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Here’s a little recipe in honor of the 4th of July and our founding fathers.

In Philadelphia, there’s a restaurant called the City Tavern. Way back during the revolutionary era, this tavern served as an offsite meeting/dining place to our First Continental Congress, and was considered by John Adams as “the most genteel tavern in America”. True story. Now, in all honesty, the original building burned to the ground and a replica was re-built over its ashes. But with all the servers walking around in costumes and an 18th century food, who would know? The menu itself is graced with recipes like George Washington’s Draft Beer, Martha Washington’s Chocolate Mousse Cake, and of course Thomas Jefferson’s Sweet Potato Biscuits. They are all based on the original recipes, updated with more modern ingredients (like shortening instead of lard).

These biscuits are definitely richer and less fluffy than a traditional southern biscuit. I found the inside to be softer and doughier thanks to the sweet potato. But they are some serious yum served warm with a pad of butter and a drizzle of honey.

Thomas Jefferson’s Sweet Potato Biscuits
makes about 2 dozen biscuits

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup solid frozen vegetable shortening (i used room temp… i don’t think it makes much difference)
2 cups roasted, mashed, and cooled sweet potatoes
1 cup heavy cream (plus more if needed)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice. Add the shortening and cut in with 2 knives or hands until crumbly. In another bowl combine sweet potatoes, cream and pecans. Make well in dry ingredients and add potato-cream mixture. Mix to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut out with a 2-inch floured biscuit cutter. Place biscuits 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn down temperature to 375 and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack until room temperature.

Added bonus, the dough freezes well. Place the cut biscuits in layers with sheets of wax paper inside a freezer bag. They last for several months and you can pull out what you need, defrost in the fridge, and bake up to go with dinner! YUM!

biscuit, city tavern, historic, jefferson