Mashed Sweet Potato Pecan Crisp

We eat a lot of sweet potatoes in our house, so when it came to the Thanksgiving meal of course we could not go with out this delicious side dish.  But I wanted to make something a little different than our traditional side dish.  It really could be considered a dessert, but with such a grand feast as Thanksgiving, I felt it fit in just wonderfully.    

For the traditional take on the dish, I had grown up on these delicious candied sweet potatoes that simply consisted of sliced sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and butter.  You cannot get much better than that, right?  And why mess with something already delicious?  Well, as always, I like to switch up the typical recipes.  I am always looking for something new and delicious to make and this dish was no exception.  

I took my mom's basic recipe for apple crisp topping and used that on top of mashed sweet potatoes.  I added in chopped pecans for added nutty flavor and crunch.   I know that we will not be waiting until next Thanksgiving to make this!

The Ingredients:

8-10 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled

9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened

1/2 + 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Allspice

1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 Cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats (I get a big bag at Trader Joe's)

1 Cup Pecans, roughly chopped

The Steps:

1) Peel the potatoes and place in a large stock pot.  Fill with water, covering all the potatoes.  Bring water to a boil and cook until easily mash-able, about 30 minutes.  NOTE: As you can see the peel job was not the best.  I actually had a broken peeler and used a cheese slicer - eek.  Not recommended but desperate times called for desperate measures:). For the ultimate smooth mashed potatoes, peel the skins completely.  

2) While the potatoes are boiling, begin to make the crisp topping by adding 5 tablespoons of softened butter (cut in small pieces before adding), cinnamon, and sugar to a medium mixing bowl.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the sugar until it's crumbly.  Mix in the oats and chopped pecans.  Continue to use the pastry cutter or fork to combine the oats and pecans to the butter.  Set aside.   

3) When the potatoes are done, scoop them out with a slotted spoon into a large mixing bowl.  Add 4 tablespoons of butter (cut in smaller pieces before adding).  Using a potato masher, mash until completely smooth.  Add in 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon and 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice and mix into the potatoes.  

3) Lightly grease an 8x8 baking pan and add the potatoes, smoothing out the top of the potatoes.  Add the crisp mixture to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until it is slightly bubbling and the crisp topping has browned.    

Sorry for the grainy picture - I used my phone for this one.