Sweet Potato and Ancho Chile Bisquits

Above two photos: you'll need ground nutmeg and ancho chile powder for these biscuits, ideally. Acceptable substitutions could be ground allspice and regular chile powder but be aware the latter also contains additional spices such as garlic and onion powders. Best to stick with ancho chile if at all possible; a single jar lasts quite awhile in the Cafe Drake HRV kitchens and finds its way into many dishes (scrambled eggs, mac and cheese, tomato soup, enchiladas and quesadillas).

The simplest way to deal with the sweet potato is to just prick with a fork all over and bake on a small piece of foil in a 400 degree oven until very soft, about 30 minutes for a medium-size yam.

Dry ingredients prior to mixing. You'll love that biscuits only require ONE bowl, not the usual two to clean afterwards when making muffins or cakes or quick breads.

Cafe Drake HRV rolled out our biscuit dough quite thin for a crispy, almost cracker-like texture. Feel free to make yours thicker for flaky, moist biscuits but cooking times may increase.

So good with soup and salads or slow-simmered pinto beans and collards. Be sure to butter and toast leftovers the following day! Once the biscuits have cooled completely they can be stored in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months minimum. Our recipe has been tweaked from the original, given to us by our grandmother Maude Kirkpatrick Page. Let's start making them now? Combine in a large mixing bowl:2 cups unbleached white flour, 3/4 t. salt, 3 t. baking powder, 1-2 T. ancho chile powder, 1/2 t. ground nutmeg and 3 T. sugar. Mix well and cut in 4 T. cold butter. Rub the mixture with your fingers until it resembles moist crumbs, just as you would when making scones. Now stir in 1 cup of mashed sweet potato and gradually add milk (up to 3/4 cup) until you have a pliable dough. The mixture will be sticky at this point so turn out onto a well-floured surface and roll or pat out to any thickness desired. Have plenty of flour on hand, right beside you, for this step. Cut into shapes you like and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet (or we did, as above, a Silpat liner). Bake in a hot oven - 400 degrees F. - until the biscuits are just lightly browned and cooked through. Times will vary according to a handful of factors so begin to check for doneness after 12 minutes.