Roker Family Sweet Potatoes
“I don’t know where my mom came up with this recipe. I’ve heard of many versions of it from the South, but my mom wasn’t from the South!” says Al Roker, weather and feature anchor and co-host of TODAY. “Somehow, though, it became a Thanksgiving staple for our family. It provided us with hours of entertainment, as my mom always got distracted as soon as it went under the broiler, which caused the smoke alarm to go off and resulted in endless laughter. And that’s why, to this day, I always buy 2 bags of marshmallows— just in case.” Delicious as a side dish, it could also be served as a crustless pie for dessert.
Ingredients
- 6 large sweet potatoes, about 4 lb. (2 kg) total, peeled and cut into 2-inch (5-cm) cubes
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (7 oz./220 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp. ground allspice
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup (6 oz./185 g) drained crushed pineapple
- 1 bag (12 oz./375 g) large marshmallows
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook until soft, about 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Add the butter and mash together until the butter is melted and the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and 1 tsp. salt until well blended. Fold in the crushed pineapple and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Bake until the sweet potatoes are brown on top, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and arrange the marshmallows in a single layer on top, completely covering the surface.
Preheat the broiler and place the dish underneath the broiler to toast the marshmallows. Watch carefully as they will toast very fast! Serve hot. Serves 10 to 12.
Recipe courtesy of Al Roker, Weather and Feature Anchor and co-host of TODAY