Elmo's Sweet Potato Biscuits

 There isn't a child in my home who still watches Sesame Street, but that didn't matter to me when I saw the new book- B is for Baking . This cookbook uses the characters from Sesame Street and I couldn't resist it.  I have had C is for Cooking for quite a few years and we use it all the time.

 I made Sweet Potato Biscuits last fall that we really loved and I noticed the version in B is for Baking was a little bit different and that it didn't use butter at all.  I was intrigued and decided it would be the first thing that we tried from this cookbook.  I made them on a night that we had a family favorite for dinner.  Whenever I make this stew, we have some sort of bread/biscuit to go with it and  I  knew these sweet potato biscuits would be great with it.  They didn't have the exact texture of a normal biscuit, but they were soft and fluffy and we loved them.   I froze a few of the leftovers and we made breakfast biscuit sandwiches the next week.  I will be making these again!

Elmo's Sweet Potato Biscuits

from  B is for Baking by Susan McQuillan

1 large sweet potato, cooked and mashed to equal 1 cup

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 Tbls baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup skim milk

2 Tbls honey

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (ap flour to salt).  In a medium bowl, with a wooden spoon, stir together egg, oil, milk, and honey.  Stir in the mashed sweet potato.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  With your fingers, gently pat the dough out to a 9*12-inch rectangle.  Cut into 12 squares.  Places biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on rack and serve warm.

 

Cranberry Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits & Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans

Once again horrible, quick photos. You will have to overlook them please, because these two things are very tasty.

First up, Cranberry Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits. My son chose dinner the other night and he wanted fried eggs, sauteed swiss chard & spinach, and biscuits. I know for a fact that these were not the kind of biscuits he wanted, but I was ready to try them, so I made half of them without the cranberries. This recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour and it makes a very tender, delicious biscuit. My daughters and I thought the ones with cranberries were very good and my son enjoyed those that were cranberry free.

Second, this Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad. I'm happy to say that I have completely overcome my dislike of sweet potatoes. The key for me is to combine them with savory and/or spicy ingredients. I made this salad for a Christmas party and it was really delicious. Pretty simple too. I didn't follow the directions exactly because I wanted to add the lime juice and olive oil bit by bit, so I could adjust the taste and I also wanted the little bites of jalapeno to be in there, not pureed. I loved this salad. Many people requested the recipe. It is a fun, healthy alternative/salad that can be shared at this time of year.


Here is the recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans
* I didn't puree the dressing, I just added the jalapenos, lime juice and other ingredients
the the roasted veggies & beans
* I used less olive oil than called for, both when roasted the sweet potatoes and when dressing the salad


Here is the recipe for Cranberry Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits
* I used low-fat buttermilk
* I only added frozen cranberries to half of my biscuits

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I've made Sweet Potato Biscuits before and they were good, but I never had much luck getting them to rise very high. I made a version of this soup (with adaptations) last night and had a bunch of sweet potato puree thawing in the fridge, so I decided to try a new recipe. I used reduced fat buttermilk instead of skim milk, because I like the way buttermilk works in baked goods, especially biscuits. I wasn't sure what to expect, but these biscuits were light, fluffy and very delicious. I thought about adding some spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg, but since we were enjoying them with soup, I left them alone.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

adapted from Cooking Light

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chilled butter
  
• 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup reduced fat buttermilk
  
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add sweet potato, milk, and honey; stir just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface; knead lightly 5 times. Pat dough into a 9-inch square; cut into 16 squares. Place biscuits on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until golden.

Not really TWD but the word shortcake is involved-- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I feel kinda bad about not making this weeks TWD recipe, because it was chosen by one of my favorite bloggers ever- Cathy, who blogs over at The Tortefeasor. (You can find the recipe over on her blog- My apologies to you Cathy!). Even if you aren't interested in the recipe you should go read her blog. She is funny and entertaining and I love her blog.

I have a couple of projects going on with my kids that involve cooking/baking this summer and I just couldn't fit the TWD baking into our schedule. Plus, I am trying not to bake more than once or twice a week (unless it is for someone else) just for the basic health of our family.

I made these cookies last month when we went to pick strawberries and hadn't posted the recipe yet, so I decided they would be an okay substitute since they are shortcake, in a way.

I had so many fresh strawberries that I didn't know what to do with all of them. I found this recipe and it looked like an interesting twist on shortcake.
The cookies are made like a biscuit or scone, with the butter being cut into the dry ingredients and then the cream being added to bring it all together.

I used a little bit more chopped strawberries than called for and it made a really wet dough. The cookies still worked though, they just aren't as pretty as Martha's. oh well.



Recipe for Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies
* I used half & half instead of cream, since I had that on hand.

TWD- Sweet Cream Biscuits

This week's TWD recipe was chosen by Melissa of Love At First Bite. She chose Sweet Cream Biscuits. You can find the recipe on her blog.

The recipes for April just happened to be posted the day before St. Patrick's Day and I was already planning on making some version of green eggs & ham for my kids with biscuits.
I decided to use Dorie's biscuits as the base for our Green Egg and Ham Biscuits that we had for dinner.
Sorry if the green eggs disgust you, but my kids love it. I just use a little bit of food gel coloring to get our eggs nice and green. Usually I add chopped ham to our eggs and scramble them, but this time I decided to bake the eggs in muffin tins, then add slices of ham and cheese to the sandwiches.

I didn't have a lot of luck with these biscuits. They turned out fine, but I would've liked it if they would have had more height. I didn't add enough cream at the beginning and it was too late to make the dough the right consistency by the time I realized it. They were still soft and yummy, just short.

I have had more success with Cooking Light biscuits than any full fat biscuits I have tried baking for some reason.

That being said, my son LOVED these biscuits. He ate almost all of them by himself. He loved them completely plain and also made into a green sandwich. So that makes them a success, I guess!

Check out the TWD Bakers to see what everyone else thought about these biscuits!

Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans & Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits

I have professed my love for red lentils before. I actually love all types of lentils, but red ones are just so delicious.
One of my good friends, who I was able to reconnect with recently, shared a great recipe with me a number of years ago and I shared it HERE. (along with another great red lentil soup)

Ever since I tried my friends soup years ago, I have been buying red lentils- at the local health food store, in the bulk section) and trying different recipes with them.
I love it when lentils are combined with dark greens and swiss chard is a definite favorite. I always use the stems and ribs of my swiss chard, because they soften up nicely and are yummy.

This Stew contains curry powder and garbanzo beans, so it is super healthy. And so tasty.
Perfect for the cold weather we are having. I know lots of places are colder than here right now, but this morning when I went to exercise it was a whopping 18 degrees! Not fun.

I found the Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits when I was searching on myrecipes.com for a hearty bread item to go along with this stew. They sounded perfect- a combination of whole wheat flour, cornmeal and lots of seeds on top. I have had great success with other biscuits on this site and knew they would be fabulous.
Once again, I like hearthy, healthy tasting breads. Some people in my family do not- mainly my hubby. He prefers Wonder Bread.
But the good news on these biscuits is that they were really popular with my kids. And they tasted good the next day and the next one after that.
I wish I had some of this leftover right now because I would eat it for breakfast.
(The recipe uses plain yogurt as a topping, I used Greek yogurt)

Recipe for Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans

Recipe for Seeded Cornmeal Biscuits

twd- Sweet Potato Biscuits

(If you are here for The Cake Slice, I will have that post up in a few hours)

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, Sweet Potato Biscuits, was chosen by Prudence Pennywise. Prudy is one of my favorite bloggers. You can find the recipe on her blog.
I have made soo many of her recipes and posted about a lot of them. She makes healthy taste delicious and she does it on a budget!

I have made these biscuits before. About a year and a half ago- when I was new to blogging.
Last time I made these biscuits with orange honey butter -check it out HERE.
I remembered how delicious they were, even though they didn't rise very much when they baked. Last time I made them I used canned sweet potatoes. This time I used a fresh sweet potato. I roasted it in the oven and mashed it.

The only problem I have had both times I made these is getting the dough to form. I end up over-mixing/kneading it because it isn't moist enough to come together.
I should have just added more sweet potato or a splash of cream/milk/half&half to make the dough come together. Next time!
They were good though.

I made the full batch and they only lasted a couple hours. My kids down these things.
Go check out the TWD Blogroll to see who got the tallest biscuits!

p.s. I actually got better height when I made a Spiced Pumpkin version from Cooking Light- get the recipe and compare the pics HERE
Recipe for Sweet Potato Biscuits can be found HERE also

One Year Ago-Hot Cocoa Chiffon Cake

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

My kids are always asking me to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I like making warm, delicious breakfasts, but I think I would have to get up at 4 am to have warm cinnamon rolls ready on a school day. A few years ago, I might have sacrificed my sleep and gotten up that early, but the older I get, the more sleep I need or the less willing I am to sacrifice my sleep for baking. Go figure!

We barely wake up in time to make it to school, so I was trying to find a quick alternative to traditional cinnamon rolls.

I was asking people on Twitter if they had any fast cinnamon roll recipes and Sarah, who has a wonderful blog- Blue Ridge Baker, told me about these Quick Cinnamon Biscuits that she found on Rebecca's blog- Ezra Pound Cake. Check out Sarah's post about these too- she topped them with a maple caramel sauce. Yummy!

I looked over the recipe and had everything I needed to try them out.

I made them on a Sunday morning and sure enough- they were ready in a flash!
You mix the dough together in a bowl and it is ready in, maybe 2 minutes or something? They are super easy to fill and roll, too.
Perfect.

The filling has nutmeg and cinnamon mixed with the brown sugar which I think really adds a little something special to these.

The recipe says that it yields 9 biscuits/rolls, but I got 12.
They do not taste exactly like a cinnamon roll that is made with yeast dough, hence the word biscuit in the recipe name, but they made my children very happy. If you do make these, know that they will have the texture and taste of a sweet biscuit.

My son ate the 2 that were leftover, the next morning on the way to school and he decided he liked them better cold. (I stored them in the fridge over night.)

I could totally get these ready on a school morning. There is hope for me.
You should try these- they are easy and delicious!


Recipe for Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

One Year Ago-Beef Stroganoff

Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits

I actually made these Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits a couple of weeks before I made the version they are adapted from- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, but posted about the other biscuits first.
I was drawn to this recipe because it was another great way to use canned pumpkin and also because any type of bread makes a great addition to any meal. I can't even remember what dinner we had these with, but I was surprised at the height I got out of them and also was very pleased with the taste and texture.
These biscuits would be great with breakfast, lunch or dinner. They would also be great as a snack. I have made them since and we really like them. So, give them a try if you like pumpkin and biscuits- a great combination!

Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits from Cooking Light

A light hand with the dough will help to ensure tender biscuits. This method of folding the dough creates irresistible flaky layers. To maximize the number of biscuits you get from the recipe, gather the dough scraps after cutting and gently pat or reroll to a 3/4-inch thickness.
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill 10 minutes.
3. Combine buttermilk and honey, stirring with a whisk until well blended; add canned pumpkin. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

Coming Tomorrow- Tuesday's with Dorie- Parisian Apple Tartlet with 6 fruits

Asparagus and Zucchini Frittata with Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Here are a couple of recipes that I pulled out of magazines and threw together for a quick dinner the other night. The biscuits really were easy and fast and I was surprised at how much height they got. The frittata was also quick and delicious.
I think that dill goes really well with egg dishes and that was the main herb in this frittata. The great thing about a dish like a frittata is, you can use whatever veggies you have on hand and change up the cheese or herbs to make it a totally different dish. I love dinners like this that can be made quickly, are healthy and fill you up.

Asparagus and Zucchini Frittata

12 oz fresh or 1 10-oz pkg frozen asparagus

1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bottled roasted red peppers

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

8 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1 Tbls fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbls all-purpose flour

3-4 Tbls finely shredded fresh Parmesan

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 2-qt rectangular baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

2. If using fresh asparagus, trim woody bases. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

3. In a large saucepan, bring 1 inch water to a boil. Add asparagus, yellow pepper, zucchini and onion. Cover and simmer until just tender. Drain well. Stir in roasted peppers. Spread asparagus mixture evenly in baking dish and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese.

4. Whisk together eggs, milk, dill, salt and pepper. Whisk in flour, making sure it is completely combined. Pour over vegetables on baking dish.

5. Bake, uncovered, about 35 minutes or until slightly puffed. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits from Cooking Light

A light hand with the dough will help to ensure tender biscuits. This method of folding the dough creates irresistible flaky layers. To maximize the number of biscuits you get from the recipe, gather the dough scraps after cutting and gently pat or reroll to a 3/4-inch thickness.

9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk

3 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill 10 minutes.
3. Combine buttermilk and honey, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.




Up Next- Twd- Tartest Lemon Tart

TWD-Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie pick, Mixed Berry Cobbler, was chosen by Beth over at Our Sweet Life. I couldn't fit in a another dessert and wanted to make my mom a special birthday breakfast, so I did a rewind and made Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits. They were light, golden, fluffy, and delicious. What do you expect? It's Dorie!

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits (Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p.25)
(Makes about 12 biscuits)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces

1/2 cup cold sour cream

1/4 cold whole milk

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between– and that’s just right.
Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you’ve got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading– 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t completely even– a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.
Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting– just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)
Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

Swwt Potato Biscuits with Orange Honey-Butter

Once again, Dorie is my go-to girl. I always check her cookbook, Baking from my home to yours, when I am going to bake something. These biscuits disappeared! They had great texture and flavor and the honey-butter made them taste like orange rolls! Yummy!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbls baking powder

1 tsp salt

pinch of ground cinnamon or nutmeg (I did more like a dash of both)

2 Tbls packed light brown sugar

3/4 stick (6 Tbls) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces

2 15-oz cans sweet potatoes in light syrup, drained and mashed (I used 1 29-oz can)

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-to 2 1/4-inch diameter biscuit citter, and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and spice, together in a bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to incorporate it, making sure there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat it with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces and pieces the size of oatmeal flakes, as well as everything in between- and that's just right.

Add the sweet potatoes to the bowl, grab a fork, and toss and gently turn the ingredients until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick, gentle kneading-3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour and pat the dough out with your hands until it is about 1/2-inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of this first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer those to the sheet.

Bake the biscuits for 14 to 18 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a cooking rack or eat immediately!

Orange Honey-Butter from Cooking Light

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp (or more) grated orange rind

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth.