Sweet Potato Scones

Last night I tried some of my sister’s scones leftover from her breakfast, and they necessitated recipe-sharing. Looking over other recipes from the same site, I found one for sweet potato scones that was simply begging to be made! She had sweet potatoes, and I had all of the other ingredients, so the begging ceased and baking commenced.

I halved the recipe that follows but used five teaspoons of sugar, since we really didn’t need that many scones and I prefer mine on the sweet side. I also put all of the butter in at once because I don’t like a too-crispy and browned crust on my scones, and it seemed like it would be good with all of the butter in the dough. On the other hand, I do like the crust to have a teeny bit of sparkle and crunch, so I sprinkled a little sugar on top before baking the scones. It wound up making four good-sized pieces of moist, tender, biscuity goodness that was enough for my sister to taste, me to eat, and then have some leftover for breakfast this morning. The sweet potato probably has the same properties as pumpkin in baked goods–keeping it really moist and soft. Even after quintupling the amount of sugar called for, they still weren’t especially sweet. I thought it was perfect for the recipe–somewhere between “biscuit” and “dessert.” My sister thinks they need to be sweeter. 😉 Overall, I was thoroughly pleased by these scones. The texture had that perfect combination of slight crusty outside complimented by soft, moist-crumbly insides; the taste was mildly sweet, slightly sweet potato-y, and buttery-but-not-rich. They were wonderful both fresh out of the oven and cooled.

While I would so make this recipe the same way again, I think I’m also going to try varying it a little–maybe adding more sugar or substituting another sweetener like maple syrup or honey, adding some cinnamon and nutmeg, and maybe trying a little vanilla extract. This recipe can easily be made into a sweet scone. On the other end of the spectrum, I might try making it with the original amount of sugar called for and mixing in more savory ingredients like some grated cheese and herbs. The sweet potato flavor would lend itself well to either a sweet or savory scone, I think.

I’ve also decided to start using Flickr for my photos in this blog. They have some nice features that I can take advantage of, and it’ll give anyone who’s interested the chance to see larger versions of the photos I take. It’s too much of a hassle for me to make multiple sizes to upload here, but Flickr automatically does that for me. 😉 We’ll see how much I like it over time.

1 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 c mashed cooked sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-size bowl; stir in sugar. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix potatoes and half of the melted butter with a fork. Add dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough. Divide dough into two balls and place spaced apart on baking sheet. Pat dough with your hands to make two rounds about 1/2-inch thick. Score the rounds into as many scones as you’d like–I divide mine into four. Brush tops with remaining melted butter. Bake about 20 minutes or until light brown. Split and serve warm with butter and honey. Makes 8 good-sized scones.