Annie Mae Jones' Sweet Potato Biscuits

These sweet potato biscuits come from heritage Southern home cook Annie Mae Jones, the kind of recipe that traveled through families and church cookbooks long before food blogs existed. The technique is simple but specific: a cup of mashed sweet potato folded into a shortening biscuit dough, rolled and cut into squares (not rounds), baked at high heat until golden.

The square cut is the choice that makes Annie Mae’s biscuits efficient. Rolling the dough and cutting squares means no waste, no re-rolled scraps to toughen up, every biscuit comes from the first roll. This is how a working farm kitchen got 8 biscuits from 1 cup of flour without throwing anything away.

The mashed sweet potato is the structural ingredient. The natural moisture and starch take the place of butter in a standard biscuit, producing a tender crumb with subtle sweetness and a faintly orange tint. Cool the potato completely before mixing or warm potato will melt the shortening.

Pro Tips

• Roast the sweet potatoes whole at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes, the dry-heat caramelization gives deeper flavor than boiled or microwaved
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt thoroughly, this distributes the leavening evenly through the small flour quantity
• Add the milk gradually, the right dough is soft but not sticky. Sweet potatoes vary in moisture content
• Keep the shortening cold and cut it in until the mixture looks like coarse meal, this is what gives biscuits their flaky layers
• Eat warm within an hour, sweet potato biscuits go from glorious to dry the moment they cool

Variations

• Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to the dry ingredients for a sweeter, fall-flavored biscuit
• Brush the tops with melted butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar before baking for sweeter biscuits
• Use orange-fleshed yams for a deeper color and slightly sweeter flavor than pale sweet potatoes