Yum-O!

Remember this post? The one about my son not eating vegetables anymore? Well it has gotten worse. He has pretty much steered clear of meats too. Anything pertaining to "dinner type" foods he will NOT EAT. I have even tried feeding them to him at lunch, but he wont have it. So I am trying to get more creative. And it is becoming very difficult to do.

In my quest to find a way to get healthy foods into my sons tummy, I happened upon a recipe for sweet potato cookies.

Yes. You read that correctly. Cookies that are somewhat nutritious. I know some of you are screaming "WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TOO????". Calm yourself and stay with me a bit longer.

Seeing as how sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest veggies in the world, and they USED to be Zachariah's favorite, I decided to give it a try. I tweaked the recipe a bit and hoped for the best. And you know what? The cookies turned out better than I could have ever imagined. They have the perfect amount of... everything. They are the fluffiest cookies I have ever eaten. And I don't feel like I am gaining 15 pounds a day eating them.

Anyway, I am going to post the recipe for those who are interested. And if you think this is just stupid and I should give up on trying to feed my son healthy foods... well, you may be right. BUT for now I will keep on truckin'.

(FYI: short but sweet version is at the end of the post)

Okay. Lets get started!

First things first...

The ingredients. All purpose flour, brown sugar, milk, salt, butter, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, raisins, vanilla extract, and a ginormous sweet potato. Optional ingredients include nuts, chocolate chips, and allspice. ( I left these out in mine, but you may feel free to do as you please. There will be no judgment here.)

Cook a large sweet potato in the microwave for about 2 min. to make it easier to mash. Peel it, then throw it into a bowl and go to town with your potato masher. You can get out some built up anger. Or not. Whatever.

Then melt a stick of butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Combine the butter, mashed sweet potato, and all of the other ingredients (except for raisins, nuts and chips) into a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream it all together.

I added in the flour one cup at a time, that way it wont end up all over your kitchen. Unless you want a flour covered kitchen. Then just dump the whole bag in.

After you mix all of that together, stir or "fold" in the raisins with a spatula. And now your ready to bake! Just drop the mixture on the baking sheet by the spoonful.

(FYI: I like to use a stoneware pan. Its makes the best cookies ever. Seriously. Never burns.)

Put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. They are going to look a bit runny at first. But don't be alarmed, this is perfectly normal. Soon they will be looking all light and fluffy.

While we are waiting, I want to show you what the bowl looks like after my last batch is in the oven. You can lick the bowl if you want. But considering it was pretty late, I resisted and save myself a tummy ache.

Oh. One more thing while we wait. I hate bad kitchen lighting. At 10:30 pm. It makes for nasty looking pictures. Bla.

Ok! I think we are almost done. See, I told you they would look fluffy?

Around the 15 min. mark touch the top of a cookie. If it is firm, then they are just about done. You don't want to wait for them to turn golden brown. You want to snag them right before that point.

Just listen to your gut. Its usually right on with these types of things.

Ok. Now once they are done, take them out of the oven and let them cool for about 2 min. before moving them to the cooling rack. That way they don't crumble in transit.

And here is the finished product! This recipe makes about 30 cookies. So they should last you a while. Unless my husband comes over. Then you may need to make a whole new batch. He tends to go a little crazy with these cookies.

Here is the recipe in a nutshell! Happy baking!

Sweet Potato Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 c. sweet potatoes
2 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. chocolate chips (omitted)
1/2 c. nuts ( omitted)
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. allspice (omitted)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, spices, yams, and flour together, adding milk a little at a time. Add nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.

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On a side note... I am needing a better name for these cookies. Something a little less of a mouthful (haha! Pun definitely intended. Boy I crack myself up.)

Any suggestions?