cutter Set
$7 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 biscuits
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450°F.
Step 2
Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 3
Using the slicing side of a box grater, slice the butter into the flour mixture. Toss the sheets of butter in the flour until the butter is thoroughly coated. Then lightly work the butter pieces between your fingers or use a pastry cutter to break them up and coat them with flour. Stop when the dough resembles coarse sand and there are still some small visible pieces of butter.
Step 4
Place the biscuit mixture into the freezer for 15 minutes.
Step 5
Place the sweet potatoes and ¾ cup of the milk into a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Add the sweet potato mixture to the chilled flour mixture and stir gently with a spatula until the dough begins to form into a ball and no dry bits of flour are visible. The dough will be shaggy and sticky.
Step 6
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly dust with flour. With floured hands, gently pat the dough into a ½-inch-thick 11 × 6-inch rectangle. Fold the ends of the rectangle toward the center, one end on top of the other, to create a trifold. Dust the top lightly with flour, press out to the same size rectangle again, and repeat the folding. Repeat this process a third time. After the third folding, pat the dough to a ½-inch thickness and cut out the biscuits using a floured 3½-inch biscuit cutter. Be careful to press straight down and do not twist the cutter.
Step 7
Place the biscuit rounds 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather the scraps, reshape them, and pat them out to a ½-inch thickness. Cut out as above. Discard any remaining scraps.
Step 8
Brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 2 tablespoons milk and sprinkle with the benne seeds.
Step 9
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through, until the tops are golden brown. If desired, brush the tops of the baked biscuits with melted butter or honey. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes
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