SWEET POTATO BISCUITS SUSAN SPICER

Sweet Potato Biscuits

They're warm and they make the house smell good and buttery," chef Susan Spicer says. "We spooned honey on them for breakfast, but they'd be very nice for dinner with smothered pork chops."

Servings: Makes 12 biscuits

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter , cut into small pieces

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato

4 to 5 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons butter , melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut cold butter and shortening into dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or two knives) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, combine sweet potato and 4 tablespoons milk. Add to flour mixture and stir just until a soft dough forms and pulls away from sides of bowl. (If needed, add remaining 1 tablespoon milk.)

On a lightly floured surface, gather dough into a ball and knead 3 times, just until smooth. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough into 3/4-inch-thick disc. With a floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuit rounds. Gently gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out more rounds. Arrange biscuits 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until bottoms brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.