Aunt Betty's Best Brown Sugar & Pecan Topped Sweet Potatoes

Yes, I know the holidays loom close. Closer than I would like.  And yes, I am behind on posting and keeping  you all up to date and filled with new and exciting recipes.  Problem is, my family really doesn't want "new and exciting" this time of year. They want all the tried-and-true comfort foods I have prepared for decades.  I get tired of making the same old thing, but I suppose I look forward to them as well.  Eating those comfort foods brings back many fond memories of my own childhood and young adulthood, of special times with my grandparents, extended family and favorite foods galore.  Yes, I do look forward to them and if you could see the smile on my face right now, you'd understand.

So today I share with  you one of my 'tried-and-true' favorites.  A must at our Thanksgiving table, near or far.  I hope you enjoy.

AUNT BETTY'S BEST BROWN SUGAR & PECAN TOPPED SWEET POTATOES

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 stick margarine
1/2 cup milk (or evaporated milk)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 stick margarine

Combine first 6 ingredients and place in a greased baking dish.  Blend together the topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of the potato mixture.  Pat down slightly with the back of a spoon or spatula.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

For a little extra somep'n-somep'n, about 2 Tbs maple syrup added to the potato mixture and some drizzled on top really enhances the flavors!

Aunt Betty's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies take a high place in my house, followed by a close second, Mr. Jim's favorite, Peanut Butter cookies.

Years ago, I of course started with the famous chocolate chip cookies, and haven't strayed too much from the original.  The perfect cookie must start with being perfectly crispy, it must begin to melt in your mouth the second you take a bite, and the flavors must explode in your mouth.  This cookie does all that! Definitely not diet friendly, but satisfies that craving we all have for homemade cookies.  The cookie jar is full, so I have a week or so reprieve.  

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup of butter-flavor Crisco (1 stick)  or 1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
1 cup (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Directions
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugars, Crisco and vanilla until very light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  This is my secret to "melt-in-your-mouth" crispness.  It should be very light, and fluffy like icing.  You should feel minimal grit from the sugar in the batter.

As you can see from the above picture, the batter is light and fluffy.  Not the best pic, but I hope you get the idea.

Once your basic batter is ready, begin by adding your dry ingredients one-third at a time, incorporating well after each addition.  Clean beaters into bowl.  Fold in by hand the chopped nuts and chocolate chips, hand mixing until thoroughly combined.

Now, the fun part.  I always use three (3) cookie sheets when making cookies.  This is because you should never put cookie dough onto hot cookie sheets.  This will cause the cookies to fall and not retain their shape.  So after first batch comes out of the oven and is on the cooling rack, I leave the pan to cool before refilling.  I always also use 2 different sizes of cookie scoops to make the sizes uniform.  Today, I used an inch and a half scoop to make larger cookies and a 1/2 inch scoop to make smaller cookies.  The photo below is a pan of 1-1/2" cookies ready for the oven.  Additionally, I prefer baking cookies on my Air Bake cookie sheets.  I have had these for many, many years and they are awesome.  I do not like dark cookie sheets or pans of any kind.  They brown the pastry and dough way too fast.  As in all things, bright and shiny objects are good.

Ready for the oven

Load your cookie sheets, and bake about 13 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Less time makes them more soft. Not our preferred cookie.  The basic recipe says 10-12 minutes, but I will even sometimes go about 14 minutes.  I strongly recommend you invest in an oven thermometer so that you will know exactly how hot your oven is cooking.  Test by turning your oven to 350 with the thermometer in the oven.  After 15 minutes, look at the temp.  Adjust your settings accordingly.

Remove baked cookies from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.

If you can keep your husband and/or children away from the cookies right out of the oven, fix yourself a hot cup of coffee and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Those dirty dishes will wait.  A dose of chocolate will make the effort worth while.

~~Enjoy~  Aunt Betty

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup of butter-flavor Crisco (1 stick)  or 1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
1 cup (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine all dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Directions
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugars, Crisco and vanilla until very light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  This is my secret to "melt-in-your-mouth" crispness.  It should be very light, and fluffy like icing.  You should feel minimal grit from the sugar in the batter.

Once your basic batter is ready, begin by adding your dry ingredients one-third at a time, incorporating well after each addition.  Clean beaters into bowl.  Fold in by hand the chopped nuts and chocolate chips, hand mixing until thoroughly combined.

Load your cookie sheets, and bake about 13 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Less time makes them more soft. Not our preferred cookie.  The basic recipe says 10-12 minutes, but I will even sometimes go about 14 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely before storing.  Guard against lurking husbands and children.