Sweet Potato Biscuits

Gluten-free biscuits are the new gluten-free bread.

I’ll admit I haven’t made GF bread—yet. And, I stay away from commercial GF breads because, well, do I need to explain why to you of all people? You know they’re not so great. OK for breadcrumbs, but not much else.

GF biscuits are another story. They’re divine—light, a little crumbly, savory not sweet. Perfect warm with fig jam. Ah, and they would make tasty little ham and cheese sandwiches. In fact, this recipe in Bon Apetit was the inspiration for The Sensitive Pantry’s version of Sweet Potato Biscuits. IMHO these little guys beat bread hands down.

I’m kind of excited because I found another wonderful way to serve them—topped with beef barbecue, Sloppy Joes, the kind with ground beef and barbecue sauce. You know, the kind the cafeteria ladies served in Middle School. (And maybe your Mom made them for you but I’m pretty sure my Italian-American Mom never even had a Sloppy Joe let alone actually made them!) Sloppy Joes really need a soft bun underneath them and I’ve yet to find soft GF buns on the grocery store shelves. But these Sweet Potato Biscuits are perfecto for Sloppy Joes!

If you’re up for a little reading on the subject of baking biscuits you might try Dorie Greenspan’s Biscuits on Parade: A Recipe + A Biscuit Tip-Sheet.

This recipe, along with Karina’s and other GF blogger Sweet Potato Biscuit recipes, are featured at the Gluten-free Goddess blog. Check them out and maybe try all four recipes!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 cup sorghum flour

3/4 cups GF flour blend*

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons Earth Balance (cold)

1/2 cup rice or hemp milk (cold)

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (cold)

1 cup sweet potato puree (cold)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients (the first 8 listed above) together in a large bowl. I like to use a whisk for this.

Mix the cold milk and lemon juice then put it back in the fridge until needed.

Add the cold Earth Balance to the dry ingredients and mix together with a fork or pastry blender. I usually start out with one of these tools and then abandon it for mixing with clean, dry hands. The dough should be a bit clumpy with the clumps about the size of peas.

Add half the milk mixture and the cup of sweet potato puree to the flour. (I used canned organic sweet potato puree that I picked up at Whole Foods. You can make your own by boiling and mashing fresh sweet potatoes. You may have to adjust the amount of milk you add to the dough to get the desired moisture and consistency.)

Stir everything together with a large spoon, adding more milk mixture as you go, until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Pull the dough together with your hands forming it into a ball. A note about the dough—it should be a medium-light weight dough and able to hold together. You may need to add more liquid or more flour at the end to reach the right consistency but avoid over-handling the dough.

Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured pastry mat. Press the ball down into a disk and place a piece of parchment or plastic wrap over top. Using a rolling pin gently roll it out to about 1/2 inch high.

Remove the plastic wrap and cut the dough into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter. Tip: dip the cutter in flour between cuts. And, if you don’t have a biscuit cutter you might try a sharp edged glass.

Pull the dough scraps together and repeat.

Place the rounds onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake about 15-18 minutes until they just begin to brown. Serve warm.

*Note: I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour. You could use your own GF flour blend or, if you don’t have any on hand, try subbing with brown rice flour + 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum.

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Three Recipes Away from Great GF Cornbread Dressing

Yep, you’re only three recipes away from a pretty delicious cornbread dressing. And, after completing any one of the three recipes, if you feel you just can’t move on to the next step, you can just stop and have a great side dish ready to serve with dinner.

The first is Vegan Creamed Corn. I admit I’m jealous my friends can make really great cornbread with all kinds of extra ingredients that I can’t have—cheese and creamed corn to be exact. Well, I can’t have the cheese but just stop me from adding creamed corn to my cornbread. This version is vegan and delicious. You all might like the corn on its own—it’s very tasty.

Next is GF Vegan Skillet Cornbread—made with locally ground cornmeal (yum!) and, you got it, creamed corn. Let me just tell you that if you can get locally ground cornmeal by all means scoop it right on up. We have a great little health food store that embraces the 100 mile challenge so sells many locally ground grains, organic vegetables, local dairy products and other locally grown foods. That’s where I get my cornmeal and, if I’m lucky, pick up some delicious finely ground corn flour.

The final recipe is a flavorful GF Cornbread Dressing made with GF bread, cranberries, apples, celery, chicken sausage and broth.

I brought this dressing—along with a  goat cheese appetizer and Karina’s Sweet Potato Coffee Cake—to my sister’s house for our family Thanksgiving get together. This year was a far cry from last year’s Thanksgiving where I felt a little deprived. I’ve come a long way, baby! My meal was fabulously gluten-free and I walked away from the table with the button of my jeans undone. That’s probably not something to brag about but I’m going to anyway.

Thanksgiving may be over but these recipes will see you through the holidays, into the new year, and on until the end of the winter. And, you don’t need to make a bird to add this to your meal because it’s good any time, anywhere.

Recipe #1: Vegan Creamed Corn

12 ounces frozen corn (or 1½ cups raw fresh corn kernels)

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

½ an onion, finely diced

Salt

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (fine)

½ cup light coconut milk

½ cup rice milk

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until almost translucent. 

Add the corn and salt, cooking about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until the corn is no longer frozen and is warm. Stir in the sugar (if adding) and cook another minute.

Mix the coconut and rice milks together. Sprinkle the corn flour over the corn kernels and stir in. Then, add the milk mixture and cook until the corn is soft and the mixture had been reduced and appears creamy—about another 4 or 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 2 cups of creamed corn.

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Recipe #2: GF Vegan Skillet Cornbread

Dry Ingredients

1 cup organic corn meal

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable, corn, or canola oil (grapeseed)

1 cup rice or other milk substitute

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 cup Vegan Creamed Corn (recipe above)

Egg replacer for two eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the egg replacer (4 tablespoons warm water and 3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer) until there are no white lumps or residue. Put aside.

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix rice milk and cider vinegar. Add rice milk/vinegar, oil, then egg replacer to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Add the Vegan Creamed Corn and stir until incorporated.

Grease a baking pan (a medium cast iron skillet or 8” x 8” baking dish will work) with oil.

Pour mix in pan and bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Note: Cornbread is typically very crumbly so I’ve considered adding 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum to see if it would improve the texture. If anyone has done this please let us know how it went.

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Recipe #3: GF Cornbread Dressing

1/2 pan Vegan Cornbread & 4 slices GF bread, toasted and cubed    
3 chicken sausage links (omit for vegan dressing)
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 apple, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries  
1 teaspoon sage  
1 teaspoon thyme  
2 teaspoon dried basil  
salt and pepper  
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth  
Olive oil 

Cube the cornbread and tapioca bread. Toast in a preheated 350℉ oven for 10-15 minutes taking care not to burn. Remove to a large bowl. (The cornbread is typically very crumbly so you may want to toast it in strips and then gently cut it into cubes.)

Slice the chicken sausage into 1/4 inch coins. Saute them with a little olive oil in an iron skillet over medium heat. Remove from the pan and let cool then dice. Set aside.

Dice the onion and begin to saute in the same skillet you used for the chicken sausage. Add the diced celery. Saute for about 5 minutes. Dice the apple and add to the skillet. Sprinkle with the spices, salt and pepper. Saute for another minute or two. Add the cranberries. Add a few tablespoons of chicken broth. Stir and heat for another minute.

Add the diced sausage to the bowl with the bread. Pour the vegetable mixture over top and gently mix together. Pour and gently mix in the chicken broth about a 1/4 cup at a time until the mix is just moistened. (May need up to 2 cups.)

Bake in a 350℉ oven for about 20-30 minutes until just browned on top.

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