Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits

Y'all, I'm Southern. I grew up in north Louisiana making biscuits with both of my grandmothers, and then I made them on my own because in high school I got my kicks out of tending to my garden and whipping up fancy recipes that sometimes took a full day to master. And biscuits. I loved making biscuits.

It's been years, so it felt so nostalgic to roll out some dough. I invited a few friends over, and this time, the recipe I wanted to master was vegan biscuits with a hint of sweetness thanks to the addition of cinnamon and maple syrup. Yep, I've still got it. 

I promise you'll love them. Load them up with Earth Balance butter and more maple syrup, or make a sandwich out of it. (I made mine with a sunny side up egg fried in ghee, a vegan sausage patty, and avocado. I would have taken a picture but I inhaled it, sorry.)

On with the show. It's not nearly as hard as it seems to make biscuits from scratch, so get your hands dirty and dig in! 

INGREDIENTS

(Makes approximately 12 biscuits.) 

1 medium sweet potato

1/3 cup soy milk, or other plain unsweetened non-dairy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1½ cup whole wheat pastry flour + more for surface

2 tbsp sugar (cane, coconut or lucuma)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

5 tbsp very cold Earth Balance or coconut oil

2 tbsp maple syrup 

1 tsp cinnamon 

DIRECTIONS

Prick sweet potato with fork several times, place in a microwave-safe bowl with a splash of water, cover with a paper towel, and microwave  for approximately 5 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool. (Place in fridge or freezer to speed up process.) 

Preheat oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt in a food processor*, and pulse to combine. 

Peel the sweet potato, mash in bowl. Add vinegar and non-dairy milk and stir ’til blended.

Add the very cold coconut oil or Earth Balance to your dry mixture and pulse until you have a coarse meal. (extra emphasis on "very cold")

Add the sweet potato mixture and pulse a couple times to fully combine.

Generously flour a clean work surface.

Transfer the dough onto the floured workspace. The dough will probably be wet, so use the flour on the counter to help make it more manageable, and add a little flour if needed. Fold the dough over a couple of times, then flatten the dough ½-inch thick. (Generally speaking, the less you handle the dough, the lighter and fluffier your biscuits will be, so try not to overwork it.) 

Cut the dough into biscuits using a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or a wide rimmed glass.

Transfer the cut biscuits onto the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. 

Enjoy immediately with more Earth Balance and Maple Syrup.  

Keep fresh in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

*If you don't have a food processor, you can also make these by hand. A fork or pastry cutter work just fine. 

If you make these, please be sure to tag me @TiffanyNapper so I can drool over your creations! 

xo

Tiffany