Maple-Hazelnut Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash Biscuits

I thought about posting these separately, but decided that they deserve to be together because they were so awesome together!  Don't tell Ron, but I really didn't eat much of the steak from the other night.  Don't get me wrong; it was absolutely delicious.  However, I filled up on my fair share of these biscuits and sweet potatoes.  I love mashing my food together and in lieu of butter, I spread sweet potatoes on my biscuit and it totally rocked.

These are two really quick and easy sides that would work very well with a holiday meal or whenever you want something to take a notch up from your traditional mashed potatoes.  The preparation is so simple for both.  For the potatoes, I chose the quick and easy route because it utilizes the microwave.  During the holidays, so many kitchen appliances are in use and so many sides are occupying your stovetop.  These sweet potatoes don't require oven baking or stovetop boiling.  They can easily be prepared within 20 minutes of setting your table.  Plus, they are so delicious!  I love butternut squash so I wanted to try and incorporate some into the meal.  I cut a Dorie recipe for sweet potato biscuits in half and substituted the squash in equal parts.  Yum!  I opted out of rolling out my biscuits, so they don't exactly look like the beautiful buttery discs that normally grace one's table.  Instead, I grabbed my large cookie scoop and started splatting biscuit dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Hey, whatever works, right?
Maple-Hazelnut Sweet Potatoes
Cooking Light
Yield:  4 servings
Ingredients

• 2 x (8 ounce) sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup low-fat milk
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp chopped blanched hazelnuts

Instructions

1. Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork; place on a layer of paper towels in the microwave.  Microwave on high for 10 minutes or until tender; let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Peel potatoes and discard skins.
3. Place potatoes in a bowl; mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
4. Add milk, butter, maple syrup, and salt; stir until well-combined.
5. Top with chopped hazelnuts.

Butternut Squash Biscuits

adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

Yield:  9 biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 cup AP flour
• 3/4 cup WW flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, cold and cut in pieces
• 3/4 cup butternut squash puree (fresh or from a can)
• When puree'ing my squash after baking it in the oven, I added some pure maple syrup to my food processor.
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. In separate bowl, whisk together the butternut squash and buttermilk.
5. Pour liquid ingredients into dry buttery mixture and mix just until moistened.  
6. Knead 8-10 times.
7. Roll dough to a 1-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter.
8. Place biscuits 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet or a sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. If desired, brush biscuits with heavy cream.
10. Bake at 425 degrees F until biscuits are golden brown.
11. Serve warm with butter (or sweet potatoes).