Sweet Potato Desserts!

This Week’s Vegetable Box Feature: Think outside of the Box and use your Sweet Potatoes for dessert!

Let’s get creative and add a delicious twist to your Holiday Baking by using this week’s Sweet Potatoes! Did you know sweet potatoes aren’t just for dinner, but can also be used to create delicious dessert recipes?!

Bonus, sweet potatoes contain main nutritious benefits too! See if your Family or Guests can guess the secret ingredient in your recipe!

 

Recipes:

 

Sweet Potato Casserole Dessert

Created by: Suzanne

This sweet potato casserole has a crunchy pecan streusel topping.

 

Ingredients:

4 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup white sugar

½ cup butter, melted

⅓ cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup all-purpose flour

⅓ cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. Mix mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl; spread into the prepared baking dish.

3. Mix brown sugar and flour together in a small bowl; cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans. Sprinkle streusel mixture over sweet potatoes.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

 

Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies

Created by: Minimalist Baker

Incredibly fudgy sweet potato brownies with cacao, almond butter, and oats. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and topped with pecans and chocolate chips for the ultimate healthier treat! Perfect for your gluten free guests!

 

Ingredients:

1 cup sweet potato purée (see instructions)

2/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup almond butter or peanut butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 ½ Tbsp avocado oil (or sub melted vegan butter, melted coconut oil, or olive oil)

1/2 cup cocoa powder or cacao powder

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup oat flour

1/2 cup chopped raw pecans (or sub walnuts, but we liked pecans better)

1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. To make sweet potato purée, halve sweet potato and brush the cut sides with oil (optional). Add to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 F (190 C) for ~25-30 minutes or until tender to the touch. Move to one side of pan and wrap the parchment paper over top to steam. Let steam for 5 minutes. Then peel away skin and mash in a mixing bowl (or food processor). Set aside.

2. Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line an 8×8-inch baking pan (or similar-size pan) with parchment paper. Set aside.

3. To a large mixing bowl, add sweet potato purée, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla extract, and avocado oil and stir to combine.

4. Add cacao powder, sea salt, and baking powder and stir to combine. Then add oat flour and stir until a thick, scoopable batter is achieved.

5. Transfer batter to your parchment-lined baking dish and spread into an even layer using a spoon or rubber spatula. Then top with pecans and chocolate chips (optional).

6. Bake on the center rack (at 350 F / 176 C) for 28-32 minutes. The brownie edges should appear slightly dry and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean (a

few crumbs are okay, but it shouldn’t be overly gooey). Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes – 1 hour.

7. Lift out of pan and slice. Enjoy warm or room temperature. Store leftovers covered at room temperature up to 3 days, in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month. These brownies are delicious on their own but elevated with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream.

 

Dark Chocolate Chipotle Sweet Potato Fudge

Created By: Brandi Doming

A truly rich decadent Fudge that is dairy-free, oil-free and made with just 7 ingredients.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (128g) mashed cooked sweet potato

Two 3.5 oz 70% dark chocolate bars, finely chopped (7 oz total, 200 g)

2 TBSP creamy plant milk, room temp! (I used lite coconut milk)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup pure maple syrup, room temp! heaping

1/8 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper spice

1/4 tsp strong quality cinnamon

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Optional: red pepper flakes

Note: It's important that your liquids are at room temperature so the chocolate stays smooth while mixing, otherwise cold liquids will cause it to start to harden too quickly. Make sure to use the correct amount of chocolate so the end result texture is accurate.

Instructions:

1.Cook your sweet potato and mash it well with a fork before measuring. Pack it well into your measuring cup (leaving no gaps) and level off with your finger. Add to a food processor.

2. Finely chop up all your chocolate and add to a bowl, with the milk, and microwave on 30 second intervals until melted, being careful not to overcook or burn it. Or you can use a double boiler.

3. Add the salt to the chocolate and give it a quick stir and add the chocolate to the food processor, scraping all of it out of the bowl. I used a rubber spatula, as it worked much better than a spoon.

4. Process the chocolate and potato until smooth. Add the syrup, chipotle spice and cinnamon and vanilla. Process for at least a minute until completely smooth. Scrape the sides and process again.

5. Taste and if you desire it to be sweeter like traditional fudge, add a tablespoon or so of a dry sweetener. Do not add any more liquid sweetener, or it will affect the texture. Keep in mind this has a dark chocolate flavor and is less sweet than traditional fudge, but we still found it plenty sweet. It is supposed to have a rich, dark chocolate taste, but feel free to adjust to your liking.

6. Line a 9X5 loaf pan with plastic wrap hanging over the sides. Parchment paper does not lie flat, so it's a pain to use, which is why I opted for plastic wrap. For a thicker fudge, use a smaller dish. I sprayed my pan first so the plastic wrap would adhere better.

7. Add the mixture to the pan and spread out with a rubber spatula flat and out to the corners. Add optional red pepper flakes on top, if desired, for an extra spicy fudge. Or for a sweet topping, sprinkle coconut sugar on top. Overlap the plastic wrap over the fudge and smooth the top out. Leave the plastic wrap down and place in the fridge to firm up for several hours or overnight before slicing. Keep stored in the fridge. These are great for a party, as they will stay solid at room temperature!

 

No-Bake Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars

Created by: Eric Jones

Delicious and easy!

 

Ingredients:

For the Crust Layer:

12 graham whole crackers

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

For the Cheesecake Layer:

16 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 cup whipped topping

For the Sweet Potato Layer:

1 large sweet potato

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Peel the skin from the sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes. Boil for 30 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes and add to a large bowl. Mash using a potato masher (paid link). Set this to the side.

2. Place the graham crackers in a zip lock bag and crush them into fine pieces using a rolling pin. Add the finely crushed crackers to a large bowl. Add the brown sugar and melted butter. Mix using a fork.

3. Add the graham cracker mixture to a square casserole dish (paid link) (8×8 or 9×9 square dish*, depending on how thick you prefer your cheesecake layers). Press evenly into the bottom of the dish until it is fully covered.

4. For the cheesecake layer, add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract into a separate bowl. Mix until smooth (3-5 minutes) using a hand mixer (paid link). Add the whipped topping to the bowl and fold the ingredients together. Pour your cheesecake mixture over the crust, spreading evenly.

5. For the sweet potato layer, add the cream cheese, sugar, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and vanilla extract to bowl with the mashed sweet potato. Blend until smooth using a hand mixer (paid link). Add the sweet potato mixture over the cheesecake layer and spread evenly.

6. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. When ready to serve, cut your pieces into even squares.

 

Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Cookies

Created by: Gunjan

These are addicting and trust me, you won’t be able to stop at one cookie for sure.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed sweet potato

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 large banana (mashed)

3/4 cup crushed raw peanuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350-degree Fahrenheit and prepare a cookie sheet with a greased parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients (except crushed peanuts). Mix it with a spatula or hands until all the ingredients are well blended. Let it rest for 5 minutes or until it becomes sticky and slightly dried up.

3. Now, toss in crushed peanuts and roughly mix with a spatula.

4. Next, with the help of a cookie scoop place 12round cookies on the cookie sheet at equal distance. Then, gently with fingers smoothen the sides and the top of the cookies. (do not press them hard).

5. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes.

6. Once done turn off the oven and let it cool down to room temperature. Once cooled these cookies will leave the parchment paper without breaking. As they cool they become firm as well.

7. Enjoy!!!!

 

Recipes are curated by Lauren