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Good as Dessert Sweet Potatoes, a.k.a. Sweet Potato Crunch

By : | 4 Comments | On : January 7, 2010 | Category : Side Dishes

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This is my family’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

Hands down.

I can’t ever seem to get a finished picture of it as I’m prepping to get it on the table.

And then it’s attacked.

And mutilated.

And gone!

I started this blog because of my daughters actually.  When Tori went away to college, she kept calling me for recipes. She’d keep me on my cell asking questions.  I thought, hmmm…there’s gotta be an easier way.  Now Kayla’s gone off to college too.  There’s gonna be a daughter mutiny if I don’t get this recipe on here soon.

Here’s how I make it.

Take 7 or 8 pretty good size sweet potatoes.  Keep the skins on. It’ll help them stay nice and bright orange.

Toss them in a large pot and cover them by at least an inch with water.

Sweet potatoes are kind of ugly things.  Sometimes they have  hairy things on them, reminiscent of one on my chin that Mr. Wonderful has to pluck out of my chin about every 2 months.

Did I just say that out loud?

Ahem…

Put your pot on high on your stove. When the water starts to boil, cover them and let them boil for about 45 minutes or until you can stick a fork in them and they feel nice and soft.  Drain them and fill the pot with cold water.  You can let them set a bit to cool down, or be stupid like me and just pick them up and burn your hands.  Squeeze them in the middle and the inner flesh should just pop right out.  Sometimes you have to peel the skin off.

Okay, disclaimer.

This is not a diet recipe.

For all you New  Year’s Resolution dieting people out there, look away.

And quick!

You’ll need these ingredients.

Melted butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs

Add in 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of melted butter.

Turn on your mixer and whip this stuff up until it’s really smooth.  I use the whisk attachment on my KitchenAid.

Then spoon it into a 9 x 13 baking dish that’s been sprayed.

Now for the topping.  In a separate bowl, dump in 1/2 c softened butter, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of flour, and 1 cup of chopped nuts.

Get your best mixing tools out – your hands!

Please wash them first.  No one wants your grimy, messy hands on their topping!

But hey, who will know right?

Mix the stuff up with your fingertips by smooshing it all together.

Now evenly sprinkle this stuff over the top of your sweet potato puree.

Pop this into  your oven and bake for about 45 minutes.  The top should get all nice and browned and crunchy.

Purely optional:  As if that’s not enough sugar, Tori requires us to cover the top with mini-marshmallows.  Pop it back under the broiler for about a minute until the marshmallows swell up and get nice and brown on the top.

I swear the next time I make this I am going to beat the family off with a stick, lock them in a closet and get a picture of the final product.

Cuz it’s to die for.

Katie’s Printable Recipe – Good as Dessert Sweet Potatoes

Cooking with Love,


Sweet Potatoes on Foodista

Leave a comment here!

  1. posted by Amanda on January 7, 2010

    WOW! I have never seen anything like this… it looks amazing! Great job!

  2. posted by Kristen on January 7, 2010

    My mom makes a dish that is almost exactly like this – except she adds crushed cornflakes to the topping to make it even crunchier! It’s the first dish I reach for at Thanksgiving.

  3. posted by Mikki on January 8, 2010

    I have a recipe something like this that my family loves. It’s just so yummy you almost want to eat it for dessert.

  4. posted by Fran J on January 8, 2010

    wow, I want to try that. love sweet potatoes.

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