All these maple bacon sweet potato biscuits need is a smear of maple ghee or a heaping serving of paleo sausage gravy on top and we're in breakfast heaven.
I used to consider myself a decent amateur baker...until I went paleo. Paleo baking is an entirely different beast. And since baked goods rarely align with my typical nutrient-dense meals anyway, I simply haven't spent much time trying to get the hang of paleo baking. I mean, there are many talented paleo/gluten free bakers out there—I can leave that stuff to them.
But every once in a while, I get the urge to bake again; I find it relaxing in many ways. After a few different attempts at making sweet potato biscuits, this recipe seemed to be the clear winner.
I've got a breakfast think going right now.
I can't help it! When I made the paleo sausage gravy and breakfast potatoes, I couldn't help but think about smothering these sweet potato biscuits with that delicious gravy. That combo sounds heavenly. Unfortunately, I didn't have to two made at the same time, and I'm almost out of cassava flour. Sad day! But sweet potato biscuits and gravy sounds too good not to mention. The option's there if you want to seize it.
If not, though, no worries. These biscuits are excellent when warm with a generous smear of maple ghee. I've also got to give these biscuits a thumbs up for fulfilling my breakfast sandwich dreams.
I've got to give you a couple fair warnings about this recipe, though.
- First, make sure to use fresh baking soda. My first run at these biscuits turned out gummy...not flaky at all. Coincidentally that night an Instagrammer posted about having a similar problem with baked goods until she bought new baking soda. So I did the same thing, and my next batch of biscuits was much better. Here's how to test if your baking soda is still good.
- Also, I'm in love with Otto's Cassava Flour, but I've noticed that it seems to need more moisture than wheat flour. The folks behind Otto's Cassava Flour explained to me that cassava flour settles very quickly, so it's a bit more dense cup by cup. They suggest using a kitchen scale to get the most exact measurements...but I don't have one. At any rate, I thought I'd point it out. The dough will be somewhat dry, but if it's not staying together at all when you're trying to roll it out, add a tablespoon of coconut milk at a time until it stays together reasonably well.
- Once you make these biscuits, they're best enjoyed warm. I thought I screwed the recipe up once again the last time I made them because the day after they were crumbly. But I popped one in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and it once again had that soft and flaky texture that makes biscuits awesome. Oh, and the maple butter is a must when eating these. Trust me.
- I used butter when making these, but you can sub in vegetable shortening or you can even try cold ghee. I did try a small batch using cold ghee and couldn't tell much of a difference!
The final word from me...I think these biscuits are pretty awesome, but it's admittedly been years since I've had the real deal. So I can't say they're exactly like their gluten-filled counterparts. If you give them a try, please tell me what you think in the comments!
Print📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Bacon
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 38 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Yield: about 12 2-inch biscuits 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: baked
Description
Gluten free & paleo-friendly maple bacon sweet potato biscuits - plus maple ghee for buttering up your hot biscuits.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 ¼ cups cassava flour
- 1 Tb homemade paleo baking powder or store-bought grain free baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled OR vegetable shortening, chilled
- 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato, chilled
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp coconut milk or almond milk
Instructions
For the Maple Bacon
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Lay the bacon strips flat on the rack and brush with about half of the maple syrup. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, flip bacon, and brush with the remaining maple syrup. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the bacon is brown and crisp.
- Remove from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes, then chop. Chill until ready to use.
For the Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, sift together cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coconut sugar. Add chilled butter cubes OR chilled palm shortening and cut into dry ingredients using a pastry blender or two knives until pea-sized pieces of butter remain. Add crumbled maple bacon.
- In a small bowl, mix together mashed sweet potato and coconut milk. Pour into the butter and flour mixture, tossing with a fork just to combine - don't overmix! The mixture should be fairly dry.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and gently knead a few times until the dough comes together.
- With your hands or a rolling pin, gently roll or pat the dough into an inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds (like folding a letter). Repeat the folding process.
- Roll or pat the dough into a rectangle ¾-inch thick. Using a round biscuit cutter or a glass with vertical sides, cut biscuits by pressing down in a single motion. To prevent sticking, you may need to dip the cutter or glass in flour. Gently press together dough scraps and cut biscuits until no scraps remain. Transfer biscuits to the prepared baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until the tops of the biscuits are a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand about 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool. Serve warm with a smear of maple ghee.
Notes
To make maple ghee (or maple butter), mix ½ cup of room temperature ghee (or butter) with 2-3 tablespoon maple syrup.
I recommend always serving the biscuits warm - they are dry when room temperature. You can pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds or put them in a warm oven for a minute or two to heat them up.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscuit
Keywords: Sweet Potato Biscuits with Maple Bacon
Whitney @ WhittyPaleo says
Gosh, I haven't had biscuits in ages! I actually don't do much baking myself - it can get a little aggravating at times lol! Need to purchase some cassava flour to try this - which one did you use? 🙂
Chelsea says
I use Otto's Cassava Flour! It works great. I haven't tried any other brands, but from what I hear they can each be processed a little differently so the results might be different.