Submitted by:
Lawren Bercaw
Category:
Side
Country of Origin:
United States
Cook time:
2 hours and 30 minutes
Serves:
12
Ingredients:
4 fresh, whole sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup hot milk (or for extra seasonal flair, substitute eggnog)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg
1 bag miniature marshmallows
Maraschino cherries
Chopped pecans (optional)
Ingredients substitutions:
Sweet potatoes and yams are cousins, but they are not the same thing! Sweet potatoes are less stringy/pithy, so they are preferred for this recipe, but sometimes they’re hard to find. If you can’t find fresh sweet potatoes, settle for fresh yams. Yams tend to be slightly smaller, so you may want 5 or 6 to make the casserole.
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Wrap sweet potatoes tightly in foil and place in large metal pan (to catch drips).
3. Bake on middle rack of oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When sweet potatoes seem soft to the touch, pull pan out and unwrap the largest sweet potato.
4. Stab the sweet potato with a fork or knife to make sure it is very soft all the way through. If not soft, cook further at 15-minute intervals until softened.
5. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes (they get REALLY hot).
6. Remove skin of the cooled sweet potatoes. If the skins do not peel away on their own, cut the sweet potatoes in half (long-ways), scoop out the goodness from each half, and place the yummy sweet potato goodness in a large bowl.
7. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Add butter, and mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl until well mixed.
9. Add 2 eggs, lightly beaten, and mix well.
10. Add milk or eggnog, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.
11. Pour sweet potato mixture into a greased glass or ceramic casserole dish. Use a spatula or spoon to level the sweet potatoes.
12. Cover the top of the dish with mini-marshmallows and halved maraschino cherries. You can also sprinkle roasted pecans on top if you wish.
13. Cover with foil or a fitted glass lid, and bake for 20 minutes.
14. Remove the foil/lid after 20 minutes of baking and add another layer of marshmallows.
15. Bake the uncovered casserole for 10 minutes until the top layer of marshmallows turns light brown.
16. Remove from oven, and let the casserole cool for a few minutes before serving.
What makes this recipe special?
Sweet potato casserole is a staple at my family's Thanksgiving dinner, and it makes appearances at other special holidays as well. This is my own modified version of a family recipe, but it still reminds me of many past family meals.