As the air turns crisp and leaves begin to paint the landscape with hues of red and gold, our kitchen comes alive with the warmth and coziness of autumn. Just kidding! I live in Florida so NONE of that is happening right now!
It is still really hot where I live but all of the advertisements are for fall and fall is the season for comfort foods. What better way to deny what's going on in my area than with a delightful dessert that captures the essence of fall?
This Sweet Potato Apple Bake is a personal favorite of mine that really captures the flavors of the season. Layers of tender sweet potatoes, crisp apples, and pecans, create a dessert that's as comforting as a cozy sweater on a chilly evening (which I won't be wearing for quite a while!).
Sweet Potato Apple Bake
6 medium cooking apples
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (about four medium sweet potatoes)
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prick the skins of the sweet potatoes and bake on a sheet pan for 45-50 minutes until tender. Allow to cool.
Peel, core, and slice apples. Place apple slices in a large bowl of water with lemon juice to prevent darkening. Blend flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for topping. Add the rest of the flour mixture to your mashed sweet potatoes.
Spread sweet potato mixture over the bottom of an un-greased 9X13 pan. Drain your apples and place on top of the sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle with corn syrup. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the sweet potatoes and apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.
