Sweet potato casserole with pecan streusel

Based on recipe from This Gal Cooks

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the casserole:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• ¼ cup of butter, softened
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

For the topping:

• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 ½ (or 1) cup of ground pecans, finely chopped
• pinch of cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook the sweet potatoes until they are soft to the touch. Microwave 2 at a time for approximately 4 minutes. If they are not soft to the touch, microwave in additional one-minute increments.

While you wait for the potatoes to cool a bit, make the topping.

3. Add ¼ cup of butter to a small bowl. If butter hasn’t been softened, add it to a small pan on low heat until the butter is melted.
4. Stir in 2 Tbsp of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.
5. Grind the pecans in a food processor. Then add the pecans to the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Now the sweet potatoes should be cool enough to touch.

6. Remove the sweet potatoes from their skins. Slit an opening lengthwise down the potato. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a medium-sized mixing bowl. The bowl should large enough to accommodate mixing the potatoes with other ingredients.
7. Mash the potatoes with a fork.
8. Add ¼ cup of softened butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ½ tsp ground cinnamon to the mashed potatoes. Mix well, folding into the mashed potatoes.
9. Spoon mixture into a small casserole bowl.
10. Add the topping evenly to the potato mixture.
11. Bake in 350° oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the pecan topping is golden.

 

This dish is deadly addictive. The baking turns the mashed potatoes almost into a purée. The topping is a crunchy contrast to the potatoes. I found the amount of pecans needed to be a bit excessive. Next time I am going to see if one cup of pecans is sufficient.