Sweet Potato Muffins

Helen Reporting,

Finished Sweet Potato Muffins ready to eat.

Finished Sweet Potato Muffins ready to eat.

These pretty orange muffins are low in fat and so delicious they can be eaten without butter. Sweet potato muffins are more like sweet potato bread; they are sweetened mostly by the potatoes rather than with a lot of sugar. A real treat without the morning sugar rush you get from other breakfast muffins. In fact, depending on the main course, I can see them as a delicious addition to the dinner table. This recipe evolved from original directions by our friends at William-Sonoma.

INGREDIENTS:

For the topping:

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the muffins:

2 orange sweet potatoes (about 1 and 1/4 cups)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (or just ground nutmeg)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange extract or the zest of a lemon or orange, to taste

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

STEP BY STEP:

  1. For the topping, stir the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and smash, either in a food processor or blender or any other method. Let cool
  3. Preheat oven to 400°. Grease 12 standard muffins cups with butter.
  4. In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients—flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt.
  5. In another bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil, milk, and extract or zest. Whisk vigorously or beat until combined.
  6. Add sweet potatoes and beat until blended.
  7. Add the dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened. The batter will be a bit lumpy.
  8. Fold in the pecans.
  9. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle with the topping. Bake until muffins are golden-orange-brown, about 20-25 minutes. They should be dry and springy and fully cooked in the middle.