In Georgia, it’s sweet potato season, y’all. From August to November, this nutritious vegetable will be at its peak and abundant. That gets me excited for a few reasons, as I have always loved sweet potatoes. In my family, they seem to be at the heart of many good food memories, such as every Thanksgiving when my mom makes her sweet potato casserole with a satisfying pecan streusel topping. 

Last Sunday was a big day. I had the opportunity of a lifetime to cook with Paula Deen in her home kitchen, and we made my sweet potato biscuits with honey butter. The episode aired on her Love & Best Dishes show, and you can watch it free on Paula Deen’s YouTube Channel and Facebook and Instagram pages. It was a dream come true and a surreal moment to stand beside this lady who has taught me so much about cooking in the very same kitchen I have watched on TV for many years. She really enjoyed my biscuits, and even told me she liked them better than her own. Now, that was a high compliment!

My mom and Grandma Dot love sweet potato biscuits, as did my great-Grandma Elnora. They have long been a Southern tradition, but I’ve been surprised to meet a few Southerners who say they’ve never had one. This morning I woke up to a text message from my Aunt Susan, who had watched me cook with Paula recently. She had been flipping through an old recipe box that belonged to my great-great Aunt Louise “Beasie” Baker when she came across a newspaper clipping, most likely from the Macon Telegraph circa 1940. Of all things, the clipping was taken from a column titled “Home-Making Hints,” by Susan Myrick and included a recipe for sweet potato biscuits! 

The best part was an excerpt from the description at the top which read, “Today I am giving the recipe for sweet potato biscuits in answer to a request from a lady who says she wants it for some Yankee friends.” I laughed out loud when I read that, as we Southern folks do like to help where we can. Bless it.

Today, in 2023, I am sharing my recipe for these same beloved biscuits. I sure hope you enjoy every bite. Serve them for breakfast, or as an accompaniment with a dinner of fried chicken or pork chops.

Some Kinda Good Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled, and cooled)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 8 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits, plus more for melting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place your cast iron skillet in the oven to warm it up. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using your hands, a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until the flour mixture resembles crumbs. Add the sweet potatoes to the flour mixture just until combined, adding milk in small increments (if needed) to moisten the dough.  

On a floured work surface, turn the dough out and knead lightly until the mixture comes together. Pat the dough into about a 1-inch-thick round. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into biscuits, gently re-rolling the scraps to cut out more biscuits. Place the biscuits touching in a preheated cast iron skillet or on baking sheet. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small dish or measuring cup. Drizzle or brush the butter over the tops of each biscuit. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden brown. Serve with apple butter, softened honey butter, warm syrup, or honey.

Homemade Honey Butter

For the honey butter, mix equal parts softened, unsalted butter with local honey (about 2 tablespoons each), and add a pinch of kosher salt. Spread on warm biscuits and enjoy.

Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a private chef and the author of the best-selling memoir “Some Kinda Good.” Featured in Forbes, on Food Network and ABC, she writes about Southern, coastal cuisine, locally sourced and in season. Connect with her on social media by liking Some Kinda Good on Facebook, or follow @SKGFoodBlog on Instagram and Twitter. To learn more, visit RebekahLingenfelser.com.