Sweet Potato Pie Muffins

One of the ladies at work and I like to talk about food.  Recently, she had me look at two different muffin recipes to get my opinion on them (her daughter eats very, very healthily and the recipes were for an attempt to make her muffins) .  We started talking about various things and the lady told me about sweet potato pancakes they make.  After a day or so, I just couldn't stop thinking about sweet potatoes and muffins.  I've been wanting to bake some sweet potato muffins for the past week, but never got around to it (i.e., I've been rather lazy).  Finally, I couldn't resist my urge to bake.  More than just bake though, I wanted to create something.  I am so hesitant to just dive head first into making something, in trusting myself to have the skill and knowledge.  I am so terrified of failure in the kitchen... and this is preposterous!  So even when I do venture out on my own, I usually scan some recipes to get general ratios (flour to sugar, wet to dry) before embarking.  But not this time, buddy!  I marched into the kitchen with just my brain to guide me.  It was a little scary but also exhilarating.  I feel I'm finally becoming an actual, honest-to-goodness baker, and damn, does it feel good.

 Was that enough exposition?  I'm not usually so verbose -- at least not lately -- but I am really proud of these muffins.  And myself.  For risking failure in an attempt to  create and succeeding.

Sweet Potato Pie Muffins
(Yields 1 1/2 dozen muffins)

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 15 oz. can sweet potato puree (feel free to make your own puree)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup finely to mediumly chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Generously oil a muffin pan.  

In a large bow, beat eggs and both sugars until light and creamy.  Mix in sweet potato puree and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine  flour, oats, baking powder, and salt.  Add into sweet potato mixture and mix well.  Stir in pecans and cinnamon chips.  

Spoon into prepared muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way full.  The muffins will rise a bit.  

Bake 10-15 minutes or until the tops look firm and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool further. 

Apple-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Last weekend, hubby and I were at his granny's house for a big family dinner.  Since she was having issues with her computer, he sat down to work on it.. two hours later, basically everyone else had left and Granny came in to sit with us.  She and I started talking recipes and she brought out a cookbook she just got it: Better Homes and Gardens:  Our Best Recipes.  As I flipped through, I exclaimed every few pages at the tastiness of a recipe.  Granny, being the sweetheart she is, gave me the cookbook.  I knew immediately which recipe I wanted to try first, a slow cooker recipe combining apples and sweet potatoes.  I served it with porkchops seasoned with salt, red pepper, and ground mustard, which paired well with the apples and sweet potatoes. 

 The recipe calls for apple pie filling; I feel like this made the apples too soft and crumbly.  Next time, I'll start with fresh so they hold up a bit better. I was also pretty loose with the recipe, so I'll put the recipe and my alterations. 

Apple-Spiced Sweet Potatoes 

• 3 1/2 to 4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 20-oz can apple pie filling
• 2/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these)
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine, cut up
• 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (I don't have this so I just sprinkled in some cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove)
• 1 recipe candied pecans (omitted)

Lightly coat the liner of a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray.  Add sweet potato chunks, apple pie filling, raisins, butter, and the apple pie spice.  Mix well.

Cover; cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.  

Meanwhile, prepared Candied Pecans.  To serve, top each serving of potatoes with some o the pecans. 

Candied Pecans: In a large skillet, combine 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar mixture clinging to the nuts turns golden and starts to melt.  Pour nut mixture onto a large piece of foil; cool completely.  when nut mixture is cool, coarsely crush.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Not too long ago, hubby and I discovered a local restaurant, called T-Coons, that has super delicious Cajun food.  On our first visit, we were lucky enough to arrive as they were still serving breakfast and I knew I had to have their sweet potato pancake the moment I spied it on the menu.  It was  one of the best breakfast items I have ever had; it was sweet and hearty and very fluffy, considering it had sweet potato.  It was the absolute perfect texture and amazingly delicious.  I've dreamed of it since and have considered trying to make it before.  This morning, I decided it was time. 

 I used my usual pancake recipe as a basis.  It took a couple practice pancakes and adding more ingredients until I got something I was satisfied with.   The recipe still needs some modification, but I think it's a darn good start!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (I'll probably puree this next time)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.


In a separate bowl, beat eggs into mashed sweet potatoes, then mix in the melted butter and vanilla.  Slowly whisk in the milk.


Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking as you go.  The batter will be very thick. 


Heat a tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.   Spoon a third of a cup of batter into the skillet, then use a metal spoon to spread it out by slowly circling the back of the spoon on the surface of the batter.  


Cook for a few minutes until the surface of the pancake looks stiff and dull.  There will not be nearly as many air bubbles as there are with regular pancakes.   Flip, then cook an additional few minutes.  


Serve with Steen's Cane Syrup if you've got. 

Sweet Potato Bread

It's a cool, rainy October day today and I found myself wanting something sweet and warm and fitting for this autumn day.  I toyed with the idea of making pumpkin bread, but as I'm making another pumpkin dish soon, I thought that might be pumpkin overl0ad - though, that might be impossible. Then I remembered I had a can of pureed sweet potato languishing away in the pantry. I had bought it on a whim, seeing it in the store and knowing it would be fabulous in something. Today, I hit upon that something.  I checked a few of my cookbooks yet none had sweet potato bread recipes, so I simply adapted a pumpkin bread recipe. Easy peasy. And a darn good idea.

I didn't get too creative with this batch; I wanted to make sure the initial flavors went well together. The next time I make this - and I will make this again soon - I think I'll add a cinnamony crumble like my mom puts atop the sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving.  You could also add pecans, but hubby doesn't like them so I won't.  Perhaps you could even incorporate marshmallows. Hmmm...

Sweet Potato Bread
(adapted from the Pumpkin Bread recipe in Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, pg 132)

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup cooking oil [I used pecan oil to add a slight nuttiness]
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 3 1/3  cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 - 15 oz can of pureed sweet potato 

 
Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease the bottom and a half inch up the sides of two 9x5x3 bread pans.

 In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and oil in medium speed. This will be crumbly, and that's okay.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat well. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Alternately add the dry ingredients and water to the wet ingredients. On low, beat after each addition just until combined, making sure the scrape the sides of the bowl every addition or so.  Beat in the sweet potatoes.  

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans. To ensure even loaf sizes, I alternate spoonfuls between the two pans, so spoonful into pan 1, then spoonful into pan 2, spoonful into 1, spoonful into 2. You get the picture. 

Bake 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife or spatula around the edges to loosen the loaves. Remove from the pan and cool completely.*

*Ok. I didn't let my cool completely. Or really even mostly. The bread just smelled so good and filled the house with its fragrance 30 minutes into the cooking time. We just had to eat some. 

Baked Sweet Potatoes

I have been craving sweet potatoes like crazy lately. I was going to make my traditional Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole a few weeks early, but decided instead of bake some. My family never did the whole baked sweet potato thing, but my mother-in-law did time or two when I ate over there. It's super easy.


Baked Sweet Potatoes

• sweet potatoes
• foil
• brown sugar
• butter

Wash and pat dry the potatoes. Poke it all over with a fork, then wrap it in foil.

Bake at 425F for 40-60 minutes. You can tell it's finished by putting on an oven mitt and squeezing the potatoes to see if they are soft.

Cut open and add as much butter and sugar as you please. I'm sure marshmallows would work nicely as well!