Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

So do you all follow How Sweet It Is? If you don’t, you must follow the link know because she is amazing and quite hilarious. The recipes she dreams up are spectacular and this is one of them!

I only recently became a fan of sweet potatoes and now I’ve kind of become obsessed. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately since I certainly don’t need 12 of these in my house), Joel hasn’t jumped on my sweet potato band wagon yet so I’ve had these bookmarked for awhile waiting for the perfect opportunity to make them for someone else. When we were invited to a friends house recently to watch the Husker game I knew the time had come. And brought my cupcake holder home empty!

The cupcakes themselves were warm and spicy with a nice crunchy texture from the graham cracker crust. The marshmallow frosting was really, really sweet. I’m not a big fan of frosting in the first place so it was a bit much for me but the frosting lovers reported that it was yummy. The caramel drizzle of course adds more sugary goodness. The pecans added another layer of crunchy texture which I really enjoyed (but they are optional so do as you please).

These cupcakes would be a perfect update to the regular ‘ole sweet potato pie that usually graces the Thanksgiving buffet.

Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
recipe from How Sweet It Is
makes 12 cupcakes

Graham crust:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 ounces cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners. In a small bowl, mix melted butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs until moist, then press about 1/2-1 tablespoon of crumbs into the bottom of each liner.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until combined and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla extract and butter, then whisk in sweet potato. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, then add in milk and stir until combined and smooth. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on top of each graham cracker crust. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cupcakes are set and spring back at the touch. Let cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
3 cups of powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. milk, if needed

Beat butter in the bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add in fluff and beat for 2-3 minutes, then add in vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Once all the sugar has been added, beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. If mixture if too runny, add a bit more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit of milk one teaspoon at a time. Frost cupcakes and drizzle with caramel sauce and chopped pecans.

Peanut Mallow Bars

I made these ooey, goeey, sticky bars for a picnic this summer to rave reviews. I personally am neither a caramel or marshmallow fan so I made these hoping I wouldn’t like them and therefore, easily avoid them. Unfortunately, these bars may have converted me instead. They are that good.

I adore the combination of sweet and salty and these are the perfect little treat to satisfy the craving. Let me warn you that the base of the bar was a bit crumbly and kind of fell apart when picked up but they tasted so yummy that it didn’t matter. Not only is there a great mixture of flavors but also of textures that just puts these over the top.

Peanut Mallow Bars
recipe from Taste of Home Brownies and Bars

1 cup chopped salted peanuts
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup cold butter

Topping:
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow crème
2/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
1-3/4 cups salted peanuts

1. In a large bowl, combine the peanuts, flour, oars, sugar, salt and baking soda; stir in the egg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Spoon marshmallow crème over hot crust; carefully spread evenly. Drizzle with the caramel topping; sprinkle with peanuts. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

 

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn {4th of July Style}

The 4^th of July is probably my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. Grilling out with family and friends, strawberry daiquiris, baseball games, roasting marshmallows on the fire pit and best of all…fireworks! I am kind of definitely a pyro at heart so I love watching things that go boom. I also love aiding in blowing up things….it’s unbelievable what you can blow up. We usually stick to the food realm and my favorite to date was the giant can of corn from Sams. It set off a ridiculous rain shower of corn kernels. We have yet to figure out the perfect way to blow up a watermelon but we are working on it.

Anyway…….

When I think of the 4^th of July I think of baseball. While growing up, we always went to a baseball game on or near the 4^th of July and saw a spectacular fireworks display afterwards. And what do people eat at baseball games? Cracker Jacks! This is my 4^th of July version of the beloved treat.

I had the wonderful base recipe from Get Off Your Butt and Bake and decided to add peanuts and M&M’s to customize it to my taste and our red, white and blue theme. It’s sticky and gooey and chocolately and just a bit salty. The perfect popcorn mix for my favorite day!

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn
recipe adapted from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
9-10 marshmallows (I used 9 small handfuls of mini marshmallows)
2 cups M&M’s
2 ½ cups lightly salted peanuts
12 cups popcorn

Combine popcorn, M&M’s and peanuts in a large bowl. Microwave brown sugar and butter for 2 minutes; stir. Add marshmallows and microwave until melted, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Pour over popcorn and stir until completely coated.