Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow Brulee

 In my quest to find new sweet potato recipes, I've decided that some of the best recipes are the ones that were originally intended for regular potatoes. Yes, yes, I still love the favorite Candied Sweet Potatoes and Sweet Potato Casserole and all the butter and brown sugar that goes with them, but sometimes I just want to taste the sweet potatoes, know what I mean? (This was the aha realization when I was making the favorite Sweet Potato Gratin!) Then I found this recipe from The Neely's. Usually a twice baked potato is done in a savory way, (perhaps with sour cream and/or chives) but this is a sweet version, so I guess this recipe is a cross between the two! It's AMAZING. And my addition of the homemade marshmallow brulee just puts it over the top and makes it even more special. You can do them way in advance too, so they're perfect for your big holiday dinner. And then you can top and brulee them just before serving! Btw, fun fact, out of all of the new recipes I tested at my Friendsgiving dinner, this one was clearly the biggest hit. So I'm pretty sure that if you make them for your family, you'll have NONE leftover! Not even kidding.


6 sweet potatoes, even in size and scrubbed

4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Purchased or Homemade Marshmallow Creme

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Place sweet potatoes on sheet tray and bake for 1 hour or until soft. Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Split potatoes and remove the flesh to a medium sized bowl, reserving skins. In another bowl, add brown sugar, butter and cream cheese and the all of the spices and mash with a fork or rubber spatula. Add the butter and cream cheese mixture to the sweet potato flesh and fold in completely. Add the filling back to the potato skins and place on a half sheet tray. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
 While the potatoes are baking, make the marshmallow creme. After the second bake, top the potatoes with the creme, either with a spoon or with a piping bag, making sure to create lovely swirly designs or peaks. Place them under a broiler for a minute or two (keeping a watchful eye) until the marshmallow is lightly browned. Or you can use a kitchen torch to brulee.

Tips:
Of course, you don't have to include the marshmallow creme, but it was a huge hit and it added the WOW factor!
I purposely used very small sweet potatoes and then instead of just splitting them, I cut them in HALF before scooping out the centers. If you're having a big huge holiday dinner, you don't really want that big of a portion, plus a big honkin' sweet potato takes up too much precious real estate on the plate! Then again, if you WANT a big honkin sweet potato, GO FOR IT!