TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Hi there, Lil’ Luna readers! It’s Samantha from Five Heart Home and so I’m happy to be stopping by today with one of my favorite fall foods!

Who else out there loves sweet potatoes? I enjoy cubing them up and roasting them year round, but as my thoughts are turning to Thanksgiving and all of the holiday meals on the horizon, I was excited about the opportunity to fancy them up a bit!

My mom always had sweet potato casserole on the Thanksgiving table when I was growing up, and it was inevitably topped with marshmallows. That dish was one of my favorite parts of the meal because — let’s be honest here — what kid doesn’t adore marshmallows?! As I grew older and learned to cook, however, I typically traded in the marshmallow topping for a buttery, sugary, pecan streusel.

But guess what? I still love them both! So when I decided to whip up some Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes for y’all today and kept going back and forth on how to finish them off, I ultimately went with marshmallows on half of my sweet potatoes and pecan streusel on the other half.

This recipe is prepared like any other twice-baked potato. Bake the sweet potatoes, slice off the tops, scoop out the flesh (making sure to leave a sturdy shell), transfer to a bowl, and mash and mix it with all kinds of good stuff: maple syrup, cinnamon and spices, vanilla, butter, and just a touch of cream cheese for extra creaminess.

Then I like to scoop the mixture into a gallon-sized plastic baggie, snip off the corner, and pipe it back into the shells. I don’t do this step to get all fancy…I just find it to be quicker, easier, and less messy than using a spoon to get all of the sweet potato filling back inside the shells.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 medium sweet potatoes
• 6 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 oz cream cheese room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

PECAN STREUSEL

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans finely chopped
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt

MARSHMALLOW TOPPING

• mini marshmallows or jumbo marshmallows cut in half

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Wash sweet potatoes, scrubbing off any dirt, and pat dry. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and cook for 1 hour.
2. While the potatoes are baking, prepare pecan streusel by using a fork or pastry blender to cut together butter, brown sugar, pecans, flour, cinnamon, and salt until well blended. (You may also pulse the streusel together in a food processor, if that's easier.)
3. After an hour of cooking time, insert a fork into the center of each potato. If potatoes are not done, bake for 15 more minutes or until completely tender.
4. .............................

for full recipes please see : lilluna.com

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