If you’ve ever eaten Mexican food in Texas, you know that you can’t leave the restaurant without being tempted, on your way out, to buy a praline, which is a candy with lots of butter, sugar, and pecans. They are delicious, and this recipe adds their sweet – candy-ness to top off a wonderful Thanksgiving side dish. Inspired by an old Austin, TX Junior Forum cookbook called Changing Thymes, this recipe is one of Robert’s favorites. I think I left it off the menu one year and he pouted, so it has now become a forever traditional Krum Thanksgiving dish. It is easily made gluten free and dairy free if you tweak just a few things. This morning on the Today Show I even saw a sweet potato dish that used coconut milk and a bit of curry! So, go ahead and substitute the milk with coconut or almond or rice, and the butter with something like Smart Balance if you need a dairy free dish!
6 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter
Praline Topping:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup GF flour
Mix (I use a hand mixer) together mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, vanilla, milk, and butter. Spread in a baking dish.
For topping, stir together butter, brown sugar, pecans, and GF flour until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Topping should spread out a bit and may even be bubbly. Serve warm.
Yum! Yum! Yum! I think I'll try this on Wednesday when Jack's kids come over. Anything praline takes the prize! Love, Kelly and Jack
Oh I wish I was on top of my blog life – I missed this recipe. It sounds wonderful. I may have to try it with the leftovers. 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!