Sweet Potato Frosted Cookies

As part of my seemingly never-ending quest to clear out my pantry of canned food I came up with this recipe to use up a couple of cans of Organic Sweet Potato Puree. The silky texture produces a cake-like cookie and not a crispy one. If you can’t find the purée head to the baby food aisle and use stage 2 foods, it is similar in texture. Home cooked and mashed ones won’t be as wet and will produce a drier cookie. And in a pinch canned pumpkin can be used.

While the cookies taste great the day of baking, if you chill them overnight they taste even better. They get more like cake and the flavor is deeper.

And yes, the dye I used for the frosting is natural (no shocker there), by Seelect. I can source it at Whole Foods and my local co-op, also Amazon carries another brand I have used, India Tree Natural Decorating Colors Set. It isn’t cheap but is a nice option to use. I find Seelect is better than India Tree, Seelect is more like a gel. You do have to use more than with artificial coloring so if you are grabbing what you have on hand start with a drop or two and then add more 😉

Sweet Potato Frosted Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1½ cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), softened
• ½ cup liquid egg substitute or 2 large eggs
• 2 cups Sweet Potato Puree (about 1½ cans)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting –

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Orange food coloring (natural), between ¼ to ½ tsp

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add the sugar and butter to a stand mixer bowl, beat until light, add in the eggs, sweet potatoes and vanilla, beating in.

With the mixer on low, add the flour, baking powder and salt, beat till mixed.

Drop by Tablespoon on the prepared sheets, 12 to a sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden on top but don’t over bake, you want a cake-like texture. Lift carefully to cooling racks. (For best results use a disher like this Norpro Stainless Steel Scoop, 1 Tablespoon, 35mm for even sized cookies.)

Frosting:

Add the butter to a stand mixer bowl, beat till light. Add the powdered sugar and with the mixer on low add the milk and vanilla, turn up to medium and beat until smooth. Color as desired. Spread onto the cooled cookies. Refrigerate the cookies for best taste.

Makes about 5 Dozen cookies (how many you frost depends on how thick you frost). Unfrosted cookies freeze well.

~Sarah