Sweet Potato Blondies with Marshmallow Topping

This recipe may anger sweet potato purists. 

You probably know one, if you're not one yourself.  It's someone who prefers their sweet potatoes simple and unadulterated--either baked plain or roasted with a few spices. Someone who scoffs at the saccharine American Thanksgiving tradition of brown sugar drenched sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows. 

Well purists, hear me out. I happen to be a plain sweet potato lover too, but I think these sweet potato blondies catapult straight over that sweet Thanksgiving side dish and straight to the dessert table. 

I put sweet potato in your brownies. Yes, butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows are involved, but it's dessert! These things are necessary. 

These are ridiculously good. Once again, Adam "doesn't like sweet potato" but I force fed him one and he loved it. He even called them addicting. 

The blondie itself reminds me of the acorn squash cupcakes I made earlier this fall---lots of warm gingerbread-esque flavors going on with the vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The texture is slightly more cake-like than a regular blondie, but the moisture of the sweet potato keeps that in check. 

I had a slight dilemma over whether to swirl in some marshmallow fluff like these brownies or top with mini marshmallows like these s'more bars.  (My life is full of hard decisions.)

I'm glad I went with the mini marshmallows. 

Lots of toasted gooey marshmallows = dessert nirvana.

Oh, and this would be an excellent way to use up extra cooked sweet potatoes you have lying around . . . after this Thursday, perhaps?

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends!

Sweet Potato Blondies with Marshmallow Topping 

Ingredients: 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 Tbsp vanilla extract 

1 cup cooked mashed sweet potato*

1 cup mini marshmallows

*My favorite method is to pierce a sweet potato a few times with a fork and then bake on a cookie sheet at 400 for about an hour.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 9 by 9 square baking dish liberally with cooking spray

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Combine melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and mashed sweet potato in a medium bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are brown and middle is set.

Set oven to broil.

Place mini marshmallows overtop of the blondies. Put back into the oven and broil for an additional minute or so, watching VERY carefullly. Remove as soon as marshmallows begin to brown.

To ease with cutting, grease spatula/knife with cooking spray.

Adapted from Our Family Eats.