Buttermilk

Sweet Potato Biscuit Pillows with Honey and Coconut Oil

July  1, 2021
4
3 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes 15 - 20 depending on size
Author Notes

Last winter I really dived into making breads. Every week I was making biscuits, scones, yeasted bread or a quick bread. And I started experimenting with coconut oil in the breads. This was one of my favorite results. Hope you like it too! —TheWimpyVegetarian

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 1/2 ounces (1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
  • 2 1/3 ounces (2/3 cup) brown rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast (Rapid-Rise)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 medium-small sweet potato (big enough to yield 1/3 cup mashed potato)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk (I used 2% fat buttermilk)
  • 2 tablespoon honey (orange-flavored is wonderful)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
  1. NOTE: As a time saver, I like to start these biscuits in the bowl of a food processor. If you don’t have one, make sure you mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly with a whisk. It’s important to make sure the baking powder and yeast are evenly distributed into the flour. Use either a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers to rub the butter and coconut oil into the flour.
  2. Place the flours, baking powder, instant yeast, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Pulse them a few times to evenly distribute the baking powder and yeast through the flours.
  3. Slice the butter into 1/2 tablespoon slabs and add to the bowl, along with the coconut oil. Pulse a few times until the butter is broken into pea-sized pieces. The best way to check this is by dipping a fork into the flour mixture a few times.
  4. Bake the sweet potato until soft (I use the microwave). Spoon out 1/3 cup of sweet potato. Place in a fine strainer and push it through using the back of a spoon. Sweet potato is thick and can be lumpy, and this straining will give you a beautiful smooth result. It should also by cool enough now to add the wet ingredients.
  5. Add the egg, buttermilk, and honey. Stir thoroughly using a whisk. Add the cardamom and whisk a few more times. If your cardamom is older, you might want to add a little more. You should have a nice smooth batter to add to the flour mixture.
  6. Form a well in the middle of the flour with your hand, and pour half of the batter into it. Using a spatula, combine the mixture by folding the flour into the batter. Add the remaining batter and continue to mix into the flour mixture.
  7. As soon as the flour and batter are fully integrated, it’s time for the first rise. The dough is very sticky, so don’t knead it yet. Cover the bowl with plastic and allow the dough to rise until it’s almost doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). My favorite place to put dough for a rising is the microwave. I place a hot cut of water in the microwave with it so that it’s nice and warm and safe from drafts.
  8. Lightly oil a clean bowl and move the dough to it. the process of doing this will punch it down. Cover the dough with plastic, fitting the plastic wrap loosely around the mound of dough, and slide the bowl into the refrigerator. I leave it there overnight, but if you’re in a rush, leave it in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
  9. Lightly flour a work space and lay the dough on it. Knead it a few times (10 – 20 times at the most) to get a smooth dough, adding a little flour as needed.
  10. Place the dough on a piece of parchment or wax paper and roll it out into a square or rectangular shape, about 3/4? thick.
  11. Line a baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchment paper. Slice the dough into large squares, approximately 3? square. Cut each square diagonally in half to form two triangles per square. Place them on the parchment lined baking sheet, 1? apart from each other. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm area of your kitchen to rise for an hour. They should be 1? to 1 1/4? inch high.
  12. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. I always have a baking stone in my oven, but it’s not critical. The benefit of a baking stone is that it can evenly heat the baking sheet and reduce problems with uneven heat. If you’re using one, place it on the center rack, or one rack down from the center.
  13. Bake for 10 minutes and increase the heat to 400 degrees F. Bake another 5 – 10 minutes. The surfaces should be a little more than lightly browned. If you have a temperature probe, the internal temperature of the biscuits should reach 200 degrees F.
  14. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm.
  15. I find I don’t need any extra honey and butter on them, but you can serve these on the side when you bring them to the table.
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13 Reviews

Mae July 1, 2021
Mine didn't turn out as thick and beautiful as the photo, but they were still yummy! I might just use a round biscuit cutter next time. I think moving the triangles to the baking sheet messed up their shape a little bit.
 
chez_mere December 26, 2014
These guys live up to their name. Very pillowy indeed! And making them the day before worked great for our family gathering :)
 
Miachel P. December 5, 2014
This has all my favorite things: coconut oil, sweet potato, and cardamom. Can't wait to try the recipe!
 
Chrissy January 9, 2014
What is the purpose of the coconut oil? Looking at the cholesterol content.. Less than butter? Lighter?
 
TheWimpyVegetarian January 16, 2014
Good question, Chrissy. I started cooking with more coconut oil due to so many reports I was reading that it had gotten a black eye for saturated fat that it didn't deserve. And that it actually was good for you. And I liked the slight coconut flavor it contributed without adding a coconut texture I didn't want in the roll.
 
Laur A. November 27, 2013
Do you think that coconut flour would be ok too?
 
TheWimpyVegetarian December 9, 2013
I'm so sorry I didn't see this. I'm still figuring out coconut flour, but I've learned that I can't always do a 1 for 1 replacement with it when substituting for other flours. But if the AP flour is still the main flour, and you'd only be using the coconut flour to switch out the brown rice flour, it might be ok. But I don't have any experience to base that opinion on. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it works!
 
Kee November 25, 2013
do you think these would work with an all purpose gluten-free flour subbed in for the all purpose?
 
TheWimpyVegetarian November 26, 2013
I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. Please let me know how it goes!
 
chez_mere November 25, 2013
What do you recommend substituting for the brown rice flour? can I use a low gluten flour like rye instead?
 
TheWimpyVegetarian November 26, 2013
That could be a really interesting combination, or you could just use gluten-free all-purpose flour. Bobs Red Mill has a great one!
 
Vivian H. May 23, 2013
Saved! These look great.
 
Thanks! They're really soft and fluffy - hope you like them!!