Here's some cute little biscuits--their natural sweetness is brought out by a bit of clementine zest. They'd be great alongside cold-weather soups, but I'm thinking they're particularly perfect for Christmas morning breakfast. You can make these sweeter by dusting the tops with cinnamon and sugar, or keep them on the savory side (they'd be great with slices of country ham).
Get 3 cups of flour plus 1/2 cup cornmeal...
Dump them together in a big bowl along with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Don't forget the chief! Add 3 teaspoons baking powder, mix well and set aside.
This is the only annoying, do-ahead part of the whole thing, I promise. Bake one large sweet potato until very soft and mushy.
Scoop it out into a mixing bowl and mash it with 2 tablespoons honey plus the zest and a little bit of juice from one clementine.
Now you'll need one stick of butter. One whole stick!
Slice it into little pieces--you want the butter cold, straight out of the fridge, rather than at room temperature, by the way.
And cut the butter, bit by bit, into the flour mixture.
I do this by hand--just rub the flour with the butter pieces until it goes all flaky, like this. When you're done, your flour mixture should look granular and piecey. Here's my analogy--it's like putting in hair product.
After you've incorporated all your butter, add in the sweet potato mixture.
It will likely need a bit of help mixing, so measure out 3/4 cup of milk...
And, very gently, blend it in along with the sweet potato. Do not over-mix--you just want to use the milk to barely bind everything together, rather than mixing it into a cohesive mass.
Turn out your dough onto a floured surface and knead carefully just until it holds together, then pat it into a large square.
Cut the square into squares...
And those squares into more squares! I trimmed off the edges to make them more even looking, then re-rolled the scraps to cut a few more biscuits.
Lay them out on parchment paper...
There's actually quite a few here because I ended up cutting the last set of squares in half again. They were a bit too small though, in retrospect. Put them in a preheated, 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.
They puff up a bit and get a lovely golden brown color.
I brushed the tops with a mixture of brown butter and honey. They'd also be nice with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar.
Now, who would like some biscuits?
Of course. Taste testers welcome!
These are fantastic. We had them in Key West last spring and I've been thinking they'd make a great holiday party appetizer ever since. They're simple as can be--dates stuffed with a bit of roasted garlic, then wrapped in salty/sweet brown sugar-rubbed speck. 
It's a good idea to roast your garlic ahead of time so you're not faced with the task right before assembling these little guys. I just roasted two heads, wrapped in tinfoil with a little bit of olive oil at 400 for an hour and 15 minutes. They should be very soft when done and easy to pop out of their peels. Then I stuck them in the fridge until I was ready to make them for a party.
You'll need some salty pig as well. You could use bacon or prosciutto, but I used speck and was very pleased with the results. I guess proscuitto would be second-best if you don't have any speck in your markets.
And some dates!
When I was a kid my mom used to make me stuff dates with almonds for appetizers at parties. The process was pretty much exactly like this is going to be for you: slice each date open, stuff with goodness. Repeat.
Pop out a soft roasted garlic clove...
And tuck it in the date that you've sliced open.
Now for the true decadence, where I part ways from my more abstemious mother. Pour some brown sugar into a little dish...
And get a thin strip of your speck (or prosciutto or bacon).
Rub it well with the brown sugar...
Then wrap around your garlic-stuffed date. Adorable! 
Secure the cute lil bundle with a toothpick and arrange on a rack over a baking sheet. Pop them in a preheated oven at 425 for maybe about 15 minutes. Take a peek at them after about 10 minutes though--you don't want these little darlings to burn up.
I served them with some manchego cheese on the side. They're heavenly little devils and should for sure be invited to your New Year's Eve party. Enjoy!
