Focus on Texas

Sweet Potatoes

Traditional holiday staple proves plenty versatile—from waffles to brownies

by megan myers, Food ediTor

Sweet potatoes are an ingredient that doesn’t often get much love outside of the holidays, but these versatile spuds deserve a spot in your regular rotation. I try to make them at least once a week, changing up the preparation to keep my family from having dish fatigue. mashed sweet potatoes are a great preparation, but we tend to have lots of leftovers each time. enter sweet potato waffles, a lightly spiced way to brighten up any weekend breakfast.

Sweet Potato Waffles

2 cups flour ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1½ cups milk 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract spray oil, as needed

cooK’s Tip If you don’t have a waffle maker, this recipe works beautifully for pancakes too.

1.In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. 2.In another bowl, whisk together milk, sweet potatoes, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth. 3.Pour wet mixture into dry and stir until completely incorporated and no dry bits remain. 4.Preheat your waffle maker. Once hot, spray cooking plates with oil if needed, then scoop batter onto plates, close and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep waffles warm on a sheet pan in an oven set to low heat while you repeat with remaining batter.

serves 4

Web exTra Follow along with megan myers and her adventures in the kitchen at stetted.com, where she features a recipe for Persimmon Sweet Potato Soup.