I first realized that baking comforted me in the Fall of 1989, when I noticed the urge to bake daily after the upset of the Loma Prieta earthquake. While puttering around in familiarity of my warm kitchen, with flour in my hands and cinnamon in the air, all felt right in my world. I was a homemaker in those days, raising two sons with big appetites. So the bounty of my baking was shared and appreciated.
Life took many twists and turns from those days when you could drop into my house for tea and be presented with a platter of homemade baked goods I had squirreled away in the freezer. I discovered a gluten allergy, then abstained for years, and healed it. I discovered that too many simple carbohydrates did not agree with me. I had some serious bouts of food poisoning that messed with my digestion. I got busy with running a business with not much time for baking. So I fell into the habit of eating to survive, not to enjoy.
Habits are such insidious creatures. I didn’t even notice that I had totally forgotten how much joy baking brings me. Until a friend with great cooking skills and deep appreciation for food, came into my life. His love of cooking and pleasure from eating reminded me that mine was long lost. He took me to a restaurant touting homemade biscuits. I was soooo ready, only to be presented with what looked like a commercial dinner roll. That disappointment got me motivated to bake biscuits again.
If you have ever eaten a homemade biscuit, you will remember the tender inside caressed with melted butter, contrasting nicely with the crunchy top of a brown drop biscuit.
I remembered. So I got out my old recipes looking to update them to my current tastes and eating style. I started baking and began to remember the joy. The kitchen smelled great and the biscuits were delicious. By the third batch, I had an original recipe. Everyone who has tasted these biscuits gives this recipe a thumbs up. Its an easy recipe. I hope you will try it.
Recipe for Toni’s Sweet Potato Pecan Drop Biscuits
Makes 15 biscuits
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Stir Together to mix well:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon powdered ground ginger
Cut in with pastry blender,
6 Tablespoons of butter, barely softened
Stir in 1 cup of rolled oats run quickly through coffee grinder
Combine with a fork and mix well:
1 Large egg, beaten
1/2 cup Rice Dream
3/4 cup cooked, mashed orange sweet potatoes/yams
Add all at once to dry ingredients.
Mix just until blended into soft dough.
Stir in 1/2 cup unsalted dry toasted pecan pieces
Drop by heaping Tablespoons onto greased baking sheet.
Bake 18 min until lightly browned and cooked through.
While baking mix 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup with 4 Tablespoons softened butter.
Serve warm with Maple Butter and Enjoy!
