Fave Holiday Recipes: Sweet Potato Casserole

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light.

I must confess, I chose this photo because is was beautiful - at least to me. My favorite casserole of this nature does not have marshmellows, but don't these look divine. If you prefer marshmellows you can find the recipe of the one above by clicking here.

But... before you go hopping over there, know that I do believe my sweet potato casserole recipe may just rival anything you have ever tasted. I have never served this recipe where someone didn't start making it for their own families for holiday meals. It truly is delicious.

This recipe has a special place in my heart. It is my Mommy's (my dad's mother) recipe and I serve it on most important holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. It has this delicious candy topping that will make you forget about those marshmellows and for me it will always bear memories of holiday gatherings with my grandmother. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Mommy's Sweet Potato Casserole
3 large sweet potatoes (mashed) - scroll down if you want a tip for cooking and mashing them.
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 sticks butter/oleo (1 stick)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup nuts crushed (I use pecans, but you can skip them if you like)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 stick butter/oleo (melted)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix first five ingredients in a large bowl. Place mixture in a 9x13 pan. In another bowl mix the topping ingredients together without the butter. Then sprinkle mixture over the top of the sweet potato mixture. It should generously cover it. Melt the butter and drizzle over top of the mixture (once you have put the butter on the topping you may want to tilt your pan to draw the butter to the corners - covering the flour mixture. It pools very easily - leaving the raw flour visible if you don't do this). Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour and then it is ready to serve.

Tip: Sweet potatoes are pretty hard to cut and peel so my mother always placed the whole potato in a large pot of boiling water with skins on. Cook them until you can pierce them easily with a knife or fork. Let them cool and then you can litteraly take the skins off with our fingers. Throw them in a bowl and mash then. It is quite easy!

Enjoy!