Sweet potatoes have been always been a holiday favorite, and a health one at that–they have lots of potassium and vitamin A great for growing bodies. Blogger extraordinaire Classy Cooking has added her special touch to the Thanksgiving table this year with a sweet potato casserole all jazzed up with brown sugar, pecans, and marshmallows.
Browned Butter Sweet Potato Casserole
Yields about 12 servings
Ingredients
- 5 lbs sweet potatoes
- 1/2 cup salted butter, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
Topping
- 2 1/4 cups crushed corn flakes (begin with about 5 cups and crush to about 2 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used pre-chopped pecan chips to save time)
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/4 cup salted butter, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork and transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake about 1 hour or until very tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile brown 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally (for stages of browning butter, visit cookingclassy.blogspot.com).
Remove potatoes from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cut each potato in half and scoop out flesh into a large mixing bowl. Mash potatoes with a potato masher. Pour in 1/2 cup browned butter, using a rubber spatula to scrape excess butter from pan, then add granulated sugar, 1/4 cup light-brown sugar, and salt. Using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together until well combined. Add in eggs and mix until well blended, then pour in milk and mix until well blended. Pour mixture into a buttered 13 x 9 baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Brown remaining 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Pour crushed cornflakes into a mixing bowl, along with chopped pecans and 1/4 cup light-brown sugar. Mix to combine. Pour browned butter over mixture and toss to evenly coat. Spread mixture into diagonal rows over mashed sweet potato mixture, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch gap between rows.
Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and spread marshmallows between rows of corn flake topping. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are lightly golden about, 8 – 12 minutes. (I didn’t brown mine much because I like the contrast of color between the white of the marshmallow and golden brown of the corn flake topping.) Serve warm, and store leftovers in refrigerator in an airtight container.
Note: If you are making this in advance to refrigerate then bake the following day, don’t add the corn flake topping until baking or it will become stale. I’d also recommend placing cold casserole in a cool oven and let it preheat with the oven.
