Sweet Potato Casserole from The Essential New York Times Cookbook

by The Meal Makeover Moms on November 21st, 2010

Consider this blog post a “sneak preview” of what’s to come later this week.  Last Friday, we interviewed Amanda Hesser, author of The Essential New York Times Cookbook. We’ll be featuring her interview on our podcast, Cooking with the Moms, as well as an amazing recipe for apple cake from page 752 of the book (yes, it’s a very long cookbook)!  We decided to let this recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole “out of the bag” since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we thought some of you might want to make it for the holiday.

The book has over 1,000 recipes, all selected from the New York Times’s substantial recipe archive. We chose this dish first for its seasonal appeal and because Liz’s mom suggested we give it a try. Liz’s mom grew up in New York and started reading the NY Times food section after she got married. In 1961, she bought the New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne and has been cooking from it ever since. We suspect the almost-antique Claiborne book will remain her favorite, but she certainly enjoyed scanning through the new book and highlighting a bunch of things.

Sylvia and Liz pose with their New York Times cookbooks.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Makes 8 Servings (but probably more at Thanksgiving when there are lots and lots of other side dishes to choose from)

This recipe was contributed to the New York Times in 1992 by chef Jimmy Sneed, for an article titled, “On Thanksgiving, What’s a Chef to Do?” Amanda Hesser describes the dish as a “downy casserole that tastes like a savory Creamsicle.” We adapted the recipe a bit, adding our personal touch, by reducing the amount of butter and brown sugar … and it still tasted sweet, rich, and creamy. Recipe adapted from The Essential New York Times  Cookbook.

  • 6 large sweet potatoes (each about 1 pound)
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Topping

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet until very tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half, scoop the flesh into a bowl, and mash until smooth. (You should have 4 to 5 cups.) Stir in the brown sugar, eggs, orange juice, butter, vanilla, and salt. Place in a casserole dish.

3. To make the topping, combine the butter, brown sugar, and pecans. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. Bake until the nuts are toasted and the casserole has puffed, about 30 minutes.

Print Recipe

Roasting the super-nutritious sweet potatoes brings out their natural sugars.

Liz plans to make this recipe for Thanksgiving (her assignments are always the sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce). What’s your favorite way to make sweet potato casserole? Do you top it with marshmallows, chopped apples, or nothing but butter and sugar? Tell us about it … we love hearing from you.

Here’s a picture of the apple cake we’ll be posting to the blog on Tuesday, so stay tuned!

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7 Comments | Filed Under CulinaryAdventures, Holidays, Potatoes, Sides, Vegetables 

7 Responses to “Sweet Potato Casserole from The Essential New York Times Cookbook”

  1. Judith on November 22nd, 2010

    Though I have lots of sweet potato recipes on my website, I was looking for just the right sweet potato casserole recipe for our Thanksgiving table. I’ve assigned that to my oldest daughter and she is not sure what to make. I will be forwarding this recipe to her…it’s the one I imagined for our dinner this year. Thank you!

  2. (Mostly) Healthy Mom on November 22nd, 2010

    This sweet potato casserole looks great! I love that it’s topped with pecans instead of marshmallows (shudder!). What a great way to add a bit more protein to the dish!

  3. Kathy Torchia on November 18th, 2011

    Love your website. Thank you! Planning on using some of your recipes for the holidays. :)

  4. Connie Evers on November 20th, 2011

    Hi Liz, this recipe looks great! Love pecans and love sweet potatoes.

    Also, your mom is just so darn cute!! Love it,
    Connie

  5. Rebecca Mooney on November 21st, 2011

    This looks really good. But you say to heat the oven to 350 degrees, and then later to reduce oven to 350 degrees ???

  6. Liz on November 22nd, 2011

    Hi Rebecca: Thanks for pointing this out! We fixed it.

  7. Liz on November 22nd, 2011

    Thanks Connie! Have a lovely Thanksgiving …

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