Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs of cooked sweet potatoes

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup half and half

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)

• 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

• 2 large eggs

Pecan Crumble Topping:

(Not offered at the dinner but great at home)

• 1 cup chopped pecans

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 6 Tbsp cold butter, cubed

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Marshmallows:

• mini marshmallows (1/3 to 1/2 of a 10 oz bag)

Instructions

SWEET POTATOES:

1. Wash and scrub fresh sweet potatoes.  Place them on a foil lined baking sheet and place into the oven at 425 degrees for 1 hour.   When you poke them with a fork, they should be tender.  Larger potatoes can take longer to cook or require 450 degrees.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Remove the outer skin.  

2. While waiting for potatoes to cool, preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Spray a 3qt baking dish (like a 9x13 pan) with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

3. Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl after removing the skin.  Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, half and half, melted butter, maple syrup, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and eggs.  Beat with a hand mixer until fluffy and smooth.  Small lumps are okay.

4. Transfer potato filling to prepared baking dish and set aside.

PECAN CRUMBLE TOPPING:

1. To a food processor, add pecans and vanilla extract, pulsing a few times, until pecans are evenly chopped.  Add flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cold cubed butter.  Pulse several times, until crumble mixture looks like it has pea-sized crumbs.  **Alternatively, you can serve in larger size without pulsing the mixture, this is preference.

2. ** If you don't have a food processor, use a knife to chop pecans, then add remaining ingredients and use a pastry cutter, two forks, or even your hands, to mix until mixture has pea-sized crumbs. **

3. Spread crumble topping over sweet potato mixture in an even layer.  Bake casserole in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes, until golden brown.

MARSHMALLOWS two options:

1. Remove baked casserole from oven and spread mini marshmallows over the top in a single even layer.  Bake for 5-10 minutes, then if desired, broil to toast the marshmallows.  Broil only for a minute or two, they'll burn quickly!

2. Or my preference, you can layer the pecan crumble on in a diagonal, leaving spaces between each row for the marshmallows.  Then as per option 1, you layer marshmallows between the crumble rows following the same cooking instructions.

Notes

TO MAKE AHEAD:

Assemble mashed sweet potato mixture and pour into pan.  Cool completely, cover and refrigerate 1-2 days.

Make pecan crumble topping, place in resealable bag and refrigerate.

To bake, set casserole out on counter for 30 minutes or so, uncover, then top with crumble and bake at 350 F degrees for 40 minutes.  Add marshmallows as directed.  If pecan crumble starts to get too golden, cover loosely with foil.

Farmers Table Style:

If you are taking your potatoes to an event where it will be hard to prepare the topping, it can easily be served without the topping.  Instead you can prepare the entire mixture minus the toppings and then place inside of a roaster oven and cook on 350 degrees.  It is important to remember if you are going to keep them in the roaster to turn it down to a lower temperature slightly sooner so that they will not dry out in the roaster.