Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups

Still mulling over what holiday side dish to prepare? For as long as I can remember, sweet potatoes were always a part of our festive feast. The kids just love it, especially when topped with mini marshmallows. But, what really makes this recipe special is the presentation. Not only do the orange shells serve as an attractive vessel, but the sweet potatoes themselves taste so much better with that hint of orange flavor. Another bonus, you’ll have one less casserole dish to clean up afterwards, and who doesn’t appreciate one less dish to clean when you’re left with an overwhelming mess. If you’re like me, the other dilemma you have is not enough room in the oven for everything. No problem, boil the sweet potatoes, mash, then stuff the orange shells. When the turkey comes out of the oven and is resting, throw these in for 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Impressive presentation, easy to prepare, and fun to eat! It’s also a great side dish when you’re serving ham.

 

I was improvising as I was going along, and missed a few ingredients in above pic. Here's the missing ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Add potatoes to large saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high. Continue cooking until potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well in colander.

Put drained potatoes in large bowl. Add egg, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar, grated orange peel, milk and vanilla. Using hand mixer, blend well. Stir in flaked coconut. (The egg helps bind the mashed potatoes when baking. I even add an egg to twice-baked potatoes for this reason.) This recipe is really versatile. If you want more orange flavor, replace the milk with orange juice. You can even replace the vanilla with brandy. Toast the coconut, to make the coconut flavor pop, or leave out completely. 

Cut oranges in half. Remove pulp, leaving an empty orange shell. 

Fill the orange cups with the mashed sweet potatoes.  Place on baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot in center. Remove from oven. Press 8 mini marshmallows on top.

Bake until marshmallows are toasted. (Oops, looks like I over-stuffed my orange cups.)

 

SWEET POTATOES IN ORANGE CUPS

Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large sweet potatoes (or yams), peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 egg
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon if fresh ground)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel           
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons flaked coconut (optional)
• 4 oranges (plus more for grated orange peel), cut in half and pulp removed
• Mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Place potato chunks in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Over high heat, bring potatoes to

    rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium high. Continue cooking until potatoes are tender, 20 to 25

    minutes.

3. Drain potatoes well in colander.

4. Put drained potatoes in large bowl. Add egg, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar, grated

    orange peel, milk and vanilla. Using hand mixer, blend well. Stir in flaked coconut.

5. Spoon potatoes into orange shells.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until hot in the center. Press 8 mini marshmallows on top of each

    orange cup. Bake until marshmallows are lightly toasted.

Yield: 8 orange cups