Melody's Sweet Potatoes

When I was growing up, every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas we had sweet potatoes with brownsugar topped with marshmallows.  And WE LOVED IT!  That is til we grew up.  Then our taste buds were no longer interested in all that sugary sweetness.  For a few years I just opted to not make sweet potatoes for our holiday celebrations.  But then a friend of ours in Laredo, Texas introduced us to a new way of making sweet potatoes.  They were HEAVEN!  Sort of like a Sweet Potato Crisp.  My dad says they are like sweet potato pie. 

The original recipe was drenched in dairy and did have some wheat, which at the time was OK.  However, times have changed warranting additional changes, so that recipe has been altered and tweaked.  I am pretty darn sure, though, that no one would even know there was a difference by either taste or looks if compared to the original recipe!

Sweet Potatoes

Topping

1 cup Chopped Pecans

1 cup Coconut

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Sorghum Flour

1/3 cup Melted Butter

Potatoes

6 cups of Boiled, skinned, mashed sweet potatoes

4 Eggs

1/2 cup Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Rice Milk

1/2 cup Butter

2 tsp Vanilla

1) Boil Sweet potatoes.

2) While potatoes are boiling, make the topping. Pretty easy.  Throw all the dry ingredients in a Medium bowl, mix; add melted butter and mix again.

3) When the potatoes are done boiling, take themout of the liquid, peel, and mashed them. AND they really dont HAVE to be perfectly mashed its your preferrence.

4) Add all the remaining ingredients to the potatoes and mix well.

5) Evenly place all the Potato mixture in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and then evenly distribute the topping over it.

6) Bake 375 for 25 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Pie Crust (substitute for crumb or graham cracker crust)

This pie crust is like a substitute for a graham cracker or crumb style crust.  It started out for me as a nut and butter crust that I used when I would make my pumpkin pie.  However, with each holiday season, I would tweak the previous recipe.  It has gone through many changes and I really love end result of this crust!  It is my favorite pie crust of all of them and great with custard style fillings.  I think I just did my last tweak!

Coconut Pecan Pie Crust

3/4 cup frozen pecans
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch

1/2 cup Coconut

2 TBSP Brown Sugar

3 TBSP Melted butter or crisco

1) In food processor, pulse pecans until largest pieces are the size of split peas.

2) Put the processed pecans in a bowl and add the tapioca starch.  Mix til nuts are evenly coated.
3) Add & incorporate coconut and sugar. Then mix in melted butter

4) Place 'dough' in 9 inch pie pan and press over bottom and sides with your fingers

5) Add your favorite filling and bake according to the filling instructons.  If your filling is no bake, then bake 400 for about 12-14 minutes or til lightly golden. When it is done baking it may be more puffy than you care for, if so, just press it done gently with your fingers or the back of a spoon.