I hold several unpopular opinions, and there is one in particular which is sacrilege to those of us residing above the 40th parallel – I strongly dislike summer. Grilling and summer produce are great, and I do appreciate having an excuse for daily iced coffee and ice cream runs. But I get my fill of these in approximately 3.5 weeks, after which I am decidedly over the relentless sun (and sunburn), oppressive heat, and far too early sunrises (rude). Most of all, I resent summer because it makes it impossible to turn on the oven.
Towards the end of August, I sleep with the windows open in anticipation of that magical morning when I wake up feeling a chill in the room, and reach for the quilt folded at the end of the bed. For me, that morning not only marks the return of deeper sleep, but more importantly, the beginning of baking season!
I’m thoroughly over pumpkin’s annual quest for world dominance and it’s army of absurd, artificially-flavored seasonal products (dish soap! peanut butter! dog biscuits!). In a quest to break the pumpkin spice chains that bind fall bakers everywhere, I turned to the humble sweet potato. It’s also orange, it also pairs well with cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg and cloves, and in my opinion, it is FAR superior in texture with a creamy density that pumpkin only achieves with the aid of condensed and fortified dairy.
This sweet potato butter is a more luxurious alternative to versions made with the fall-vegetable-that-shall-not-be-named, and it’s impossible to mess up. You can increase the sugar and maple syrup if you like things sweeter, replace some or all of the apple cider with water if you don’t. I prefer to make it in the slow cooker, where it can tend to itself with the occasional stir, but stovetop works just as well if you have half an hour to stand at the stove. It’s delicious stirred into oatmeal, layered with yogurt and granola, and slathered on toast.
This recipe makes a big batch of sweet potato butter, so you’ll have plenty leftover for eight rich and flaky sweet potato turnovers. They taste like the hug we all need right now, perfect for chilly fall mornings with a mug of something warm and comforting, which I’ll admit for me these days is something a little stronger than coffee.
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Big batch sweet potato butter
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup water
- big pinch kosher salt
- 2 tsp orange zest
Directions
- Boil or steam the sweet potatoes until fork-tender (20-30 minutes for boiling, 15-20 for steaming). Drain and cool slightly, then puree in food processor or mash until very smooth.
- Add sweet potatoes to a slow cooker along with spices, apple cider, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla paste, salt, and water. Leave lid ajar to allow steam to escape.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato butter is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Your cooking times may vary slightly depending on your particular slow cooker.
- Cool to room temperature, stir in orange zest.
- Add sweet potatoes, spices, apple cider, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and water to a medium pot and cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan to ensure butter doesn’t stick and burn. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until sweet potato is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Cool to room temperature, stir in orange zest.
Slow Cooker
Stovetop Method
I used orange sweet potato, but white, yellow, and purple varieties would work as well.
sweet potato-pecan turnovers with maple glaze
Unbaked, unglazed pies freeze beautifully. Place on a baking sheet and freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer safe bag or container, separating with parchment or wax paper. Bake from frozen for 30-40 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
- 1 cup sweet potato butter (see above)
- 30 grams raw pecan halves or pieces, about 1/3 cup
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
- sparkling or turbinado sugar Maple Glaze 1 cup confectioners sugar 2 tbsp maple syrup 1-2 tbsp water 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Line baking sheet with parchment or silicone baking mat, or grease lightly. Preheat oven to 350F.
- Spread pecans on a small baking sheet and toast for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and watching carefully to prevent burning. Alternatively, toast in a skillet on medium heat. Cool and chop into small pieces.
- Roll pastry into roughly 10-inch square. Cut each sheet into quarters, giving you a total of 8 squares. Place 2 tbsp sweet potato puree in the center. Sprinkle with 1-2 tsp chopped pecans. Brush around the edges with egg wash, and fold one corner to its opposite side to make a triangle. Crimp edges with fork to seal. Brush tops with egg wash and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cook 2 minutes on sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Mix glaze ingredients until smooth and thick but pourable; drizzle fully cooled pies with glaze and immediately sprinkle with turbinado or sparkling sugar.
I used India Tree Turbinado Vanilla Sugar.
