Twice Baked Sweet Potato “Boats”
Sail away with these show stopping Twice Baked Sweet Potato “Boats”! Also known as individually portioned Sweet Potato Casseroles, these Twice Baked Sweet Potato Boats were popular in my family long before the days of Pinterest. They were a traditional menu item every single Thanksgiving and Christmas…..and sometimes for my birthday because they were my absolute favorite. Even though I now have to make them for myself, they STILL remain my absolute favorite!
As my sister and I became adults, along came the assignment of casserole or dessert contributions and the days of Sweet Potato Boats had nearly diminished. That was, until, I was writing my Picnics, Potlucks & Porch Parties cookbook and felt I owed the world an insiders’ peek at how we like to do our sweet taters.
- 3 medium-large sweet potatoes
- 4 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Topping:
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
- Prick sweet potatoes with a fork or knife, and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until soft and tender. When cool enough to handle, slice potatoes in half, and scoop out centers into a bowl, leaving 1/4 inch border of sweet potato skin in tact.
- Combine sweet potato, brown sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon mixture back into sweet potato shells.
- Topping:
- In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients until crumbly.
- Top filled sweet potatoes with topping and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top each potato with mini marshmallows.
- Return to oven, and bake until marshmallows are golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, or on broil (LOW) for 1-2 minutes, watching super close to they don’t burn!
Similar to a twice baked potato, the sweet potato gets baked like normal, then the contents scooped out, mixed in with some sugar, butter and cinnamon and back into their shells they go.
Then….they get a walnut (or pecans if you’d rather) streusel and mini marshmallow topping.
Because? Thanksgiving, y’all!
It’s a time to be thankful that we live in a world of sweet potatoes and streusel and marshmallows, and by golly, we live in a world where they can be individually portioned and celebrated with the ones we love.
And speaking of thankful, I can’t wait to share with you the apron I made for this year’s National Tie One On Day. It’s so fantastic I had to make two. One for my recipient and one for myself!
